The first year of the program is spent at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. During this time, students take advantage of the rich academic as well as research opportunities at Brown, form close bonds with their classmates in both graduate programs, reflect on the future direction of their thesis research, and otherwise enjoy their yearlong stay in the country's smallest state.

While at Brown, students fulfill all the coursework requirements for the program alongside their colleagues in the NSGP program. In addition, they pursue up to two lab rotations. While these rotations cannot serve to establish a thesis project at Brown, they can be very useful in acquiring research and interpersonal skills that will be useful to the student's future research at NIH. 

In addition to required coursework, a number of special activities and events are integral to graduate training at Brown, including seminars, journal clubs and ethics and skills workshop. For more information, visit the Neuroscience Program (NSGP) site.

Visit the NSGP site

Graduate students work, study, and conduct research on Brown's main campus in historic College Hill, at facilities in Providence's Jewelry District, and at affiliated sites throughout Rhode Island.
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Local Shared Facilities

• Molecular Pathology Core, COBRE Center for Cancer Research and Development, Rhode Island Hospital
• Proteomics Core, COBRE Center for Cancer Research and Development
• RI-INBRE Centralized Research Core Facility
• Marine Biology Laboratories, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Brown University is located in the city of Providence, the capitol of Rhode Island, at the head of the Narragansett Bay. An hour south of Boston and three hours northeast of New York City, Providence proper is home to roughly 175,000 people, and approximately 1.5 million live in the larger metropolitan area. The city is often touted as one of America’s most successful examples of urban renewal and also has a reputation for the colorful nature of its former city politicians. Two other local universities, Rhode Island School of Design and Johnson and Wales, add distinctive contributions to the city. Diverse and historic, bicycle friendly, and easy to explore by foot, Providence is an active center of art, culture, culinary diversity, education, and politics.

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