Many of us who are drawn to science realize this at an early stage in life. For me, it began as an innate curiosity in the natural world — wondering why there were patterns in the stars, how the planets moved, why leaves were bigger on the shady side of the street, how insects could fly. The questions I ask in my laboratory today, studying cells, are different, but they originate from the same sense of curiosity that I felt as a boy.

At Rockefeller, curiosity is celebrated in a way that is virtually unequaled in the academic universe. Our faculty, who are among the most innovative scientists in the world, ask questions that are pushing the very boundaries of human knowledge. The answers they find in their laboratories yield new understandings about the workings of life and nature, and the discoveries they make have the potential to help eradicate disease and reduce suffering for millions of people around the world.

Our students are at the center of this research enterprise. Little formal coursework is required, and students chart their own paths toward their degrees, working side by side with our world-class faculty to design experiments, conduct research and interpret results, eventually developing a thesis and defending it in order to earn their degrees. Because the best way to learn science is by doing science, most of a student’s time is spent in the lab, working with and among a diverse community of exceptionally bright students and mentors from all over the world.

Perhaps most impressively, Rockefeller’s investment in science and in its students is unparalleled. Because the university exists solely to support science, every component of the administration is dedicated to helping scientists succeed. It is a community of scientists, run by active scientists (indeed, all members of our scientific administration, myself included, continue to run laboratories). Our laboratory buildings are among the most modern and well equipped anywhere, and our scientific resource centers offer state-of-the-art support services in areas such as bio-imaging, transgenics and genetic phenotyping. And, over the next few years, we will be investing an additional $300 million on new, modern laboratories that will be housed in two renovated historic buildings on the north part of our campus.

Your decision about where to pursue graduate studies will not be an easy one, and there are many fine institutions from which to choose. But Rockefeller is a truly exceptional place where independent and creative thinkers develop into extraordinary scientists. I hope you’ll consider becoming one of them.

Paul Nurse, President