VCAPP

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for admission, candidates must meet general Washington State University requirements outlined in the Graduate Study Bulletin in effect at the time of their admission, as well as the Neuroscience Program requirements.  Applicants for admission to the Neuroscience Program must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A=4.0) either on the basis of the last 60 graded semester or 90 graded quarter hours of undergraduate study or on the basic science portion (first 60 credit hours) of a professional curriculum.  Applicants generally will be expected to have completed courses in analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, physics and a minimum of three courses in different areas of the biological sciences.  Applicants are advised to have a basic statistics course prior to entering the Neuroscience Program.  Deficiencies in any of these areas must be cleared during the period of graduate study before the preliminary exam. 

The VCAPP Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) follows the policies outlined below when considering the admission of students to the Graduate Programs in Neuroscience or Veterinary Science.

Students on graduate assistantships should live in the state of Washington to be eligible for continued funding. All U.S. citizens will be expected to gain resident status in Washington by the end of one year. A resident is someone eligible to vote in Washington, has a Washington driver's license and has lived in the state of Washington for 12 consecutive months. Students are expected to become Washington residents if they want to be eligible for stipend funding. Non-United States citizens are exempt from this residency policy.

Graduate Program in Neuroscience

Ph.D. Candidates

The GSC targets to enter 3-4 new students a year into the Ph.D. program. 

Because of the design of our curriculum, it is preferred that students enter in the Fall semester, but students may also enter in the Spring semester under special considerations.

The GSC meets in January to review files of prospective students.  A student's file consists of an application to the WSU Graduate School, copies of previous academic transcripts, GRE scores, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement describing why the student is interested in studying neuroscience or veterinary science.  Foreign students must also include a TOEFL score.

Students receive a numerical score for their application based on the following formula (400 pts possible):

Objective items (200 pts possible):

• GPA (140 pts possible):  

The GPA is subdivided into overall GPA (28 total pts; 4 base pts); core science GPA (56 total pts; 8 base pts); and last 60 semester credits (56 total pts; 8 base pts).  Any value less than 3.0 scores no pts.  Base pts are assigned to a 3.0 and then a linear scale is used to assign additional pts for GPA's from 3.0 to 4.0.  The Graduate School requires that a student have at least a 3.0 in the last 60 semester credits in order to receive a WSU Teaching Assistantship.

• GRE scores (60 pts possible):

The percentile rankings of the three components of the GRE exam are averaged and then multiplied by 0.6.

Subjective items (200 pts possible):

• Match with departmental goals (140 pts possible)

Examples of items that improve this score are previous experience in scientific research (especially if published), career goals in scientific research or education, desire to work with a specific faculty member in the department, desire to work in an area of neuroscience well represented in the department.  Examples of items that detract from this score is no experience in science, stated desire to eventually get into veterinary school, desire to work in area of neuroscience not well represented in the department.  In addition, this score is used to adjust for the subjective evaluation of the quality of undergraduate education, both in terms of the reputation of the undergraduate institution and in the rigorousness of the selection of appropriate undergraduate courses (e.g., biology, chemistry, biochemistry, math, physics).

• Letters of recommendation (60 pts possible, 20 pts/letter)

The GSC first evaluates whether the student is acceptable for admission to the program.  Typically this requires that the student score at least 200 of the 400 possible points.  To obtain such a score a student usually needs to have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or greater (this is also a requirement of the Graduate School at WSU).  On occasion the GSC may recommend acceptance of a student with a GPA less than 3.0 if extenuating circumstances are found or the student shows exceptional promise in other factors used to evaluate the application.  Acceptance in these cases also requires special approval from the Graduate School. 

The top candidates are then identified and offered admissions to the program with a departmental stipend.  The department will typically provide stipend support for the first two years with the expectation that after two years the student will select a lab that can support the student for the reminder of their graduate work.  A lab that sponsors a student is expected to be able to show at least two years of external support at the time the student enters the lab.  However, if a lab experiences a funding lapse after a student has begun a project, the department, to extent that resources are available, will support senior graduate students until they finish their project.

Qualified students (those deemed acceptable but not offered a departmental stipend) can still be admitted if a faculty member agrees to financially sponsor the student.  For a faculty member to sponsor a student they must be able to show at least two years of future external funding support for their lab.

Master's Candidates:

Because the major goal of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience is to train independent scientific researchers, the Program does not actively promote the Master's degree.  However, because in certain circumstances, agreeable to both the student and the Program, a Master's degree is desirable, a Master's degree program is available.

