Neuroscience is an area of study within the Division of Medical Sciences, an administrative unit based at Harvard Medical School that coordinates biomedical PhD activities at the Longwood Medical Area. Students who study in Neuroscience receive a PhD in neurobiology. Prospective students apply through GSAS; in the online application, select "Division of Medical Sciences" as your program choice and select "Neuroscience" in the Area of Study menu.
Neuroscience is one of the programs in the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences, which facilitates collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. Visit HILS for additional application instructions.
This interdisciplinary program includes over 150 faculty members from several hospitals and campuses in the Boston area with a variety of backgrounds in all areas of neuroscience. You will receive a solid core foundation and will then be able to focus on the area that interests you most with specialized training.
You will have access to an impressive array of resources, including state-of-the-art labs, high-resolution microscopy facilities, animal cores, and an instrumentation core that can design custom behavioral chambers and other experimental apparatuses. You will have the opportunity to engage with the broader neuroscience community in several ways, including through the Harvard Brain Science Initiative (HBI), a cross-schools initiative among neuroscientists in the University and its affiliated hospitals.
Students are working on various projects such as studying how neural circuits generate behavior through the use of in vivo imaging to study neurons in awake, behaving animals; the development of the nervous system; the ways in which genes and molecules regulate neural function; and the electrical properties of neurons.
Graduates of the program have secured faculty positions at institutions such as Stanford University, Holy Cross University, Rutgers University, and Harvard University. Others have established careers with leading organizations such as Biogen, Google, and McKinsey & Company.