Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding nervous systems at levels ranging from the molecular and cellular to the whole organism. The goal of this Program is to prepare students for careers in research, teaching and/or scientific administration. Students are expected to learn the fundamentals of Neuroscience, starting with a required core sequence, become knowledgeable concerning a range of research methods as taught in a required Neuroscience laboratory course, and demonstrate capability in original research. Graduate student training ultimately reflects the research competence and specialties of the faculty, that is, the specific research training received by a graduate student is the responsibility of the major professor/mentor under whose guidance and in whose laboratory the student carries out the research projects leading to the degree. Students will benefit from an interdisciplinary training approach, tailored by the major advisor but enriched by the readily available expertise and laboratory facilities of program faculty with backgrounds ranging from chemistry to psychology. In addition to this training, it is our intention, through outside speakers and planned forums, to make students aware of alternate careers open to neuroscientists whose interests and talents might lead to areas such as biotechnology, science administration and the like.<br><br>The Interdepartmental Ph.D Program in Neuroscience at UC Riverside is aimed at providing high quality graduate training for students who come from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds but share a commitment and an intense interest in nervous system research. We currently have 37 faculty with expertise in various aspects of Neuroscience and whose principal appointments are in the Departments of Biology, Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Chemistry, Entomology, Psychology, and the Division of Biomedical Sciences.<br>A major part of training in Neuroscience is in supervised laboratory research, the student working with one or more of the Neuroscience faculty. Applicants are encouraged to make contact with faculty members whose work may correspond closely to their own individual interests.