Graduate Program in Neuroscience

Admissions

The Autumn 2025 Cohort application is closed. The Autumn 2026 application will open on August 1, 2025.

Application Information

  • The deadline for ALL 2025 applicants is November 15, 2024 (11:59 pm PT). Applications submitted by this deadline will be reviewed for matriculation in the Autumn 2025 cohort.
  • Graduate Non-Matriculated (GNM) students will not be accepted.
  • Undocumented individuals are eligible for admission; those with DACA status should refer to the DACA Students page for further details.
  • The UW Graduate School application fee is $90.00.
    • Fee waivers are available upon request via the application site. Review Application Fee Waiver instructions before submitting an application.
    • Graduate School staff will review requests within 48 hours. Qualifying applicants will need to return to the online application and complete the verification process before the application deadline.
  • More information about the application process can be found here.
  • Application is online only via the University of Washington Graduate Admissions site.
APPLY HERE

Application Instructions:

  1. Begin by going to the UW Grad School application site:
    • If you have not already done so, create a Login ID and password.
      • Follow the Neuroscience application instructions through the Graduate School website.
        • Please note that the Neuroscience program will not appear until the application is open.
  2. Academic History:
    • Please report and upload all transcripts from colleges and universities you previously attended, including colleges that you did not earn a degree or award at.
  3. Program Selection:
    In this section, select Graduate > By Degree > Doctoral > Neuroscience (PhD).
  4. Program Requirements:
    Select “Autumn 2025” for term and year of enrollment. Review and acknowledge requirements.
  5. Application Questions:

    Section A: Interest Areas:
    Select and rank a minimum of 3 (maximum of 5) interest areas from this list of 9 areas:

    • Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience (includes channels, synapses, membranes, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, proteins, genetics, glia)
    • Systems Neuroscience
    • Disorders of the Nervous System (includes aging)
    • Computational/Theoretical Neuroscience
    • Development of the Nervous System
    • Motor function (includes Brain-Computer Interfaces)
    • Sensory function and perception
    • Motivation-Emotion-State (includes affective behaviors, brain or behavioral state, addiction, feeding, social interaction, sleep, stress, neuroendocrinology, metabolism)
    • Cognitive function (includes learning & memory)
  6. Section B: Faculty Interview Options
    List at least 3 (and up to 5) Neuro faculty you would be interested in working with. For each faculty, indicate why you are interested in their labs and research (1,000 character limit).
    You are encouraged to review the Neuro faculty page for faculty who have indicated they are accepting students for the 2024-25 academic year. If you will be on a student visa, please list faculty who have indicated their funding source[s] can support students on visas.
  7. Section C: Short Answer Reponses:

    Please provide answers to the questions below, staying within the indicated character limits, which include spaces. We recommend that you write out answers to each question in a separate word-processing program and copy/paste them into the application. Make sure to review each question after pasting, as character counts may vary.

    Use of AI/ChatGPT is discouraged. It is considered plagiarism, and it also detracts from the strength of your answers.  Your own original, natural voice will help distinguish you from other applicants, whereas using AI means the reviewers will see the same trite phrases over and over, such as “Seattle’s vibrant tech hub.”

    • Question 1: How many total months of full-time research experience do you have? Full-time work in the U.S. is considered 40 hours per week. The answer box will only take integers. Please make sure to list these in Full Time Months! Our program requires 12 months of full-time research experience.
      Example: During their last two years of undergraduate study, Dubs T. Washington worked 20 hours per week as a lab assistant. 20 hours per week for 2 years = 12 months full-time experience.
    • Question 2: Why do you want to attend the University of Washington (UW)? (Response limit 2,000 characters)
    • Question 3: Why do you want to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience? (Response limit: 2,000 characters)
    • Question 4: Tell us about your most interesting or rewarding research experience in a lab environment. (Response limit: 3,000 characters)
    • Question 5: Describe a time you navigated a challenging obstacle, scientific or otherwise. How did you handle it? (Response limit: 2,000 characters)
    • Question 6: What does Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mean to you? What can be done to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in science and society? (Response limit 2,000 characters)
    • Question 7: Optional: Is there anything else relevant to your application that you would like to share that was not covered in the questions above? Note: you may also use this space if you wish to provide an explanation about low academic performance, especially if your Grade Point Average (GPA) is below the Graduate School’s 3.0 requirement. (Response limit 2,500). 

