Students must submit an application to the NIH to be considered for admission to the Brown-NIH Graduate Partnership Program. 

• NIH application must be submitted online, at the NIH GPP application website.
• An application to Brown University is not required at this stage, unless applicants wish to also be independently considered for admission to the Brown Neuroscience program. The application for that program online.

For more information about applying, including deadlines, see the Neuroscience Graduate Program website.

There is no application fee for NIH.

None. The GRE is not required.

Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate degree in a component discipline of neuroscience such as biology, psychology, neurobiology, chemistry, physics, applied mathematics, engineering, or computer science. However, the Program does not have any specific course requirements for successful admission.

All graduate students are fully supported during their time in graduate school, for up to five years. This includes a stipend, health insurance, and tuition waiver as long as the student remains in good academic standing. No forms for requesting financial support need to be submitted. For a more detailed explanation of NIH graduate student stipends, see the NIH intramural trainee stipends page.

View NIH Stipends

We ask competitive applicants to come to Brown and to the NIH for an interview visit. This visit allows candidates to meet the Program faculty trainers, see our research facilities, and interact with current graduate students. 

Admission decisions are typically announced by early March.

Students in the program are an important part of the neuroscience community at both institutions, while they spend the majority of the their time at NIH. Students' time at Brown is focused on completing the coursework requirements for the program. This comprises the entire first year of the program. Following the completion of these courses, students pass their Comprehensive Exams and then relocate to Bethesda, MD, to start their thesis research at the NIH. Students complete lab rotations at NIH and at Brown to help them select an appropriate NIH lab in which to do their research. After relocating to NIH, there are numerous occasions for students to travel to Brown, including required presentations at the Brown In-House Seminar Series, the tri-annual program retreat in Rhode Island, for their defense, and just to see friends and colleagues.

Funding is guaranteed for the first five years, and can be extended on a case-by-base basis. The average time to completion is slightly above five years.

Brown-NIH Graduate Partnership Program students are fully supported during their time in graduate school. Students receive a competitive stipend, tuition, health insurance, and health services fee. No financial support forms need to be submitted by applicants.

Students are supported by the NIH Graduate Partnership Program office for their first two semesters and subsequently by their mentors at the NIH.

All students attend conferences each year. Financial support comes primarily from the student's mentor at NIH, but additionally, there are awards available to students at NIH through the Office of Intramural Training and Education and through the Brown's Division of Biology and Medicine.

Your health insurance is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield and is covered by the program. The health insurance benefits are described on the Foundation for Advanced Education in Science (FAES) website.

A laboratory rotation consists of a one semester research project under the supervision of a Program faculty advisor. Students are required to complete a summer lab rotation at NIH prior to beginning the first semester of the program. GPP students do at most two rotations while at Brown, though they have the option of remaining in one lab while at Brown since they will have done one already and may do another upon return to NIH. Lab rotations allow students to experience the scientific research, environment, and mentorship style in several labs before joining an NIH lab for their thesis work.

Typically, graduate students select their Thesis Advisor prior to the start of their second year of study. Only approved faculty trainers can serve as full time thesis advisors. New faculty members can be added to the list of approved trainers after review by the program directors and the relevant NIH institute. In principle, any researcher at NIH performing neuroscience research can be a faculty trainer.

There are no teaching requirements. Students interested in teaching can TA courses in their second semester at Brown and, at NIH, through the Foundation for Advanced Education in Science (FAES), home to the graduate school on campus.