Courses and Milestones

What is a Milestone?
A milestone is a learning activity that must be successfully completed in order to fulfill the requirements for the graduate degree. Milestone requirements are designed to meet program learning outcomes.

Minimum passing grade for all courses: 70%
Full program requirements are available within our Policies and Guidelines.

🎓Master’s Degree Requirements

🎓Doctoral Degree Requirements


Recommended for PhD students:

Own Your Future is the first curriculum-based professional development program in Canada, and is designed to complement doctoral students academic studies by preparing them for their future careers. The program supports development of six core competencies, all of which are essential to current and emerging careers for doctoral graduates.

Through Own Your Future, doctoral students will develop insight into their current skill set, focus their ongoing development on personally relevant outcomes, and learn to articulate and apply their strengths and abilities to their career goals. The program empowers students to take charge of their future by providing opportunities to develop the skills most relevant to their personal career aspirations.  

Neuroscience 9500: Principles of Neuroscience

This is survey course that stresses the development of critical thinking skills while covering major topics in integrative Neuroscience.  This course is mandatory for first year Neuroscience students. The course is team taught by members of the Neuroscience Program. In each class one or more research articles are discussed in a Socratic style requiring student participation. Grading is based on student participation in class discussions, an oral presentation of a research article and a written assignment.

The objectives of this advanced graduate level neuroscience course are:

A) To provide a forum for discussion on the types of experimental models and data analyses used in neuroscience research.
B) To teach students critical thinking skills of how to review, criticize, write, discuss and present experimental results.
C) To provide an overview of current topics in integrative neuroscience. 

Neuroscience 9601: Grant Writing

This course is only offered in the winter term (January - April).  Enrollment is restricted to students enrolled in the PhD Neuroscience program that have completed the new Comprehensive Assessment. This is a required course for all students entering the program on or after September 1, 2022

The purpose of this course is to train graduate students in preparing grant applications in order to improve their chances of future success in obtaining research funds. Students will be instructed on how to prepare a complete grant application package on a topic of their choosing, which will be prepared in stages. During the course, students will give presentations for their grant, and provide feedback.

Optional Graduate Courses

The following neuroscience-related courses are offered by various departments, however, not always in the current academic year. You must refer to department websites to see what courses are currently being offered. This list is not exclusive. Additional courses may be included from other disciplines such as biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, or mathematics.

  • Anatomy 9569 - Clinical Neuroanatomy
  • Biochemistry 9524 - Current Topics in Membrane Proteins (not offered 25/26)
  • Computer Science 9548 - Foundations of Machine Learning
  • Computer Science 9553 - Deep Learning Computer Vision
  • Computer Science 9642 - Programming for Scientists
  • Computer Science 9643 - Algorithms and Data Structures for Scientists
  • Computer Science 9860 - Machine Learning
  • Kinesiology 9444 – Biomechanics in Research and Practice
  • Kinesiology 9449 - Exercise Neuroscience (not offered 25/26)
  • *Medical Biophysics 9650 - MRI Concepts
  • Medical Biophysics 9663 - MRI Physics
  • Medical Biophysics 9709 - Biomedical Applications of Neural Networks (not offered 25/26)
  • Microbiology and Immunology 9311 - Neuroimmunology: From Homeostasis to Disease
  • *Neuroscience 9551 - Integrative Neuroscience
  • Philosophy 9230 - Issues in Philosophy & Neuroscience
  • *Psychology 9040 - Scientific Computing
  • Psychology 9041 - Introduction to Data Management and Linear Modeling Using R (not offered 25/26)
  • Psychology 9221 - Advanced Topic in Neuroscience (not offered 25/26)
  • *Psychology 9223 - Advanced Topic in Neuroscience: Neuroimaging of Cognition
  • Psychology 9231 - Evolution of Brain and Behaviour (not offered 25/26)
  • Psychology 9632 - Systematic and Scoping Review Methods  (not offered 25/26)

To register in most courses listed above, you must complete a request form and receive the instructor's approval. The completed form, signed by the instructor, should be emailed to neuroscience@uwo.ca when course registration opens for the relevant term. 

NOTE: Courses denoted with a * are eligibile for self-registration, and do NOT require a form:

  • FALL TERM: *MedBio 9650, *Neuro 9551, *Psych 9223
  • WINTER TERM: *Psych 9040