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View of Northwestern University Medical School neighborhood from above Lake Michigan |
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Why the IGP?The Integrated Graduate Program in the Life Sciences (IGP) was established in 1990 to serve as an umbrella program for graduate student training in all basic science and clinical departments at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. This innovative program is designed with two goals in mind – to provide a structure for comprehensive, interdisciplinary training in modern biomedical sciences, and to allow graduate students maximum flexibility in choosing courses of study, research interests, and thesis advisors. The broad spectrum of research opportunities within the IGP serves all students well - not only those who enter graduate school committed to a specific research field, but also those who begin with many potential interests. |
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The University |
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| Northwestern University was established in 1851 to serve the people of the Northwest Territory, an area that now encompasses the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. Although it began in downtown Chicago, in 1853 the founders purchased a 379-acre tract of land on the shore of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of Chicago. The town that grew up around the University was named Evanston in honor of one of the University's founders, John Evans. After completing its first building in 1855, Northwestern began classes with two faculty members and 10 students. By 1900, the University had grown to include seven undergraduate and graduate schools with 2,700 students. Today, Northwestern is one the country’s largest and leading private research universities, with an annual budget of more than $1 billion and 5,700 employees. Approximately 17,500 full- and part-time students, including more than 2,300 full-time students in Graduate School programs, are enrolled in the University’s 12 colleges and schools. Two distinct campuses, one in Evanston and one in downtown Chicago, make up Northwestern University. The IGP faculty and laboratories are found on Northwestern University’s Chicago Campus, which since 1920 has been located between Lake Michigan to the east and North Michigan Avenue (Chicago’s "Magnificent Mile") to the west. The Chicago campus includes approximately 1,700 full-time students in the Feinberg School of Medicine, the School of Law, and a variety of Graduate School programs. In addition, more than 3,000 part-time students are enrolled in the evening program of the Kellogg School of Management and in the School of Continuing Studies. A large part of the McGaw Medical Center, an educational consortium of Northwestern University and five major independent hospitals, can be found on the downtown campus. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and the VA Chicago Healthcare System-Lakeside Division are located adjacent to the Medical School, while Children's Memorial Medical Center and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare are located elsewhere. View a Chicago Campus Map
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Faculty |
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| At present, more than 125 members of the research faculty on the Chicago campus participate as IGP preceptors. These faculty members are appointed in a variety of basic science and clinical departments. Their areas of research interest and expertise cover a broad range of modern biomedical sciences. These distinguished scientists are renowned for their research and publication records, their service on study sections and editorial boards, and the national and international conferences and symposia to which they are invited. Among the many awards and honors received by IGP faculty are Research Career Development Awards, MERIT Awards, Searle Scholar Awards, honorary degrees, and various national and international research honors. In addition to the traditional basic science and clinical departments, IGP and other Feinberg School of Medicine faculty comprise collaborative groups as members of interdepartmental centers. These include, among others, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the Institute for Neuroscience, the Center for Structural Biology, the Center for Biotechnology, the Immunobiology Center, the Center for Reproductive Science, the Center for Genetic Medicine, and the Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology.
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Facilities |
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| A high level of research funding and a strong commitment to expanding the research enterprise offer IGP students an outstanding environment in which to become successful, independent research scientists. Last year, research at Northwestern University was supported by $236 million in extramural research funds, nearly half of which was secured by Medical School faculty. Most of the research laboratories of IGP faculty are contained within four connected buildings, making extensive collaborations and interactions both easy and commonplace. With an eye towards increasing the size and scope of its research, in 2005 the Feinberg School of Medicine opened the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center and added more than 200,000 net square feet of research space. Located about two miles from the downtown campus, the Children's Memorial Research Center (CMRC), Illinois' only free-standing facility dedicated to pediatric research, recently celebrated its five-year anniversary with nearly $12 million in external grants and contracts. A number of IGP faculty members conduct research at CMIER and collaborate with scientists throughout the University. Research at the Feinberg School of Medicine is also supported by a number of core facilities. These include the Biological Electron Microscope Facility, the Biotechnology Services Facility, the Confocal Microscope Facility, the Flow Cytometry Facility, the Keck Biophysics Facility, the Lurie Cancer Center Central Facilities, the Macromolecular Crystallography, Spectroscopy, and Computation Facility, the Materials Research Center Facililties, the Transgenic Mouse and Targeted Mutagenesis Facility, and the Biochemical and Molecular Pharmacology Facility. The Galter Health Science Library contains more than 275,000 volumes, including 1,900-plus journal and serial subscriptions. Reading rooms are located at each end of the second floor, providing study tables, lounge seating, and networked carrels for use with laptop computers; 10 group study rooms are also available. The Barnes Learning Resources Center includes 50 workstations with computers and other hardware for viewing audiovisual material. The library's Web site at www.galter.northwestern.edu provides access to important databases at Northwestern as well as Internet and Web resources deemed critical to the missions of the Medical School. Along with Northwestern University's online catalog, NUcat, electronic library users may access Ovid MEDLINE, PSYCHLIT, BIOSIS, and SCISEARCH and a growing collection of electronic, full-text journals. The Galter librarians take advantage of the latest trends in information technology to deliver information to users when and where they need it. Many departments and centers within the Medical School also have reading rooms containing relevant journals and books.
