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Revised August 2000
Requirements
Neuroscience and Behavior students will
be expected to fulfill the following requirements for the
Ph.D. degree
- Completion with a grade of B or better
in at least the following courses within the first two years
of graduate study: The Proseminar, two core courses, three
electives, and at least one quantitative course. Eighteen
credits of Ph.D. dissertation are also required for the
Ph.D.
- Satisfactory completion and oral presentation
of a major empirical research project within the first two
years of graduate study. A formal Master's thesis will not
be required, although some students may elect to pursue
this option within the first two years of graduate study.
- Passing the preliminary doctoral comprehensive
examination no later than the end of the third year of graduate
study.
- Completion and oral defense of an original
dissertation. It is expected that the dissertation will
normally be completed within four years of entering the
program (three years for students entering with a Master's
degree in a related field).
Students are strongly recommended to seek
advice and guidance from their committees concerning curricula,
career plans, and especially research. Faculty members outside
the student's specific research area often provide valuable
insights concerning these matters and may be able to facilitate
greatly the completion of requirements in a timely and beneficial
manner. Thus, formation of committees as soon as possible
and subsequent meetings to follow the student's progress are
encouraged.
Coursework
Proseminar
All incoming NSB students are required to
take the NSB Proseminar during their first semester in the
program. The Proseminar is a 1-credit, pass/fail class that
introduces students to the program and its faculty, and covers
issues such as research ethics, grant-writing, and the art
of oral presentations.
Core Courses
All students entering the program in the
Fall 2000 or later are required to take two core courses in
Neuroscience and Behavior. These courses can be taken in any
order, but both must be completed (with a grade of B or better)
by the end of the second year. The core courses are intended
to provide a common base of knowledge in contemporary neuroscience
for students from diverse undergraduate backgrounds. The core
courses are:
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology
(NeuroS&B 692C)
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, and Behavior (NeuroS&B 692D)
Electives
While we wish to encourage breadth in the
curriculum, we recognize that it will be necessary for students
to orient their programs of study toward their proposed areas
of research early in their graduate study. Therefore, a number
of existing courses are designated as NSB elective courses.
Each student will be required to satisfactorily complete three
of these courses (in addition to the two core courses described
above) within the first two years in the program. At least
two of the three electives must be 600-level or above. The
following lists the courses from which students may choose.
In addition, any course (or 3 cr. 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. Effective
January 1, 2001, students may substitute three journal clubs
for one 500-level NSB elective. Each of the three journal
clubs must be graded and led by a faculty member. Students
wishing to substitute journal clubs for an elective should
submit to the Graduate Operations Committee a memo requesting
the substitution and the reading lists/syllabi of the journal
clubs.
Biology 521 Comparative Anatomy
Biology 523 Histology
Biology 544 Ornithology
Biology 548 Mammalogy
Biology 550 Animal Behavior
Biology 564/565 Vertebrate Physiology
Biology 568/9 Endocrinology
Biology 566/567 Comparative Physiology
Biology 571 Biological Rhythms
Biology 580 Developmental Biology
Biology 750 Advanced Animal Behavior
Psychology/Biology 591 Primate Behavior
Psychology 591 Adv. Topics in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
Psychology 617 ABCD (Applied & Basic Cognitive Development)
Psychology 630 Research Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience
Psychology 650 Brain Development and Behavior
Psychology 711 Sensory Processes
Psychology 721 Conditioning
Psychology 723 Animal Learning
Psychology 731 Neuroanatomical Bases of Behavior
Psychology/ 732 Neurochemistry
Psychology 733 Psychopharmacology
Psychology 891A, Regulation of Energy Balance and Obesity
NeuroS&B 691A Modeling the Brain:
Perception and Learning
NeuroS&B 891E, Landmark Papers in Sexual Differentiation
Biochemistry 720 Biochemistry of Cellular
Membranes
Computer Science 581 Neural Modeling
Computer Science683 Artificial Intelligence
Microbiology 721 Neurovirology
Quantitative Requirement
All students must take at least one graduate
level (500 or above) course to satisfy the quantitative requirement.
The course(s) to be taken will be determined by the student's
guidance committee. In most cases the requirement will be
satisfied by taking one or more statistics courses, such as:
Psychology 640 and 641, Statistical Inference
in Psych II
Public Health 640, Intermediate Biostatistics
Statistics 501, Methods of Applied Statistics
Statistics 506, Design of Experiments
However, if the guidance committee deems
it appropriate, the quantitative requirement can instead be
met by taking other appropriate quantitative courses in areas
such as bioinformatics, modeling, etc. Thus, students will
be required to complete, with a grade of B or better, a minimum
of 6 courses (2 core courses, 3 electives, and 1 quantitative
course) within the first two years of graduate training.
Coursework in other areas, including genetics,
embryology, cybernetics, histology, cell biology, and cell
regulation, will be strongly recommended by the Guidance Committee
in relation to an individual student's chosen field of research,
interest, and specialization. Students will also be expected
to take several advanced seminars, and to regularly attend
colloquia sponsored by the NSB program.
Upon entering the program, each student
will be consulted and assigned a faculty advisor whose research
interests most closely match those of the student. The student,
in conjunction with his/her advisor, will then choose two
additional faculty members to serve on his/her Guidance Committee.
The Guidance Committee should be formed no later than November
1 of the student's first semester and the composition of the
committee transmitted to the Chair of the Graduate Operations
Committee. Two of the three members of the Guidance Committee
must be core NSB faculty and one member must be from a department
other than that of the student's major advisor. Postdoctoral
fellows may serve as fourth members of the Guidance Committees.
The function of the Guidance Committee is
to supervise and evaluate the student's coursework and Major
Research Project (see below). The committee will first assist
the student in the development of a curriculum plan, taking
into account the student's proposed research area as well
as the need to prepare for the Preliminary Doctoral Comprehensive
Exam taken in the third year of graduate study (see below).
In this context, the Guidance Committee will determine whether
there are areas of weakness or deficiency that warrant specific
coursework in addition to the normal core and elective requirements
of the NSB program. The Guidance Committee will also determine
how the student will fulfill the quantitative requirement
(see above).
At the end of the second year of graduate
study, the Guidance Committee will evaluate the student's
laboratory work, coursework, and written and oral presentations
of the Major Research Project, and will make a formal recommendation
to the Program Director as to whether the student should continue
in the program.
It is important for all NSB graduate students
to acquire, early in their careers, experience in the design,
conduct, and reporting of empirical research. Therefore, except
for students 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 their first two
years in the program. Students should sign up for NSB 696,
Independent Study, to get credit for Major Research Project
work. This project, chosen after consultation with the
student's advisor and Guidance Committee, should be original
and empirical. The work will normally be carried out in the
laboratory of the student's major advisor. A written Major
Research Project Proposal should be approved by the
members of the student's Guidance Committee and submitted
to the Chair of the Graduate Operations Committee before November
1 of the second year in the program.
When the Major Research Project has been
completed, students should submit to their guidance committee
a written abstract of their work that is no longer than one
page in length. The student will next give an oral presentation
of their findings to the entire NSB Program, with the guidance
committee in attendance. Following the presentation the student
will defend the project to his/her committee members. This
process must be completed no later than November 1 of the
third year in the program.
It is anticipated in most cases that the
Major Research Project will comprise the Preliminary Results
section of the grant component of the Comprehensive Exams
to be completed in Year 3 of the program.
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Preliminary
Doctoral Comprehensive Examination
General
Prior to the start of the third year in the program, all students must pass a preliminary doctoral comprehensive
examination. This examination will serve both an educational
and evaluative role. Its objectives are twofold: 1) to enable
the student to develop and demonstrate a level of scholarship
and knowledge in his/her chosen area of study that is appropriate
for the doctoral level neuroscientist, and 2) to demonstrate
the student's critical, integrative, and theoretical abilities
within the broader scope of Neuroscience and Behavior. Students
may not register for NSB 899, Ph.D. Dissertation, prior to
completing the preliminary doctoral comprehensive examination.
NeuroS&B 696 or NeuroS&B796, Independent Study, should
be used instead.
Format of the Preliminary
Comprehensive Doctoral Exam ("Comps") - revised
May 2006
I. Comprehensive Doctoral Examination will
be divided into two components: i) a written examination,
ii) a grant application (prepared either in National Research
Service Award or National Science Foundation format).
II. The "examination" part of
the Comps will be given at the end of the third week in January
of the student's second year (i.e., third semester) in the
program.
Three weeks before the date of the exam,
students will be assigned several papers (usually four) from
the primary scientific literature (1 paper for each examination
area), which might be accompanied by relevant review articles.
The students will also be given a set of study questions to
be determined by the examining committee. The exam itself
will be based on the assigned papers as well as pertinent
background questions, all designed to probe the students'
understanding of the rationale, methods, conclusions, and
limitations of each paper. NSB Program faculty members will
be responsible for assigning each paper, drawing up the study
and exam questions, and grading each part of the exam.
Each exam will be graded blind (i.e., student
identity will not be known to the examiners) on a scale of
0-10, with half points allowed (e.g., 8.5). A passing grade
on each exam is considered to be a score of 8.0 or higher.
In order to pass the examination part of the Comps overall,
students must receive an average grade of at least 8.0 (i.e.,
a total score of 32 for the four exams). If a student fails
to achieve this average, then the examining committee (the
writers of each set of questions) will convene with the GOC
in order to review the student's record in the NSB Program.
The student's advisor will be notified of the failing grade
and will be asked to provide additional feedback concerning
the student's aptitude. If the student has not been making
adequate progress in the program with respect to her/her coursework
and research, then the joint committee has the option
of recommending to the Director of the NSB Program that the
student be denied qualification for the Ph.D., in which case
the student will be given the opportunity to write up his/her
Major Research Project (MRP) results to obtain a terminal
Master's degree. Termination decisions will be made by consensus
of the GOC and the Director. Students will be given the opportunity
to appeal this ruling to the GOC and the Director before the
termination decision has been finalized. If the student
has been making good progress in the program with respect
to his/her coursework and research, then s/he will be
offered the opportunity to remain in the program but with
a probationary status. In such cases, the student will be
required to retake the Comps exam the following spring and
must pass the exam at that time or s/he will be terminated
from the program with the Master's degree option as described
above.
III. The written "NRSA" part of
the Comps will be due on September 1st of the student's 3rd
year in the program. Normally, the results of the student's
MRP are expected to provide the preliminary data for the NRSA,
thereby integrating these two training components more closely;
however, this is not required if the MRP project does not
provide a promising basis for further research. The grant proposal should be submitted to all members of the student's Guidance Committee. Guidance Committee members each evaluate the proposal and grade it as "pass" or "fail". If a student who has already failed
the exam portion of the Comps also fails the NRSA component,
s/he will be terminated from the program with the Master's
degree option available. Students who pass the exam portion
but who then fail the NRSA component will be evaluated as
outlined in section II above and either given one more opportunity
to rewrite and defend the proposal or be recommended for termination
from the program with the Master's degree option. The deadline
for a second defense of the NRSA proposal will be December
15th of that year.
Students are encouraged to refine
and submit their NRSA proposals to NIH or another appropriate
granting agency. In this regard, it should be noted that there
is a January 10th deadline for NIH Kirschtein-NRSA proposals,
which allows ample time for the student to work with his/her
advisor to refine the proposal from its original version and
with the benefit of comments and suggestions from the MRP
committee and the open presentation.
Doctoral
Dissertation - revised May 2006
The dissertation committee should
be formed by the student in consultation with his/her advisor
no later than May 1st of the third year in the program. The
committee must consist of at least four members of the graduate
faculty, from at least two different departments, and including
at least three NSB core faculty members. Committee members
will be available for advising and consultation throughout
the planning, execution, and writing of the dissertation.
In accordance with Graduate School requirements, the student
should inform the Chair of the Graduate Operations Committee
(GOC) as to the proposed membership of the Dissertation Committee.
The GOC Chair will then nominate these individuals to the
Graduate School, which carries out the actual appointment
of faculty to such committees. As with the Guidance Committee
it is recommended that dissertation research be discussed
with, and preferably approved by, the Dissertation Committee
before the student invests too much time in the proposed research.
To facilitate this goal, Dissertation Committees are required
to meet with students at least once each year to discuss
the student's progress as well as possible changes in the
research plan. The NSB Program will be notified of such meetings
by e-mail or written memo from the committee chair (dissertation
advisor) to the program manager (Linda Witt) for inclusion
in the student's permanent file.
A dissertation proposal outlining
the student's planned dissertation research must be submitted
to his/her Dissertation Committee for approval and submission
to the Graduate School. The deadline for submission of
a draft proposal to the Dissertation Committee is November
1st of the student's fourth year in the program. After
making any revisions of the proposal that have been requested
by the Dissertation Committee, the student should submit the
approved and signed proposal to the Graduate School by December
15th. A photocopy of the signed proposal must also be submitted
to the Chair of the GOC for inclusion in the student's file.
The dissertation proposal should contain:
a. A statement of the research problem or
question that the student proposed to investigate.
b. A review of the background and rationale of the problem.
c. A clear statement of the hypothesis to be tested.
d. A description of the proposed experiments, the methods
to be used, and potential interpretation of the results.
e. An accurate bibliography
Preparation of the dissertation and the
dissertation defense will be held in accordance with Graduate
School regulations. Students should consult the Graduate School
Checklist for Doctoral Degree as well as the Graduate School
Handbook for full information.
To facilitate adequate preparation and defense of the doctoral
dissertation, the following procedures and timetable should
be adhered to.
(1) The student should hold a "predefense"
meeting with his/her Dissertation Committee approximately
6 months before the anticipated defense. At this time, the
student will present a "progress report" and discuss
any problems that have been encountered and/or any change
in research plans since the last committee meeting.
(2) The final defense will have two parts:
(a) a formal defense with the Dissertation Committee (and
any other Graduate Faculty who wish to attend), and (b) a
later public presentation of the dissertation to the entire
NSB Program. The NSB Program office and the Graduate School
must be notified of the date of the formal dissertation defense
1 month in advance.
(3) Dissertation Committee members should
be given at least 2 weeks to read a draft of the dissertation
that has been prepared by the student and deemed acceptable
to go to the committee by the student's advisor. The committee
must approve this draft as being suitable for defense before
the defense can be held. If revisions are required at this
time, then such revisions will be made and the revised version
of the dissertation provided to the Dissertation Committee.
All committee members must deem the dissertation to be acceptable
for formal defense by the student. If necessary, the defense
will be postponed by notification of the Graduate School and
the NSB Program until the draft dissertation has been approved
by the Dissertation Committee. Note, however, that if at any
time the chair of the Dissertation Committee believes that
another member of the committee has acted inappropriately
or unfairly in preventing the formal defense to proceed, then
s/he and the student may appeal to the GOC.
(4) At least 1 week prior to the date of
the formal defense, an announcement will be sent to all NSB
Program faculty members so that any faculty member who wishes
may attend the defense. However, there will not be a general
program announcement at this time. Instead, once the student
has successfully defended the dissertation at the formal defense
(i.e., received a "pass", pending revision of the
dissertation in accordance with the suggestions of the Dissertation
Committee), then a public presentation will be scheduled shortly
thereafter by the NSB Program office and announced to all
program members. The public presentation is required in order
for the NSB Program to approve the final dissertation. If
the student fails to successfully defend his/her dissertation
before the Dissertation Committee, then he/she will have an
opportunity to revise the dissertation and prepare for another
defense. In the unlikely event that the student also fails
the second defense before the Dissertation Committee, then
the student will be subject to termination from the NSB Program
by order of the GOC.
In addition to the four major requirements
listed above, all NSB graduate students are expected to participate
in several other aspects of the program. Students should participate
in, and regularly attend, NSB advanced seminars, journal clubs,
and colloquia.
All students will be required to fulfill
a teaching requirement. The way in which this requirement
can be met is left to each student's Guidance, Preliminary
Exam, and Dissertation Committee, but the intent is to give
the student experience in teaching, not merely in the duties
often associated with teaching assistantships such as grading
examinations. There is a range of ways in which this teaching
requirement might be met. These include, but are not limited
to, the student giving 2 or 3 guest lectures in an appropriate
class, by being a Teaching Assistant in a course in which
the Teaching Assistant actually teaches, such as in a laboratory
course, or by teaching a Continuing Education course. The
student must transmit the proposal for completing this requirement
to the Chair of the Graduate Operations Committee for approval,
and the Chair of the Graduate Operations Committee must be
informed of its successful completion.
