3. Graduate Education

Table 3a - Recruitment

The total number of applications to the 81 graduate training programs in the neural sciences in the 2000 survey was 4853, or 71.4 per program. That number is three times the number per program reported in the 1986 survey. Offers of admission doubled during the same time period, as did the number of students matriculating per program, which were 7.0 per program in 2000. 

Women represented 41% of the applicants, 50% of the students admitted, and 48% of those who began graduate training in the neural sciences in AY2000-2001. Students who are U.S. racial and ethnic minorities represented only 4% of the applicants, but they were 9% of the students admitted and 13% of those who matriculated. In contrast, students who are not U.S. citizens represented 46% of the applicants, but only 23% of the students admitted and 25% of those who began graduate training in U.S. institutions. On average, 68% of women applicants and 74% of applicants who were non-U.S. citizens accepted the offer of admission, whereas U.S. racial and ethnic minorities were much more likely to accept the offer (92%).

* Survey question #15

Table 3b - Academic Credentials of Entering Students

The academic credentials of students entering graduate programs in the neural sciences in AY2000-20001 were similar to those of students characterized in previous surveys. Average GRE scores in the quantitative and analytical sections of the exam have increased progressively, whereas scores on the verbal section decreased slightly. The average scores in the 2000 survey place incoming graduate students in approximately the 76th, 79th, and 78th percentiles, respectively, of all students who took the GRE exams. Ninety-one percent of the students had research experience before they began graduate training, which is a higher percentage than in the 1991 and  1998 surveys (81%, 78%, respectively).

The incoming graduate students had an average GPA in their college courses of 3.5 (i.e., midway between B+ and A-), as was seen in the previous surveys. Only 18% of the incoming students had an undergraduate major in Neuroscience or Behavioral Neuroscience. [Survey question #16, not asked in previous ANDP surveys.] Other common undergraduate majors were Biology (29%), Psychology (12%), and Chemistry (10%), and an additional 11% had dual majors including one or more of these disciplines.  

* Survey question #16

Table 3c - Total Predoctoral Students, and PhD Degrees Awarded, per Program

The number of graduate students per program varied widely, from less than 10 to more than 80 per program; however, 87% of the programs had 40 or fewer students. The number of graduate students in a program was closely correlated with the number of tenure-stream faculty members in that program (r = 0.62, p <0.001).

The mean number of graduate students per program has increased steadily since 1986, and is now 24. Women represented 47% of this population in AY1999-2000. Students who were not U.S. citizens represented only 19% of predoctoral trainees in U.S. institutions, a number similar to that observed in the 1991 and 1998 surveys; among that population, the largest number were from Asia (64%) and Europe (16%). 

The large increase in graduate students per program was not accompanied by a similar increase in Ph.D. degrees awarded by those programs, which rose from 2.6 per program in 1986 to 3.5 per program in 2000. Instead, part of this difference can be attributed to the students who left the graduate program without obtaining a Ph.D. degree, and part can be attributed to an increase in time to Ph.D. degree (Table 3d).

*Survey questions #18, 19, 21

Table 3d - Years in Program

The number of years in graduate training required to obtain a Ph.D. degree increased substantially between the 1986 and 1991 surveys, but it has changed little since then. In 2000, it took students 5.4 years on average to complete training, with 90% of the students doing so between 4 and 7 years. These numbers were virtually identical for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. 

Fewer than 10% of predoctoral trainees left their graduate programs without obtaining a Ph.D. degree. Among them, 49% were women, a number comparable to their representation in the total population of predoctoral trainees. Similarly, 25% of those who left were U.S. racial and ethnic minorities, and another 25% were non-U.S. citizens, numbers only slightly higher than their representations in the total population of predoctoral trainees. In all cases, these students left after 2.1 years of training, on average, with 93% doing so between 0.5 and 4 years. Many students (39%) left with a M.S. degree. A surprisingly high number (23%) of the domestic students (but only 5% of non-U.S. citizens) who left were in an M.D./Ph.D. program, and they either returned to medical school or began their medical internship or residency. [Survey question #21, not asked in previous surveys.] 

* Survey questions #20, 21

Table 3e - Placement of New Graduates with a Ph.D. Degree

Upon receiving their Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience, most graduates pursued further research training and accepted postdoctoral positions (61%), as was observed in the previous two surveys. Many went to medical school or began a medical internship or residency (14%). As in previous years, few graduates were employed outside of Neuroscience (4%) or were not yet employed (3%). (Data not obtained in 1986 survey.)

* Survey question #20

| Prog. Characteristics | Faculty | Grad. Education | Postdoc. Training | Diversity | Financial Support | Undergrad. Education | Summary | Conclusions | Report Home | ANDP Home |

February 22, 2007

Copyright © 2001 Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs, Bethesda, MD