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Student Life |
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| The IGP has approximately 125 pre-doctoral students representing widely distributed areas of the United States and other countries. IGP students share courses and labs with members of other life science programs, such as the Northwestern University Institute for Neuroscience (NUIN) and the Interdepartmental Biological Science program (IBiS). Several students enrolled in the combined MD/PhD degree program receive their graduate training in the IGP. The Chicago campus is also home to more than 200 postdoctoral fellows. Typically, IGP graduates go on to postdoctoral work to continue their training in preparation for careers in research at universities or in industry. However, several students each year choose less "traditional" career paths, including business, teaching, law, medicine, consulting, and scientific writing. Specific placement data for recent graduates can be found here. The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago are a short distance away from the Chicago campus via public transportation. Faculty members, postdoctoral students, and graduate students at Northwestern are engaged in many formal and informal collaborations with colleagues at these institutions. Chicago is home to a number of other colleges and universities as well. Several years ago, IGP students participated in forming the Chicago Graduate Student Association (CGSA). The CGSA elects officers each year who plan and organize its activities. The CGSA serves as a student advocate with the University administration, organizes monthly seminar programs, and initiates myriad social events including parties, dances, and trips to professional sporting events.
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Housing |
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| University housing for graduate students, providing room and board, is available just a short walk from classrooms and laboratories. Two Northwestern-owned high-rise buildings, Abbott Hall and Lake Shore Center, look out over Lake Michigan. Lake Shore Center houses a swimming pool, a gymnasium, handball and racquetball courts, a sun deck, and a bar and grill, all of which are shared with the residents of Abbott Hall. Also on campus are the Galter Carriage House and Worcester House, which offer studio and one-bedroom apartments. Most IGP students depend on off-campus housing in nearby neighborhoods that are easily accessible by public transportation. The famous Old Town neighborhood, a short distance north of the school, is characterized by quiet, tree-lined streets and myriad shops, taverns, and theaters. The Bucktown/Wicker Park area, located to the west, is known for its cafes, bookstores, nightclubs, and ethnic dining. Lincoln Park, with its world-famous zoo, and Wrigleyville, the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, are also a short distance away. These areas are great for bookstore browsing, ethnic cuisine, and entertainment. The Gold Coast, located immediately north of the Medical School, is expensive but within walking distance to campus and Michigan Avenue stores. Further north are Uptown, Ravenswood, Edgewater, and Rogers Park, followed by Evanston, the first suburb north of Chicago. Convenient bus and elevated train routes and schedules make for easy commuting to the Medical School from a variety of Chicago or suburban neighborhoods. Click here for additional information about housing options for incoming IGP students.
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Living and Working in Chicago |
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| Located as it is in the heart of Chicago, Northwestern’s downtown campus is close to a variety of recreational, entertainment, housing, and transportation opportunities. The campus complex sits on four blocks between Lake Michigan and the city's famous "Magnificent Mile", the stretch of Michigan Avenue that runs from the Chicago River to Oak Street Beach and includes some of the best shops, restaurants, and hotels in the city. Within two blocks of the Medical School's Ward Building are both the Museum of Contemporary Art and the 19th century limestone Water Tower, one of the few structures to survive the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. In the immediate neighborhood are several movie theaters and restaurants, as well as grocery, department, book, music, clothing, and drug stores. Lakeshore Park, with its tennis courts, running track, and softball fields, and Lake Michigan, with its jogging, skating and bicycle paths, are just steps away. Within easy walking distance south of the campus are such landmarks as the Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, Adler Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium. Grant Park, also just south of campus, plays host to festivals and free concerts throughout the summer months. A short distance north leads to Lincoln Park and its jogging paths, tennis courts, golf course, and zoo. Also located nearby is the Chicago Historical Society and Chicago Academy of Sciences. Familiar to many visitors to Northwestern is Chicago’s skyline, a remarkable backdrop to life in the city. Surrounding the downtown campus are reminders that the architecture which shaped the entire country began in Chicago, where the skyscraper was first developed more than 100 years ago. The Home Insurance Building located in Chicago’s famous "loop" was a pioneer in metal-frame skyscraper technology in 1885. The world-renowned designs of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School and the modern glass and steel skyscrapers epitomized by the John Hancock Building and the Sears Tower characterize this great Midwestern city. Without question, Chicago is truly a "world class" city, offering a rich blend of cultural performances, ethnic neighborhoods and restaurants, professional and college sporting events, and architectural masterpieces. Northwestern students and faculty can choose from a dazzling array of cultural and entertainment venues - from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera to the biggest names in rock, jazz, and blues; from the more than 120 professional and community theater companies to the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Bears; or from Chicago’s famed chop and steak houses to the original home of the Chicago-style pizza. In truth, America’s "Second City" stands second to none.
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Financial Support and Fellowships |
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All entering IGP students (including foreign nationals) are supported by a Northwestern University Fellowship that provides a living stipend, full tuition support, and paid coverage in the NU student health service and insurance plan. IGP students are guaranteed continued support throughout their graduate career as long as they continue to make satisfactory progress towards the PhD degree. Entering students are provided full tuition and a stipend for the first six quarters from pre-doctoral fellowships provided by the IGP and the Feinberg School of Medicine. As graduate education continues, all students in good academic standing continue to receive full tuition support and stipends for living expenses for their entire residency at Northwestern. After the first six quarters, students are supported from a variety of sources, including faculty research grants, NIH funded training grants, outside scholarships, teaching assistantships, or special graduate fellowships. |
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[IGP home] [General Info] [Admissions] [Curricula] [Faculty] [Program of Study] [SEARCH IGP] |
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