Welcome!
NGP is honored to train the next generation of neuroscientists, and we look forward to receiving your application to our PhD program.
Over the course of the upcoming year, our first-year students will experience a renewed curriculum and will have the opportunity to do rotations in laboratories of their choosing. As they complete and defend their dissertation, our graduating students further their scientific experience through post-doctoral training, or pursue careers in biotechnology and related fields.
NGP is a community made up of students and faculty from across USC, with a wide range of different backgrounds and research interests. We hope that you will consider being a part of this community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
– Ruth Wood, NGP Director
Program History
In 1982, the NIBS program (Neurological, Informational and Behavioral Sciences) began training graduate students under the direction of Dr. William O. McClure, Professor of Biological Sciences and Neurology. Dr. Richard F. Thompson, University Professor and Keck Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences, served as Director from 1989 to 2001. NIBS became NGP in 1994.
NGP, and neuroscience in general, continues explosive growth at USC. Presently, nearly 100 graduate students pursue their Ph.D. degrees within NGP. Incoming graduate students can choose to perform their dissertation research in laboratories of more than 120 NGP faculty members who hold primary appointments in over 20 departments in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, Viterbi School of Engineering, Keck School of Medicine, and the Schools of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Gerontology.
NGP is the only university-wide interdisciplinary doctoral program at USC, bringing together faculty and students from diverse experimental and academic backgrounds with the goal of coordinating neuroscience research and graduate training. NGP holds a special administrative place at USC, being overseen by the Dean of the Graduate School and the Office of the Provost.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP) at USC strongly believes that our commitment to culture and belonging is inseparable from our pursuit of scientific advancement through interdisciplinary study. We strive to cultivate a community of scientists whose diverse experiences and perspectives shape the foundations upon which we forge a more inclusive and vibrant graduate program.
The Final Scientific Frontier Is Right Here.
Our multidisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC, provides a world class training environment for advancing brain research, discovery, and application. Learn more about the program, our distinguished faculty and research areas, and how to apply here.
Ruth Wood, NGP Director
Dr. Wood is Professor of Integrative Anatomical Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She studies anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse and behavioral neuroendocrinology, the study of how hormones act in the brain to control behavior. She investigates the neurobiology of social and cognitive behavior, and how gonadal steroid hormones act in the brain during development and in the adult to effect sex differences and modify behavior.
