Cognitive Neuroscience PhD Programs

Duke University

• The Duke Institute for Brain Sciences oversees an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Cognitive Neuroscience. In the first year, students take a core curriculum of coursework, including a full-year class on "Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience," and perform three lab rotations in three separate sub-disciplines. In the second year, students take electives that are relevant to their areas of interest, declare their department affiliation and choose a primary and secondary mentor who will oversee the student's research in the coming years. The mentors are usually from different sub-disciplines (for example, cognitive psychology and brain imaging, brain imaging and biomedical engineering, or philosophy of the mind and neuropsychology).

  Duke University
  Box 91003
  Levine Science Research Center, Room B107
  450 Research Dr.
  Durham, NC 27708
  919-684-3422
  dibs.duke.edu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences aims to produce graduates who are both superior researchers and skilled educators. The Ph.D. program offers an interdisciplinary specialization in cognitive neuroscience. First-year students spend at least half their time engaged in laboratory research and rotations, and must form a committee of two to four faculty advisers by the end of the year. Coursework is flexible to allow for individual student interests, but there is a qualifying written exam at the end of the second year and an oral exam and research report in year three. The thesis proposal is due in year four. Students are also given training in classroom and seminar instruction.

  Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
  Room 46-2005
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  77 Massachusetts Ave.
  Cambridge, MA 02139
  617-253-7403
  bcs.mit.edu

Wayne State University

• Housed in the Department of Psychology, the Wayne State program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience requires all students to take a set of core courses including functional neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neural plasticity, cognitive neuroscience and psychopharmacology. After that, you can choose your own coursework under the advisement of a faculty mentor; Lifespan and Cognitive Neuroscience is one of the available concentrations. Research begins in the first year; you can join any of dozens of labs throughout Wayne State, including in the School of Medicine, the Brain Imaging Research Division, etc.

  Wayne State University
  Psychology Department
  Graduate Office
  5057 Woodward Ave, 7th Floor
  Detroit, MI 48202
  313-577-2823
  clas.wayne.edu