Graduate Biomedical Neuroscience Online Certificate Program

The field of neuroscience is a rapidly changing area that has a large impact on several fields of medicine including public health, public policy and sports medicine, as well as on the military and the pharmaceutical industry. The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in our understanding of normal brain function across the lifespan and how brain function is altered by aging and neurodegenerative disease. Diseases normally associated with the aging population are becoming more common and include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, diabetic neuropathy and brain tumors. Moreover, research efforts are revealing that many of the major public health problems of our society, including obesity and addictive behaviors, are intimately associated with neural systems.

The Graduate Biomedical Neuroscience Certificate is designed to provide postgraduate students and working professionals, whose professions are impacted by the field of neuroscience, with an understanding of normal brain function and the clinical expression and underlying pathogenesis of common neurological disorders. The certificate is based on successful completion of five courses covering topics that will provide students with the tools required to understand the most common nervous system-related issues facing our society today.

The Graduate Biomedical Neuroscience Certificate is offered by the College of Medicine at UF. This program is designed for working professionals as well as postbaccalaureate students who would like to improve their applications to either graduate or medical school. This program is offered fully online so students will not have to relocate or sacrifice commitments to their family or career in order to further their education and enhance their career. Please feel free to visit our Facebook page using the link https://www.facebook.com/BiomedicalNeuro/ or by searching the web using @BiomedicalNeuro.

Prerequisites/Requirements

Your application package will be evaluated by certificate program faculty. We will consider all aspects of your package when making our decision. You must have completed a BA or BS degree. Candidates with a strong science course background in Biology, Chemistry, and/or Physics are generally more successful in our program. Your cumulative undergraduate GPA should be 3.0 or higher. We evaluate your performance in science courses throughout your undergraduate career and the strength of your personal statement. Certificate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in order to be awarded the certificate by the UF graduate school.

Application Instructions

• Complete the UF Certificate Application located at UF Admissions Start.  Scroll down to “Certificate” and choose whether you are a currently enrolled UF student or new student.
  • List all previously attended institutions in the Academic History.
  • Upload copies of your transcripts or send them to the Academic Coordinator for the Certificate Program, Melissa Naidu
• Send your personal statement to the Academic Coordinator, Melissa Naidu. Your personal statement is a very important part of your application. It should explain your interest in our program, how you expect our program will help you to reach goals you have. Please include in your statement how you found out about our program whether through Facebook, online searches, or personal recommendations.
• For more information about the certificate program, you may also visit the Biomedical Neuroscience Distance Learning website.

Alumni Testimonials

Faculty Mentors

The teaching faculties for this graduate certificate are from the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology. The certificate, course and section coordinators are:

Sue Semple-Rowland, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neuroscience, MSc Program Director, lecturer, and course Director and sole lecturer for Fundamentals of Neuroscience (GMS6007), Neuroscience Professional Survival Skills (GMS7795), Biological Clocks in Neural Health and Disease (GMS6712), Brain Journal Club (GMS6029), Co-director and lecturer in Principles of Neuroscience I: Organization and Development of the Nervous System (GMS6021) and Functional Human Neuroanatomy (GMS6705).

Ronald Mandel, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neuroscience, lecturer and course director for Molecular Pathobiology of Neural Disease (GMS6750) and co-course director and lecturer for Functional Human Neuroanatomy (GMS6705) and Neurobiology of Behavioral Disorders (GMSXXXX).

Neil Rowland, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology, course director and sole lecturer for Topics in Psychology (Psychobiology of Eating and Obesity) (GMS7795/PSY6826) and Nobel Prizewinners in Neuroscience (GMS7795/PSY6930).

Matthew Sarkisian, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, lecturer and co-director of Principles of Neuroscience I: Organization and Development of the Nervous System (GMS6021) and Director and sole lecturer for Developmental Neurobiology (GMS6073)

Cost of Certificate

The tuition plus fees for this program are:

• Florida Resident $528.41 per credit hour
• Non Florida Resident $550.00 per credit hour

Part-time registration and financial aid: Graduate students should be aware that in order to qualify for most financial aid programs (federal, state, or institutional), students must be enrolled at least half-time. For financial aid purposes, a grad student must be enrolled for five hours during fall or spring term, four hours during summer term.