MD/PhD in Anatomy & Neurobiology

Medical students who are interested in pursuing a combined MD/PhD degree usually begin the doctoral part of their program after completing 1.5 or 2 years of the School of Medicine curriculum. Thus they have already completed many of the courses required for the PhD in Anatomy & Neurobiology. After completing the doctoral program they return to the School of Medicine curriculum and receive the combined degree when their entire program is completed.

  • Overview: 32-credit PhD program
  • Department basic required courses: 6 credits
  • Department advanced courses: 6 credits
  • Electives or research: 20 credits

Department Basic Required Courses

  • Experimental Design and Statistics (2 cr)
  • Journal Club (2 cr)
  • Professional Skills for Students in the Biomedical Sciences (2 cr)

Department Advanced and Elective Courses

Offered each year

  • Teaching in Biomedical Science (recommended) (2 cr)
  • Advanced Clinical Anatomy (2 cr)
  • Biomedical Forensics (2 cr)
  • Functional Bioimaging (2 cr)
  • Methods of Functional Imaging of the Brain (2 cr)
  • Introduction to the Neurobiology of Education (2 cr)

Offered once every two or three years

  • Autism: Clinical and Neuroscience Perspectives (2 cr)
  • Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (2 cr)
  • Neural Development and Plasticity (2 cr)
  • Neurobiology of Aging (2 cr)
  • Neuroanatomical Basis of Neurologic Disease (2 cr)
  • Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2 cr)
  • Neurobiology of the Visual System (2 cr)

Department Laboratory and Teaching Courses—Electives

  • Directed Teaching in the Biomedical Sciences I and II (2–6 cr)