Master's Degree
Students will not be admitted to the NSB
program for a terminal Master's degree; however, any student
in the program may petition to earn an M.S. in Neuroscience
and Behavior while completing requirements for the Ph.D. In
addition to those requirements specified by the Graduate School,
requirements for an M.S. degree in Neuroscience and Behavior
will be:
- Completion of the Proseminar, two core
courses, two electives, and one statistics course with grades
of B or better*.
- Submission of a formal Master's thesis
based upon the Major Research Project. The student's Guidance
Committee will direct and evaluate the Master's thesis in
both written and oral presentation.
Note: In rare cases, a student who has earned a B- in an
elective or statistics course may petition the GOC for permission
to use this course to fulfill Master's degree requirements.
In deciding whether to grant the exception, the GOC will
take the entire student's record into account. In no case
can a grade of B- or lower be accepted in a core course.
Program
Requirements for Students Entering With Previous Graduate
Work
Students admitted to the NSB Program who
have done previous graduate work at another institution (including
the attainment of a Master's degree) must form a Guidance
Committee to assess their background in relation to our Program
and to assist in curricular planning. Such students must fulfill
all NSB requirements including coursework, Major Research
Project, Preliminary Doctoral Comprehensive Examination, and
Ph.D. Dissertation. However, waiver of certain requirements
may be granted upon written petition of the Graduate Operations
Committee.
Course Waivers
If a student has previously completed (with
a grade of B or better) graduate level courses that appear
to be comparable to any of the NSB course requirements (core,
elective, statistics, or methodology) described on pp. 2-4,
the student may request a waiver of the specified courses
according to the following procedure. The student should first
consult with the University of Massachusetts faculty member
who normally teaches the course in question. Upon being provided
with a description of the course content (preferably including
the course syllabus, textbook, etc.), the faculty member will
check off his/her approval or disapproval of the waiver on
a form obtained from the Chair of the GOC. Appropriate considerations
include similarity of content with the analogous U. Mass.
course, breadth and depth of coverage, and how recently the
student has taken the course (e.g., perhaps courses taken
more than 5 years earlier should not be recommended for waiver
unless the student presents evidence of having actively maintained
contact with the subject matter of that discipline). A written
request for course waiver(s) along with the appropriate course
materials, faculty member's approval, and official student
transcript (to verify course enrollment and grade) should
then be forwarded to the Chair of the GOC.
Waiver
of Major Research Project for Students With a Master's Degree
The purpose of the Major Research Project
is to provide new NSB students with their first experience
in the design, conduct, and reporting of empirical research
in neuroscience and behavior. If an incoming NSB student has
already earned a Master's degree involving (1) an empirical
research project in a subarea of neuroscience and behavior
or a related discipline, and (2) a written thesis defended
before a faculty committee at the student's previous institution,
the student may petition the GOC for waiver of the Major Research
Project requirement. A written request for such waiver along
with a copy of the Master's thesis should be made available
to the Chair of the GOC.
It is recommended that students entering
with a Master's degree form a guidance committee by the end
of the first semester (even if the major research project
is waived), for the purpose of providing curricular advice.
At the end of each academic year and when
deemed necessary by the Graduate Operations Committee graduate
students in the program will be evaluated with regard to their
progress and standing in the program. This evaluation will
be carried out by the Graduate Operations Committee.
The evaluation will be based upon a Student
Evaluation Form that will be distributed to each member of
the faculty with whom the student has been associated (i.,e.,
through coursework, research, teaching assistant duties).
The Graduate Operations Committee will base its evaluation
primarily upon information obtained in this way, as well as
upon grades received in academic courses for that year (i.e.,
student transcripts). The results of the evaluation process
will be summarized in a letter to each individual student
with copies to his/her major advisor and will be completed
during the month of June.
Any recommendations by the Graduate Operations
Committee concerning change of status or termination of students
from the program will be presented to the NSB Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee will make all recommendations concerning
continuance of students in the program.
