Admissions Questions (FAQs)

You can apply to the Neuroscience Training Program online through the Graduate School Application.

Completed applications must be received no later than December 1 for admission in the following September.

All materials must be turned in by December 1st, not postmarked, so make sure to get started early!

We encourage students from a broad range of academic backgrounds to apply, including but not limited to those with focus in life sciences, physical sciences, computer science, or engineering. We highly recommend that applicants take college-level courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology. A competitive applicant usually will have prior research experience and should describe their research experience in the Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement.

Successful applicants are typically characterized by the following:

• Strong academic records, i.e. good grades, especially in science and math classes, and all prerequisites for the program met.
• Extensive research experience, i.e. has worked on a project or projects and demonstrated intellectual ownership of the work, demonstrates that they know the science, has been involved in experimental design for data collection and/or analysis. The applicant should discuss in the statement of purpose the science of any projects on which they have worked, and should give a clear motivation for graduate school, including their research interests, and for UW-Madison in particular.
• Outstanding letters of recommendation. Letters ideally are from research supervisor(s) who know the applicant personally and can convey details about the applicant’s participation in the research and their intellectual contributions, and their suitability to working in a research lab as part of a team.
• Publications. Almost all interviewed applicants have either abstracts at national/regional meetings or peer-reviewed papers.

We understand the financial difficulties associated with application to graduate programs. However, the application fee cannot be deferred or waived. The Graduate School offers a limited number of fee grants for McNair Scholars, UW-Madison Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), Bioscience Opportunities Preview Weekend (BOPs) and other pre-approved programs. The Graduate School also offers a fee waiver application for domestic applicants from a low-income background. To apply, a Fee Grant Request Form must be filled out before you submit your application. Please see the Graduate School website for more information.

No. Application packages must be sent to the Neuroscience Training Program for them to be a part of the admission process. Admission decisions are made by a pre-determined committee of Program faculty. Once you have applied through the online application, we do encourage you to reach out to faculty members who you are interested in working with.

In addition to the standard admissions process, in some cases the Neuroscience Training Program allows faculty trainers to directly sponsor a student for admission into the program.  The admissions committee is responsible for all final admissions decisions and will consider these applicants along with the entire applicant pool for a given admission year. Faculty sponsored students will be required to participate in lab rotations during their first year, during which time they will be financially supported by the sponsoring faculty trainer.  It is expected that the sponsor will host one of the rotations and the student’s likely course will be to join the sponsor’s lab after their rotations.  However, the student will be able to join the lab of their choice upon completion of rotations.

On average, we receive about 175-200 applications per year, and of these, we admit approximately 15-20 students. Of these admitted students, approximately 9-12 matriculate each year.

We cannot provide preliminary evaluations of chances for admissions based on any one or two qualifications. The Graduate Admissions Committee carefully reviews the entire application package (state of purpose, recommendation letters, transcripts, etc.) to determine admission decisions.

If you would like to reapply to our program, you will be required to submit a new Graduate School application form and pay a new application fee. Updated information can be provided in the online application.

If you are having trouble uploading your transcript in the system due to file size or other concerns, please contact us at ntp@mailplus.wisc.edu.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required. Students may submit GRE scores as part of their application which will be taken under consideration by the NTP Admissions Committee.

Please check the Graduate Admissions Requirements.

When reporting TOEFL Exam scores, use the following:
Institution Code: 1846

All scores must be received by the December 1st deadline. If scores are not received by that date, applications are considered incomplete.

Financial support for domestic students and permanent residents made available by the the Neuroscience Training Program includes predoctoral traineeships sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, as well as various fellowships and research assistantships. Such appointments typically provide full tuition, full health and dental benefits, plus a 12-month stipend.

In addition to the standard admissions process, in some cases the Neuroscience Training Program allows faculty trainers to directly sponsor a student for admission into the program.  The admissions committee is responsible for all final admissions decisions and will consider these applicants along with the entire applicant pool for a given admission year. Faculty sponsored students will be required to participate in lab rotations during their first year, during which time they will be financially supported by the sponsoring faculty trainer.  It is expected that the sponsor will host one of the rotations and the student’s likely course will be to join the sponsor’s lab after their rotations.  However, the student will be able to join the lab of their choice upon completion of rotations.

Stipends for international students are supported under the same stipulations as domestic students. International applicants may be considered for admission and be financially supported by the NTP graduate program in one of two ways:

1. Through one of the limited funding slots provided by local institutional resources for the first semester. After the first semester, funding would be supported by the primary mentor’s lab.
2. As a direct admit into a lab of a NTP faculty member. International applicants should directly contact NTP Faculty of interest to inquire about lab space and funding.

Due to NIH regulations, international students cannot be supported on the NTP T32 training grant.

Please note that in addition to the $75 non-refundable application fee, a $6.00 international document processing fee will also be charged. Both fees will be processed during the submission of your application.

Resources:

• International students will find numerous resources for funding on the International Student Services (ISS) site.
• The Grants Information Collection at UW–Madison lists resources for international students seeking funding.
• International students may be eligible for private loans from lenders. One such resource is The Global Loan.
• The Graduate School’s External Fellowship Database allows international students to browse fellowships for which they are able to apply.

International applicants will be asked to provide a financial statement after the program recommends admission. International financial information can be found on the Graduate School’s website, or by clicking here.

No. The final degree objective for all admitted students to the the Neuroscience Training Program is the Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy).