Graduate Programs in the Life Sciences
We are proud of the open and collaborative nature of the research conducted within the Life Sciences at Brandeis. Graduate students are critical to the research mission.
Our grad programs are small, and the graduate students benefit greatly from our tradition of interactive and interdisciplinary research. Laboratories frequently share students, and multi-laboratory publications and grants are common. This spirit of cooperation is exemplified in the Life Science umbrella program, a coalition of the Biochemistry and Biophysics, Molecular Cell Biology, and Neuroscience PhD programs, working together to provide an intellectually rich and supportive atmosphere for graduate education.
The Biochemistry & Biophysics, Molecular and Cell Biology and Neuroscience programs are stand-alone entities in terms of student requirements, but work together financially and administratively. Each program is interdepartmental, drawing research mentors from the faculty in the departments of Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. All three PhD programs follow the same lab rotation schedule, and seminar schedules are coordinated to avoid conflicts. Students in the Life Science graduate programs are encouraged to choose the lab that best suits their research interests. Stipends are guaranteed as long as students are in good academic standing.