4 Year PhD Programme in Integrative Neuroscience
The application process for October 2009 intake has now closed.
Applications for October 2010 intake will be ACCEPTED from October 2009, application deadline 5pm 8th January 2010.
Supported by the Wellcome Trust
Fees: UK and EU students fully paid, non-EU students extra fee apply
Stipend: 2009 - approx £18K per annum; 2010 - £18,685K per annum (tax-free) subject to review
Places available: 5 (for entry in October 2010)
Entry Requirement: First or Upper Second Class in a relevant area (e.g. neuroscience, psychology, anatomy, physiology, natural sciences). This is a training doctorate, previous research experience is not essential.
Further information about how to apply - Click here
Why study Neuroscience in the Cardiff Neuroscience Centre (CNC)?
The Cardiff Neuroscience Centre (CNC) offers an exceptional research environment with world class facilities for all areas of neuroscience. The breadth and depth of our expertise ranges from the phenotypic analysis of single gene mutations to the characterization of gene-environment interplay in psychiatric and neurological, and from imaging intracellular calcium in single dendritic spines to combined EEG and fMRI during attentional tasks in humans.
The neuroscience researchers associated with the CNC are among the international leaders in their respective fields. Indeed, the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology has been awarded to Prof. Martin Evans of the School of Bioscience for his pioneering work on stem cells. Research labs are equipped with the most up-to-date facilities to address key questions of basic and clinical Neuroscience. All neuroscientists have substantial financial support that has been won in peer-reviewed competitions. Thus, PhD students have a great opportunity to join neuroscience research that is of the highest international standard, that is likely to result in publication in top neuroscience journals.
Why a Neuroscience PhD as a 4 year Programme?
Our 4 year Programme provides a broader and more in-depth practical and theoretical grounding in neuroscience than conventional 3 year programmes. Early in Year 1 you will receive formal lectures in research design, statistics, lab safety, animal welfare and ethical standards, and attend a series of specialized lecture courses in behavioural, cellular, molecular, genetic and system neuroscience. In the second part of Year 1, you will experience three 11-week laboratory rotations in internationally renowned labs of your choice. During the lab rotations, you will carry out research, gain knowledge of the questions addressed by the lab, and acquire direct experience of the relevant techniques. Lab rotations help you to reach an informed choice of the neuroscience area and supervisor you will choose for your full PhD project during Years 2 to 4. Throughout all the years you and your colleagues will participate in weekly seminars and presentations at journal clubs. The programme is designed to ensure an excellent PhD experience and an outstanding future.
Structure of Year 1 // Structure of Years 2-4
Why a PhD in Cardiff?
Cardiff is a vibrant cosmopolitan city, with all the social facilities of a modern capital. The pedestrian-only city centre and the nearby newly refurbished waterfront ‘Cardiff Bay’ district host many department stores and designer-label shops. Delicatessens and restaurants provide food and ingredients from many continents. There is a good mix of social and cultural venues for all tastes, including plays at the New Theatre and the Sherman Theatre, Opera and plays at the Wales Millennium Centre, film, plays and art at the Chapter Arts Centre and daily concerts at St. David’s Centre. For the sports fan, there is the Millennium Stadium, the Glamorgan Cricket ground, the Cardiff City football club and the Ice Hockey Rink. Last, but not least, there are plenty of friendly bars and clubs where you can celebrate the successes of your PhD research work, as well as recharge your batteries after the occasional setback! For those wanting a quieter pace of life, Cardiff is home to several beautiful parks, and is only a stone’s throw away from the tranquillity of the Wales heritage coastline and countryside including the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Student welfare and progress
On enrolment you will be assigned a Personal Tutor, Director of the 4-Yr PhD Programme, who will follow you throughout the four years of the course providing both academic advice and overseeing your general welfare. You will also be assigned the Schools of Biosciences as your ‘Home Department’. In Years 2-4 the student ‘Home Department’ will be that of your project supervisor.
Your progress will be monitored by a dedicated committee that will include the Programme Director, the Programme Deputy Director, The Director of Postgraduate Studies of the chosen School and the Personal Tutor. You will be part of the larger neuroscience community of academic researchers, postdocs and other neuroscience PhD students in the CNC. Career advice will be provided at the start of Year 4 to ensure proper progress to a suitable postdoc employment.
For further information, please contact: