Neuroscience & Behavior Doctoral Degree Requirements

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral

Because of diversity in students' backgrounds, interests, and career goals, it is the intent of the program to provide a maximum of flexibility in individual training programs. NSB students are expected to fulfill the following requirements for the Ph.D.

1. Completion with a grade of B or better of at least the following courses within the first two years of graduate study: the NSB proseminar, two core courses, three electives, and at least one quantitative course. Eighteen credits of Ph.D. dissertation are also required.

2. Satisfactory completion and oral presentation of a major empirical research project within the first two years of graduate study. A formal Master's thesis is not required, although some students may elect this option within the same time period.

3. Passing the preliminary doctoral comprehensive examination no later than the end of the third year of graduate study.

4. Completion and oral defense of an original dissertation, normally within four years of entering the program (three years for students entering with a master's degree in a related field).

Students are urged to seek advice from their guidance committees concerning curricula, career plans, and especially research at the earliest opportunity. They should be aware that faculty members outside their specific research area may also be able to provide the kinds of valuable insights that will help them complete their requirements in a timely and beneficial manner.

Proseminar: All first-semester NSB students are required to take the NSB Proseminar, a one-credit, pass/fail course introducing the program and its faculty and covering such issues as research ethics, grant writing, and the art of oral presentations.

Core courses: Beginning in Fall 2001, all students entering the program are required to take the two core NSB courses, NSB 692C Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology and NSB 692D Functional Neuroanatomy. One is not a prerequisite of the other but both must be completed, with a grade of B or better, by the end of the second year. Their purpose is to provide a common base of knowledge for students from diverse undergraduate backgrounds.

Electives: Given the need for students to orient their studies toward their proposed research areas early in their graduate program, a number of existing courses are designated as NSB electives. Students must satisfactorily complete three of these courses (with at least two being at the 600 level or above) within the first two years of study, choosing from the following list.

Biochm 720 Biochemistry of Cellular Membranes

Biol 521 Comparative Anatomy

Biol 544 Ornithology

Biol 548 Mammalogy

Biol 550 Animal Behavior

Biol 564/565 Vertebrate Physiology

Biol 566/567 Comparative Physiology

Biol 568/569 Endocrinology

Biol 571 Biological Rhythms

Biol/Cmpsci/Psych 572 Neurobiology

Biol 573 Sensory Physiology

Biol 721 Developmental Neurobiology

Biol 750 Advanced Animal Behavior

Biol 780 Physiological Regulatory Mechanisms

Cmpsci 683 Artificial Intelligence

Cmpsci 691C Seminar: Computational Neuroscience

Micbio 721 Neurovirology

Psych/Biol 591 Primate Behavior

Psych 650 Brain Development and Behavior

Psych 711 Sensory Processes

Psych 721 Conditioning

Psych 723 Animal Learning

Psych 731 Neuroanatomical Bases of Behavior

Psych 732 Neurochemistry

Psych 733 Psychopharmacology

In addition, any course (or three-credit special topics seminar) at the 600 level or above taught by a member of the NSB core faculty may be used to satisfy the elective requirement. Students may substitute three journal clubs for one 500-level NSB elective. All three journal clubs must be led and graded by a faculty member. Students wishing to substitute journal clubs for an elective should submit to the graduate operations committee a memorandum requesting the substitution and including the reading lists or syllabi of the journal clubs.

Quantitative requirement: Every student must take at least one course to satisfy this requirement, which is determined by his or her guidance committee. In most cases, this involves successfully completing one or more statistics courses, such as: Psych 640 and 641 Statistical Inference in Psychology I, II; Bioepi 640 Intermediate Biostatistics; Statis 501 Methods of Applied Statistics; or Statis 506 Design of Experiments. However, the guidance committee may deem it necessary for the student to meet the quantitative requirement by taking other appropriate quantitative courses in areas such as bioinformatics or modeling.

Additional coursework: With strong recommendations from the guidance committee, students select courses in other areas, including genetics, embryology, cybernetics, histology, cell biology, and cell regulation, according to their chosen field of research, interest, and specialization. Students are also expected to take several advanced seminars and to regularly attend colloquia sponsored by the NSB program.

Major research project: Early in their careers, all NSB students are expected to gain experience in the design, conduct, and reporting of empirical research. Therefore, with the exception of individuals entering the program with a Master's degree in neuroscience or a related field, all students will be required to complete a major research project within the first two years of study. The format of the report must be agreed upon in advance by students and their guidance committees and should be presented in typical journal style with abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussions, and references. Following approval of the submitted report by the guidance committee, each student gives an oral presentation of findings to the entire NSB program.

Comprehensive exam: After completion of the major research project and before the end of the third year in the program, all students must pass a preliminary doctoral comprehensive examination. The final requirement of the Ph.D. program in Neuroscience and Behavior is the completion and defense of a doctoral dissertation.