Students applying to the Master's program must submit an application identical to that for a Ph.D., and the application is evaluated in a manner identical to that described for the Ph.D.

The same criteria are used to judge whether a student is acceptable to the Master's program as to the Ph.D. program.

For a student to enter into the Master's program they must also identify a mentor (sponsor) before they can be admitted.  This is because the time to complete a Master's Degree is so short (2 years) that the student and department need to know exactly what the student intends to do for a Master's project when they arrive.

The faculty member identified as the mentor must write a letter of support to the GSC indicating that the mentor is willing to sponsor the student in their laboratory.  For a faculty member to sponsor a Master's student they are typically required to demonstrate at least two years remaining on an externally funded project.

As a matter of policy, the VCAPP Department (or Neuroscience Program) typically does not provide financial support for Master's students (TA or RA, except as described below).  Departmental support is reserved for Ph.D. students.  Thus a Master's student typically must provide their own financial support for living expenses and tuition unless the Mentor is willing to provide such support.  Awarding a Research Assistantship is at the discretion of the mentor.

Admission to the Graduate Program in Veterinary Sciences

The Graduate Program in Veterinary Sciences has a less formal structure and is designed for maximal flexibility for students with specific goals related to veterinary sciences.  The design of a curriculum is at the discretion of the student's thesis committee as long as the curriculum satisfies the requirements of the WSU Graduate School.  However, unlike Ph.D. admissions to the Neuroscience Program, a student requesting admissions to the Veterinary Science program should have a specific mentor identified, a letter of support from the sponsoring mentor, and an outline of the program they hope to achieve.  Students in the Graduate Program in Veterinary Science have equal footing with students in the Neuroscience Program in terms of competing for departmental stipends.

COST OF STUDY

Graduate tuition each semester for the 2008-09 academic year was $7,550 for residents and $18,398 for nonresidents. Additionally, all students are responsible for the mandatory fees that include the Student Recreation Center fees of $120 per semester, Pullman Transit fees of $15, and Health & Wellness fees of $120 per semester, and others for a total of $526 per semester.  For half-time graduate assistants residing in Washington while attending school, some waivers ($3,105 per semester) are available for the resident operating fee portion of tuition, but those graduate assistants are still responsible for paying  the mandatory fees of $526 per semester. The Graduate Program in Neuroscience is a participant in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).  This program promotes the sharing of higher education resources among the participating 14 western states.  Graduate program applicants who are residents of any participating WICHE state benefit by paying Washington resident tuition rates. WICHE WRGP states include: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

FINANCIAL AID

Students in the program may receive assistantships, either for research (RA) or teaching (TA). In addition, health insurance benefits are provided. Scholarships, grants, and research or conference travel funds are available on a competitive basis from the graduate school and the program’s home department (VCAPP).  There are employment opportunities for spouses as technicians, clerical staff, and library workers.  The University Office of International Education coordinates the affairs of international students (509-335-4508). 

TEACHING AND RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS (STIPENDS)

Students in the program may receive assistantships, either for research (RA) or teaching (TA).  To receive assistantships, students must be enrolled full-time and registered for 15 credit hours per semester.  Assistantship appointments are for the semester (August 16 - December 31; January 1 - May 15).  RA support for the summer months may be available and is usually awarded for three months.  The table below shows monthly assistantship salaries for appointees who have been awarded in-state tuition waivers (effective Winter 2009).  Appointments are at Level II for those who have passed their Preliminary Examination.  Appointees work 20 hours per week at the stated rate (in addition to classroom hours).  Note: Once you begin your research project you will need to work additional hours in order to complete your thesis project.

Policies Regarding the Awarding of Assistantships:

• The VCAPP Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) has 10 -12 TA/RA stipends to award each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer). 
• The GSC has a policy to reserve 3-4 of these TA/RA for new incoming students.  Since the GSC intends to support these students for at least two years, this policy consumes 6-8 TA/RA each semester.
• The remaining TA/RA are assigned to senior graduate students based upon both their performance as a graduate student and their ability to assist in the class for which the TA is intended.
• Each January, the GSC requests from the faculty nominations for these TA/RA awarded to senior graduate students for the following Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters.  These nominations can come from the faculty research mentor or may come at the request of a course director.

LIVING AND HOUSING COSTS
A variety of affordable housing is available off campus as well as on campus in single- and multiple-apartment units, in graduate student residence halls, and in family student quarters. Rents are slightly below the national average, averaging $250-$850 per month, depending on size and quality of accommodations.