    8. 8. Application Materials:
    Upload your Resume or CV as a PDF. Please include all research experience: this includes summer research internships, academic year research, post-baccalaureate, and/or work-related experiences. Also list posters, presentations, and publications. Other relevant information: education (degrees, certificates), awards, recognitions, teaching/leadership/mentorship experiences, volunteer activities, professional and social memberships, and hobbies.

    9. Recommendations:

    You will designate recommenders by entering their names and email addresses into the application system. We do not accept mailed (paper) recommendations. Two recommendations MUST be received by the application deadline. After the deadline, we begin reviews of completed applications ONLY; applications lacking the two required recommendations will not be reviewed.
    Optional: you may designate a third recommender, although only two recommendations are required.

    Review Process:

    Applications are reviewed by an Admissions Committee consisting of faculty and students. All committee members use an evaluation rubric that rank the following criteria: Academic Preparation; Self-motivation and Perseverance; Commitment to DEI and Broader Impacts; Research Experience; Program Fit; Letters of Recommendation. 

    Interview Process

    • After the reviews are completed, the Admissions Committee will select 50 applicants to interview.
    • We plan to notify these 50 applicants of their selection the week of December 16th.
    • It is important to us that the interviews are accessible and inclusive. We will provide resources and technical support to help prospective students participate.

    Application finalists will be invited to virtually interview during one of these two time periods:

    • February 11-12, 2025
    • February 12-13, 2025

    No exceptions to these dates will be made. Applicants should keep these time periods fully available, as we will have events distributed across both days.

    Requirements and Prerequisites

    • We encourage students from a broad range of academic backgrounds to apply, including those with undergraduate or a Master degrees in neuroscience, biology, math, physics, computer science, or engineering.
    • Applicants must have a minimum of 12 months of research experience, preferably in neuroscience.
    • Although not required, we do recommend that prospective students have taken calculus before entering our program.

    GRE Scores

    • GRE scores are not required or accepted for the Graduate Program in Neuroscience.

    English Proficiency

    English Language proficiency (ELP) is required for graduate study at the University of Washington. Therefore, every applicant whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency as outlined in Graduate School Policy 3.2.
    The Neuroscience graduate program requires non-native English speakers to submit an official score demonstrating the “recommended score” for the accepted tests.

    Grade Point Average (GPA)

    The Graduate Program in Neuroscience follows the Graduate School GPA policy: a minimum 3.0 grade-point-average on a 4-point scale (or equivalent measures of performance if a graduate of an institution with no grading system) for those credits earned at the institution awarding the bachelor’s degree OR at least a 3.0 grade-point-average (on a 4-point scale) for the last 90 graded quarter credits or 60 graded semester credits.

    Admitted In-Person Visits

    • March 25-26, 2025

    Students who receive an offer of admission are invited to come visit campus. Limited spots are available as we provide travel & lodging support, and they are granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. We want to offer additional opportunities to connect our potential students to a community they can interact with in our Program, the UW, and Seattle. During admitted visit days the School of Medicine offers a specific recruitment activity for applicants who identify themselves as being from traditionally underserved populations.

    Transferring To The Program

    Students who are currently enrolled in a PhD program elsewhere and want to transfer to our program will need to apply through our annual application process.

    If a potential transfer student is accompanying new faculty, we follow the graduate school policy 3.1.2.3 Alternate Standards for Doctoral Students Accompanying New Faculty

    Once admitted, transcripts and course syllabi will be reviewed to identify which courses from the curriculum can be waived based on prior coursework completion.