We are the NYU Neuroscience Predoctoral Interest League

If you are a graduate student who is part of NYU’s joint Neuroscience program, you are automatically a member of NeuroPIL. Opt-out forms are available on the internal website. If you are a postdoctoral associate, technician, or alumni in the Neuroscience Institute or Center for Neural Science, you can get information from NeuroPIL as an observer by filling out this form. If you are a graduate student of an adjacent department (ex: Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences or NYU Psychology), you are welcome to apply for membership. The NeuroPIL council will respond within a week with their decision.

Both members and observers are welcome to attend open council meetings, which occur at least once every 2 months. Members and observers are also welcome to attend town halls as a chance to interface directly with faculty and administrators every semester. Members and observers may request actions by the council, for example forming a committee, allocating funds, conveying information to the department or corresponding with the general membership. To request an action please contact the NeuroPIL council and you should receive a decision within two weeks. Members (but not observers) have the right to vote in the annual council election and in other instances when a general membership vote is called. Members are encouraged to serve on committees. Observers may serve on committees, pending approval by the committee chair.

If you’re a NeuroPIL member or observer, take a look at the upcoming events page. If you aren’t a member, please check our twitter for information about public events.

In February 2020, a group of 35 NYU neuroscience graduate students from both campuses met to start the process of formulating a student council. We wanted 1) to foster community among our members, 2) to lend a collective voice to our fellow graduate students, 3) to promote accountability from the administration and faculty of the program, and 4) to strive to ensure that the NYU Neuroscience program is an inclusive, accessible and equitable environment to all. A charter writing committee was formed to create a charter for the organization. After several rounds of feedback, the charter was ratified on May 13th, 2020 by a unanimous vote with almost 90% participation of the eligible student body.

NeuroPIL has formed several committees to address specific graduate-related issues on behalf of the student body. The organization of each committee is almost entirely self-determined once formed. If you are a NeuroPIL member or observer, find out more about how you can join or start a committee here. Additionally, our members are active in several organizations outside of both NeuroPIL and the joint NYU Neuroscience Graduate Program. Look at the resources link above for more information about some of those organizations.

There is a single application and admissions committee for the neuroscience graduate training program at NYU, which opens each September and closes in December. Upon acceptance into the program, each student is admitted into either the Doctoral Program in Neural Science (hosted by CNS) or the Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Physiology (hosted by the Neuroscience Institute), based in part on a match between each students’ interests and the research themes that are emphasized on each campus. Every accepted graduate student has access to courses, laboratories, and training programs offered at both institutions, regardless of the graduate program into which they are admitted. We encourage students to rotate in labs on both campuses and many students join labs on a campus different from the doctoral program into which they are admitted. Learn more about the PhD admissions process here. If you are applying to NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s MD/PhD program, you must submit your application through the American Medical College Application Service® by October 5, 2019, and then complete several additional steps after your initial submission. Learn more about the MD/PhD program admissions process here.

Email us at neuropilcouncil@gmail.com or fill out the contact us form below. Please include your name and how we should contact you.