Neuroscience Training Program

NTP Seminar and Subgroups

Subgroup Purpose:

Subgroups have been an integral part of the Program since its inception. These special-topics seminars are designed to accomplish two goals:

  1. to provide curricular breadth representing, as best as possible, the wide diversity of our field;
  2. to develop presentation skills through Subgroup-associated seminar talks.

External reviewers of the T32 have often identified the Subgroup requirement as an important strength of the program. Use this opportunity to learn about unfamiliar topics and increase your breadth of knowledge in neuroscience!

Subgroup Requirements:

  • Students in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year are required to participate in one subgroup each semester.
  • Students in their 4th year (or beyond) are required to take one subgroup each year.
  • All students are required to enroll in NTP 900 each semester and attend Monday afternoon seminar.
  • All students are required to present 2 subgroup talks over the course of their program.
    • All students are expected to give at least 1 subgroup talk by the end of their 2nd year.
    • Each year, students are invited to volunteer for subgroup talks. If there are not enough volunteers, the NTP Office works through a priority list to assign speakers. If you are curious about the priority list or where you sit on the list, please contact the NTP Office.

Note on a transition to the new subgroup system (effective beginning with the incoming class of Fall 2023):

  • Students who have already given 2 subgroup talks will be required to give 1 research talk (current system).
  • Those who have already given 1 subgroup talk will give 2 research talks.
  • Those who have given 0 subgroup talks will be required to give 1 subgroup talk and 2 research talks.
  • All current students will take a minimum of 4 subgroups.
  • The NTP Office will confirm the requirements with each student, and address any special cases not captured by this plan.

Subgroup Assignment Process:

  • Subgroups need to be balanced in enrollment. The number of seats available in a given subgroup is simple math (total number of seats needed / total number of subgroups = number of seats in a subgroup).  Sometimes we make minor adjustments, but we use this as a solid guide.
  • Students in their 4th year (or beyond) are assigned first – we need to be sure they are in a subgroup. 
  • Students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd year are assigned based on their preferences. In recent years, we’ve been able to assign everyone within their top 2 choices.