In the mid-1970s, under the leadership of Eric Kandel, Columbia became one of the first universities to develop an integrated approach to research and graduate education in neuroscience.

Through the 1980s and 90s neuroscientists at Columbia increased their collaborative teaching activities. This collegial spirit along with academic resources spawned a new, free-standing doctoral program in neuroscience that combined the efforts of multiple faculty members.

In 1996 the NYS Department of Education approved an interdepartmental, dual-campus (Morningside and Medical School campuses) Doctoral Subcommittee in Neurobiology and Behavior, currently co-directed by Darcy Kelley, Carol Mason, and Ken Miller. Today the program has over 100 faculty members and over 80 students.

Faculty mentors in our graduate program hold appointments in a variety of departments in the university. These include the Departments of Neuroscience, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Genetics and Development, Neurology, Pathology and Cell Biology, Pharmacology, Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Psychiatry, Psychology, and Statistics.