There is a single application and admissions committee for all neuroscience graduate training at NYU. Upon acceptance into the joint program in neuroscience, each student will receive a competitive stipend, tuition coverage, and full benefits.  Every graduate student has full access to all courses, laboratories, and resources available at both the Center for Neural Science and the Department of Neuroscience sites. We encourage students to rotate in labs on both campuses. Our training program provides every student the opportunity to tailor their graduate experience, to explore different research paths, and to experience the distinct intellectual cultures of each NYU campus.

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Application Deadline: December 1 (for admission the following Fall)

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Admission to our graduate program is highly competitive, and applicants should have superior undergraduate grades, excellent letters of recommendation, and documented research experience. Students seeking admission should have a strong background in one or more of the academic areas involved in neuroscience, such as biology, experimental psychology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering science. Students with foreign qualifications must demonstrate command of written and spoken English before admission to the program. The department does not set minimum GPA, TOEFL, or IELTS scores or share past applicant and accepted student averages of these scores.

GRE tests are not required. Please do not send us GRE test scores. If you do, while the Graduate School will notify you that the scores were received, the scores will not be reviewed or considered by the Admissions Committee.

Applicants should consult our faculty pages and list labs they might be interested in on their application. This helps us to assign interviews and gauge fit for the program. However, upon matriculation into the program, students may choose any lab for their thesis research. Applicants interested in applying to the Shanghai track of the Doctoral program in Neural Science can also apply using the above link, but should select the Shanghai campus on the application form.  For those who may be eligible for a fee waiver, please see the GSAS website and apply PRIOR to submitting your application.

The Application Support Group (ASG) is a group of NYU Neuroscience PhD students who aim to help PhD applicants through free general application review, 1-on-1 mentorship, and personalized insight into the NYU program. The group was born out of the desire to transfer implicit knowledge about PhD applications to prospective students. We encourage everyone to apply and particularly encourage students from underrepresented groups. Please fill out this survey to get started

For more information, please contact the Directors of Graduate Studies:

• Michael Hawken, Center for Neural Science (mjh2@nyu.edu)
• Niels Ringstad, Neuroscience Institute (Niels.Ringstad@NYULangone.org)

​Or  the program’s Administrative Director:

• ​Holly Wasserman, Department of Neuroscience (Holly.Wasserman@NYULangone.org)