Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences

The Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in Health Professions is offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences program can normally be completed with four to six years of full-time work, including summers. Institute requirements for the PhD are given in the section on General Degree Requirements. Formal coursework, described below, is intended to prepare the student to pass the general examinations and do original thesis research. The written general examinations will be due in August of the second year.

All students start with first-year intensive core subjects that provide an introduction to brain and cognitive studies from the viewpoint of systems neuroscience, molecular and cellular neuroscience, cognition, and computation. Incoming graduate students are required to take at least two of these subjects but encouraged to take all within the first two years of study. Further coursework will be diversified to give each individual the appropriate background for research in his or her own area.

Coursework in cellular and molecular neuroscience emphasizes the current genetic, molecular, and cellular approaches to biological systems that are necessary to generate advances in neuroscience.

Training in systems neuroscience covers neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurotransmitter chemistry, concentrating on the major sensory, motor, memory, and executive systems in the vertebrate brain. Specific ties to molecular neurobiology or computation may be emphasized, depending upon the research interests of the student.

Coursework for students in computation is intended to give both an understanding of empirical approaches to the study of the brain and animal behavior and a theoretical background for analyzing computational aspects of biological information processing.

Candidates studying cognitive science take coursework covering such topics as language processing, language acquisition, cognitive development, natural computation, neural networks, connectionist models, and visual information processing. Students also choose seminars and coursework in linguistics, philosophy, logic, mathematics, or computer science, depending on the individual student's research program.

Graduate students begin a research apprenticeship immediately upon arrival with lab rotations in the first year, after which time advisor choices are made based upon a match of interests. These assignments may change as a student's goals become more focused. At the end of the first year, an advisory committee of two to four faculty members is formed. This committee monitors progress and, with membership changing as necessary, evolves into the thesis committee. Thesis research normally requires 24-48 months of full-time activity after the qualifying examinations have been passed. It is expected that the research embodied in the PhD dissertation be original and significant work, publishable in scientific journals.



Locations where you can study Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences en Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Schools where you can study Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences en Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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