To remain in good standing in the Neuroscience
and Behavior Program, a student must meet the requirements
of both the Graduate School and the Neuroscience and Behavior
Program.
The regulations of the Graduate School state
that "A student who in any two semesters, consecutive or otherwise,
has semester averages of below 2.8 is subject to academic
dismissal upon recommendation of the graduate program director
to the Dean of the Graduate School". The Graduate School regulations
also state more generally that "A student who is not making
satisfactory or reasonable progress is subject to termination
upon the recommendation of the graduate program to the Dean
of the Graduate School".
For the NSB program specifically, a graduate
student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of
3.0 in NSB core and elective courses and in related graduate
courses at the 500 level or above. This will not include independent
study, masters, or dissertation credits. For students who
transfer into the NSB program, all NSB core and elective courses
and related graduate courses at the 500 level or above that
were taken at the University of Massachusetts will be included
in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average.
The NSB program also expects students to receive a grade point
average of 3.0 or above in NSB core and elective courses taken
in a given semester.
"Satisfactory and reasonable progress" in
the NSB program also requires excellence in research. The
faculty advisor(s) and the Graduate Operations Committee will
determine whether satisfactory progress is being made on the
Major Research Project and on the dissertation research in
general.
If a student fails to remain in good standing,
the Graduate Operations Committee will consider appropriate
action. A student who, during a given semester, receives less
than a 3.0 average in NSB core and elective courses will at
the very least be issued an Academic Warning. Failing to maintain
graduate school requirements or other NSB requirements will
lead to either an Academic Warning or Academic Probation.
If a student is placed on Academic Probation for any reason,
the GOC will cite specific problem areas and will state specific
goals that the student must achieve to be removed from probationary
status. If at the end of the probationary semester, the student
has failed to achieve the goals established by the GOC, the
student will be considered by the GOC for dismissal from the
program or for a terminal Master's degree. Recommendation
for a terminal Master's degree normally will also include
withdrawal of all funding from the NSB Program (including
travel funds).
Graduate students in good academic standing
in the Neuroscience and Behavior Program may request travel
funds of up to $700 per year (September 1-August 31) to defray
the cost of travel to professional meetings. Students may
request a total of four year's funding during their graduate
training, but travel funds that are not used in a particular
year may not be added to future travel allowances (i.e., to
exceed a total of $700 in any given year). Students are expected
to present their research at 2 of the 4 meetings for which
they request funding.
A travel authorization form must be filled
out at least one week before the date of travel for all out-of-state
and foreign travel. The traveler will not be covered by insurance
if injured on a trip unless an authorization form is filed
with University Accounting. No expenses for travel outside
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall be allowed unless
approved. The Neuroscience Program Manager, Linda Witt (Room
337D Morrill Science Center) will type travel authorization
forms for NSB graduate students.
In those few cases where needed resources
(for student research) are not available from the student's
advisor through grant funds or other mechanisms, NSB graduate
students may petition the Chair of the GOC for up to $700
for the purchase of supplies or equipment.
(Note: During Sept. 2006 the NSB Steering Committee voted to raise the travel funds from $500 to $700.
NSB students wishing to take a leave of
absence must satisfy the following conditions before obtaining
approval for a one-year leave of absence:
- The student must apply for a leave of
absence by March 1, unless an unexpected major emergency
or medical crisis is the reason for the requested leave.
In the latter case, the Graduate Operations Committee will
consider a request for leave based upon the specific circumstances
involved.
- The student must be in good academic
standing with a minimum cumulative grade-point average of
3.0 in graduate-level academic courses and must have demonstrated
satisfactory progress in research.
- The student must have met the time schedule
appropriate for his/her year in the program and must be
a full-time student (9 credit hours).
- Leaves of absence will be granted for
one year and one year only, except in cases of medical emergencies,
in which case, leaves may be granted either for one semester
or for one year.
- Students on leave must notify the Graduate
Operations Committee of their intent to return to the NSB
Program by March 1 of the subsequent year. Students who
miss the March 1 deadline must reapply for admission to
the NSB Program if they wish to return to the program.
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