The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology requests renewal of its major training grant. The department is organized to promote interdisciplinary graduate training and research in neuroscience and behavior, approached with the experimental power of modern cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience and cognitive science, combined with the theoretical strength of computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Trainees begin laboratory work under one or more advisors through lab rotations in the first term and subsequently join a laboratory, working on problems in learning and memory, neural development, vision, or motor control. Required coursework can be completed in two to three years, with a two-term sequence of core courses in the first year and a flexible array of graduate lecture courses, seminars, and guided reading. Oral and written reports to the faculty and at professional meetings and in journals mark the students'progress through completion of a thesis which is usually based on the second major project, begun by the third year. Most students continue in research careers, armed with skills that typically span multiple disciplines across cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, psychophysics, and computation. Trainees will, in general, have strong backgrounds in the natural sciences (e.g., undergraduate majors in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics or electrical engineering). Occasional trainees will already hold a master's degree in another field. Candidates for the graduate program will be chosen by the department Graduate Committee constituted for the purpose of overseeing this program and will be evaluated on the basis of interviews, talent for research as demonstrated by past performance, letters of recommendation, grades, and GRE scores. Funds are requested for 5 years to support 12 trainees per year.
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