askUSC

For ALL questions or inquiries regarding admission, financial aid, immigration matters, test scores, and transcripts use the askUSC student support website. For more detailed information and instructional videos, visit the USC Graduate Admissions Video link.

University Application Fee and Fee Waivers

The University application fee is $90.

USC offers several options for graduate application fee waivers. Please review these options before you submit your application, so you can make the appropriate selection to request a waiver. In order for you to apply with a fee waiver, the Office of Graduate Admission must approve your request before you can submit your application. If your fee waiver request is denied you must pay the application fee before submission. You can utilize a fee waiver only once so please make sure to apply to all the programs for which you would like to be considered at the same time. Visit here for more information.

Required Documents

The application to the Neuroscience Graduate Program requires the following materials to be uploaded to the on-line admissions system:

  • Transcripts* from all colleges and universities attended
  • CV or Resume
  • Statement of Purpose (Personal Statement)
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • GRE: not considered, please omit
  • TOEFL or IELTS scores**

*Transcripts: Review the Graduate Admission submission requirements.

**TOEFL/IELTS: Scores must be sent electronically to USC from the testing service for them to be considered official. Photocopies or paper copies of scores are not acceptable.

TOEFL: USC’s institution code is 4852. No department code is required.

IELTS: Select “University of Southern California” from the list of available institutions when you register to take the IELTS test. Alternatively, provide this information to your testing center after you have taken the test. Contact information for the USC department to which you are applying is not required.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: When listing undergraduate/graduate GPAs (Grade Point Averages) on the Application, please use the system of your university. If you received a percentage grade, provide the average percentage. If you were graded on a scale other than 4.0 (with 4.0 equal to an “A”), please indicate the average grade AND indicate the scale (for example, 8.5/10).

Statement of Purpose (Personal Statement)

The Statement of Purpose (Personal Statement) should be 2 pages (maximum) with the standard 1 inch margins and 12 font. Please use the statement of purpose (personal statement) to describe your research interest, as well as previous experience and your desire to join the NGP program.

Your personal statement (statement of purpose) should include the following elements:

1) Why you wish to pursue a graduate education.

2) Why you wish to join NGP at USC.

3) Why you are a good candidate for the program.

4) What your research interests are. Explain.

5) Detail all research experience and what you learned.

6) Your goal upon completion of the program.

The statement of purpose (personal statement) should be uploaded along with your CV/Resume in the documents section of your application.

Letters of Recommendation

In the Program Materials Section – Recommendation, applicants must enter 3 faculty recommenders.  All letters of recommendation are submitted through the online application system.

Once you have saved an electronic recommendation, an email request will automatically be sent to the recommender on your behalf. This can happen before the application is submitted.  Please advise your recommender to look for this email in their inbox, as well as their spam or junk-mail folder, as emails do occasionally get filtered out.

Additionally, all letters of recommendation are considered confidential and you waive your right to access.  It is the applicants responsibility to ensure that the letters of recommendation are submitted on time, before the December 1st deadline.

Recruitment Process

Applicants being considered for acceptance will be invited to participate in virtual interviews with faculty. Admitted students currently located within the United States will be invited to visit campus. Admission offers will be made by early March, and final decisions for all applicants will be made by April 15th.

International Applicants

If accepted to NGP and your degree is from an international institution, you will need to submit your documents for verification to IERF. Below is their contact information:

Email: usc@ierf.org

Tel: (310) 258-9451

Apply online: https://apply.ierf.org 

For more information, go to: www.ierf.org/usc 

Financial Support

All students admitted to the program are fully supported during their graduate training. Support is provided in many forms, including teaching assistantships, research assistantships, training grants, and University fellowships. All awards include full tuition remission, a monthly stipend for living expenses (for the 2025-2026 academic year: a minimum of $42,250 annually), and payment of student health insurance and student health center fees. All students are encouraged to apply for funding from external sources, which include the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Contacting NGP Faculty

Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty members at any time during the recruitment process to identify potential research interests at the University of Southern California.

Email addresses for each faculty will be found in the Faculty Directory.

Visiting USC

Applicants are more than welcome to visit the USC campus.  The NGP Office does not arrange these visits, including campus tours or laboratory tours outside of recruitment.  If you wish to schedule your own visit to USC please visit USC Graduate Admissions.

LA Life

For more information on life in Los Angeles please visit LA Life