Requirements for the Ph.D. degree include one year of teaching experience, a survey course in neurobiology and behavior, and an orientation meeting with the Special Committee within the first three semesters at Cornell. The field has no formal language requirement, but one can be imposed by the student's Special Committee. The field also requires each student to give a publicly announced seminar as part of the dissertation defense.

Members of the faculty are especially interested in directing research in the areas they have specified in the list below. Before applying, prospective students may want to correspond with faculty members whose interests are most closely related to their own.