Message from the Chair
Neuroscience is an extraordinarily broad and rapidly evolving field, and the UC Davis Neuroscience Graduate Group program is designed to give you both the breadth to understand the field as a whole and the depth to become an independent scientist.
Our students explore questions across developmental, molecular and cellular neurobiology; sensory and motor systems; cognitive and computational neuroscience; and translational neuroscience. With faculty based across the Davis and Sacramento campuses, our students have access to a remarkably diverse community of scientists and to the research environments of the Center for Neuroscience, Center for Mind and Brain and MIND Institute.
The first year in our program is an opportunity to explore. Students take foundational courses in neuroscience while rotating through several laboratories, giving the chance to experience different approaches, research environments and scientific questions before choosing the laboratory and area of study that will shape the doctoral research. Throughout the graduate training, students become part of an active scientific community through our annual research retreat, the Perspectives in Neuroscience Seminar Series and the many scientific, educational and social activities taking place across UC Davis.
Our goal is not simply to train students to conduct research. We want our trainees to develop the intellectual independence, creativity, technical expertise and collaborative skills needed to ask important questions and pursue them wherever they lead. Our students have access to state-of-the-art research facilities and, just as importantly, to faculty and mentors who are invested in their development as a scientist and as a member of our community.
Graduate school is a demanding undertaking, and we believe students do their best work in an environment that is collaborative, supportive and intellectually generous. Our doctoral students receive tuition and fee support, health insurance and a monthly stipend. Our graduates have gone on to build successful careers as independent researchers in academia, industry and other scientific settings, at institutions across the country and around the world.
At UC Davis, we are committed to building a neuroscience community in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Breadth of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives makes our science better, and creating an equitable training environment requires sustained effort. We have a longstanding commitment to outreach and recruitment and are continuing to develop practices that promote inclusive excellence. We view this work not as a destination, but as an ongoing responsibility shared by all of us.
And then there is Davis. It is a place where the advantages of a major research university coexist with the feel of a small college town. You can walk or bike across campus, become part of a close-knit scientific community, and still be within easy reach of Sacramento, the Bay Area, the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley and Yosemite.
If you are looking for a graduate program where you can explore neuroscience broadly, pursue questions that genuinely excite you and develop into an independent scientist within a collaborative community, I hope you will consider UC Davis.
We would be delighted to have you learn more about our faculty, our students and the research taking place across our program. As you explore our website, I encourage you to take a close look at the research programs and faculty whose work interests you. If you have questions about the doctoral program or would like additional information, please contact our Graduate Group Coordinator, Linette Scibelli, at [email protected] or 530-757-8520.
I look forward to welcoming you to the UC Davis neuroscience community.
Alex Nord, Ph.D.
Interim Chair, Neuroscience Graduate Group
Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Center for Neuroscience