Graduate Information

About the Program:

A program for graduate training in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience is offered through the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The program emphasizes mechanisms of brain function that underlie behavior. The objective is to train and educate Ph.D. students, so they are qualified for careers in academic or industrial research and teaching. Training in our program involves collaborative and independent research activities beginning with the first term of graduate school and culminating in the doctoral dissertation. Students are both apprentices and colleagues of the faculty, and most of their professional skills are developed in the context of research and teaching, rather than through coursework. Each student works most closely with a single faculty member designated as their major advisor. Together, they are most directly responsible for planning and conducting the student's graduate training. However, other faculty are accessible, and no student is restricted to working with only their major advisor.

• The program normally takes five years for completion of the Ph.D. degree. Although there is no terminal master's degree program, a master's degree is awarded after completion of requisite coursework and approval of the master’s thesis by the student’s master’s committee.
• Students are expected to start research projects immediately upon entry into the program.
• Students who already possess a master's degree in a related field are also welcome to apply.
• A qualifying examination is completed in the third year of study. This examination will involve either a major paper or a multi-day exam, as decided by the student's doctoral committee. Although our program's primary emphasis is on research, students will gain some experience in teaching, as all students in the department are required to teach a course before completing their Ph.D.

Graduate students maintain active and exciting research programs under the mentorship of Faculty members in the Department of Psychology. Research opportunities include collaboration with Faculty and Students in the University of Florida Brain Institute and Department of Neuroscience.

Admission Requirements:

The faculty in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience welcome applications from students with undergraduate majors in psychology as well as those from a variety of related areas, such as the physical or biological sciences, engineering, social sciences, and computer and information sciences. Consult the material provided by the Psychology Department for details on the admission procedure. We welcome personal interviews and encourage applicants to visit the Department at any time during the application process.

All entering students must satisfy the general minimum requirements for entry into the Department of Psychology: a Verbal & Quantitative GRE score of 1100 or above, and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or above (exceptions may be made under unusual conditions, e.g. foreign applicants). Successful applicants to the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience program typically have undergraduate backgrounds in the natural sciences and mathematics, along with previous laboratory experience. Because students are admitted to work with a particular faculty member, applicants should familiarize themselves with the research interests of the different faculty members and indicate those with whom they would most like to work.

Financial Support:

Support is available through teaching assistantships, research assistantships on faculty research grants, and competitive fellowships. Students will also be encouraged to apply to relevant federal and private agencies for predoctoral fellowships, including programs for minority applicants.

Some key details about support:

• The current entry level stipend averages $12,500 for nine months, with the possibility of additional summer support.
• Students in good standing receive stipends and tuition waivers (excluding about $200 / semester in "miscellaneous fees").
• Financial support is provided for five years of graduate training.
• Additional funds (e.g. travel awards) are available on a competitive basis.

Additional fellowships are available on a competitive basis. Students will be encouraged to apply to relevant federal and private agencies for predoctoral fellowships including programs for minority applicants. The Graduate School also offers several competitive fellowships and stipend supplements for entering students; applicants with suitable credentials will automatically be entered into these competitions by the admissions committee.

These photomicrographs illustrate an experiment wherein opioid receptor messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was identified in sections of the rat brain. The left photograph depicts m opioid receptor mRNA in a section of forebrain. The patchy organization of the caudate nucleus can be clearly seen in this section. The right photograph depicts the distribution of mRNA for the d subtype of opioid receptors. In this case, laminar organization of the cortex is clearly visible. This type of molecular analysis contributes substantially to our understanding of the neurobiological basis of behaviour.

Required and Elective Graduate Courses:

1: DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Students in the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience program must complete all the Departmental requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Please see the Departmental Requirements.

2:AREA REQUIREMENTS

Pre-Master's requirements include coursework and research for the Master's thesis. Typically, students complete the requirements for the Master's degree in 2 years. Pre-doctoral studies consist principally of research for the doctoral dissertation, along with elective coursework that is relevant to the individual's research interests. Pre-doctoral requirements also include a qualifying examination based upon an individualized program of study.

Core Curriculum

Coursework:
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience I (PSB 6087; 3 credits)
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience II (PSB 6088; 3 credits)
Statistics I (STA 6166, or suitable alternate statistics coursework; 3 credits)
Statistics II (STA 6167, or suitable alternate statistics coursework; 3 credits)
Seminar on Psychological Science (required during first year of study)
Functional Human Neuroanatomy (GMS 6705; 4 credits)
Elective courses (outside of the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience specialty; 9 credits total)
Elective specialty courses (e.g. Grant Writing, PSY 7249)

Research:
Individual Work (PSY 6905)
Supervised Research (PSY 6910)
Research for Master's Thesis (PSY 6971)
Advanced Research (PSY 7979)
Research for the Doctoral Dissertation (PSY 7980)

Other:
qualifying examination
supervised teaching (one 3-credit undergraduate course)

The left panel illustrates taste buds lining the wall of the circumvallate papilla in the posterior tongue of the rat. When the glossopharyngeal nerve is severed (right panel) the taste buds disappear. Gustatory nerves, however, have an unusual proclivity to regenerate and reinnervate their receptor fields causing taste buds to reappear. These findings are representative of the kind of work currently being done by investigators of chemosensory systems in the Behavioral Neuroscience area of the Department of Psychology.

Town and Campus:

The University of Florida is a major international node of brain research including the McKnight Brain Institute and over 50 associated faculty based in many academic departments. The Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience program has strong ties with the McKnight Brain Institute, the UF Genetics Institute, the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, and other academic centers. We encourage our students to participate in the activities of these centers, to learn techniques and to engage in interdisciplinary and collaborative projects with other groups on campus.

The Psychology Department itself has over 100 graduate students and 40 faculty in five main disciplines. Of most relevance for Neurobehavioral and Cognitive Sciences students are the areas of Behavior Analysis and Developmental Psychology. These areas sponsor various seminars of general interest.

Students and Faculty in the Neurobehavioral Science track use a great variety of behavioral tools in combination with state-of-the-art methods in neurochemistry, electrophysiology, and molecular biology. The photograph at left illustrates complex enriched environments where rats are raised to study the impact upon development. The photograph at right illustrates a computer-controlled apparatus that is used for place conditioning, light/dark anxiety testing, and shuttle avoidance learning.

Weekly Brown Bag meetings, Spring 2011

Thursdays, period 8 (3:00-3:50), room 151

Guidelines for making a successful presentation