Multidisciplinary and integrated approaches offer the best hope for understanding the nervous system. The Neuroscience Program at Michigan State University has provided such comprehensive graduate education and research training since 1975. The Program was structurally reorganized in 1998 in order to better meet three training goals: 1) provide students with a solid and integrated foundation in the structure and function of the nervous system from molecules to behavior; 2) provide specialized research training in the fundamentals of scientific methods and current and cutting-edge methodologies to enable students to address fundamental questions in neuroscience; and 3) prepare students for successful independent research and education careers in the public and private sectors by providing instruction in professional skills, scientific ethics, and career development. As part of the reorganization, the Neuroscience Training Program now leads to the Ph.D. in Neuroscience. This Training Program will provide support to predoctoral neuroscience students during the first two years of study, when training is broad-based and before thesis work is begun. Students will interact closely with training faculty via core courses, laboratory research, and special courses designed to enhance scientific and professional skills. A primary strength of the Neuroscience Training Program is the diversity of the training faculty, who come from nine different departments. Their well-funded research programs represent a wide spectrum of disciplinary approaches, including in vivo and in vitro model systems and molecular to behavioral analyses in a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. The faculty is interactive and committed to providing the highest quality graduate training in neuroscience. Capitalizing on the diverse faculty and substantial infrastructural resources available at Michigan State University, the Neuroscience Training Program will train integrative neuroscientists who are well-prepared to contribute substantially to the discipline as active researchers and educators.
