Neuroscience and Behavior

Neuroscience is arguably the most challenging and exciting of all scientific frontiers. All voluntary and involuntary actions, perceptions, feelings, and thoughts are controlled by the brain and nervous system, yet the most fundamental questions about how these events are accomplished remain the most complex puzzle imaginable for us to solve.

Neuroscientists study questions of how the nervous system works, how it interacts with the other systems of the body, and how the outside world influences the nervous system. Neuroscience and Behavior continues to attract researchers from virtually every other scientific field, ranging from physics, chemistry, engineering, and molecular biology to cognitive and social psychology and psychiatry. The ongoing development of innovative techniques at the molecular and organismic levels continues to drive an explosive growth in knowledge and interdisciplinary collaborations that provide myriad opportunities for unraveling the complexities of behavior and mental processes.

The Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Behavior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reflects both the diversity and interdisciplinary focus of research in this exciting field. A broad range of departments and academic colleges are represented by participating faculty members, postdoctoral research fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates. Faculty members from four nearby colleges (Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Hampshire College) are also affiliated with the Program, thereby enhancing our expertise and our scholarly resources. We also have strong ties to the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program, and the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies.

The NSB Program comprises five broadly defined areas of research and training (1) Neuroendocrinology, (2) Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, (3) Animal Behavior and Learning, (4) Neural and Behavioral Development, and (5) Sensorimotor, Cognitive, and Computational Neuroscience.

State-of-the-art facilities are available for neural and behavioral studies at all levels of investigation from molecules to whole organisms. Indeed, many researchers within the NSB Program are carrying out multidisciplinary studies that cut across multiple levels of analysis. Perhaps one of our most distinctive features is the number of faculty members and students who work on behavior as a focus for their cellular and molecular studies.

We recognize that students have a broad range of background interests and career goals, so flexibility in individual training is a hallmark of our program. Core courses are intended to provide a common base of knowledge in contemporary Neuroscience and Behavior. These are supplemented with elective courses, which enable students to delve into more specialized topics. In order to gain immediate experience in the design and conduct of research students (except for those who enter with a Master's thesis already) carry out a Major Research Project during the first two years of graduate training.  We have a vibrant colloquium series and a variety of journal clubs to supplement course work.

The Program offers a comprehensive, integrated, and flexible graduate training program in a stimulating educational environment located in a lovely setting in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts. We welcome the opportunity to provide you with further information about our program.

Core courses: All students entering the program are required to take the two core NSB courses: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology and Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience. One is not a prerequisite of the other, but both must be completed, with a grade of B or better, by the end of the second year. Their purpose is to provide a common base of knowledge for students from diverse undergraduate backgrounds.

Electives: Given the need for students to orient their studies toward their proposed research areas early in their graduate program, a number of existing courses are designated as NSB electives. Students must satisfactorily complete three of these courses (with at least two being at the 600 level or above) within the first two years of study, choosing from the following list.

• ANIMLSCI 697J Cells, Genes and Development
• BIOLOGY 521 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
• BIOLOGY 523 Histology
• BIOLOGY 544 Ornithology
• BIOLOGY 548 Mammalogy
• BIOLOGY 550 Animal Behavior
• BIOLOGY 564 Human Physiology
• BIOLOGY 566 Comparative Physiology
• BIOLOGY 568 Endocrinology
• BIOLOGY 571 Biological Rhythms
• BIOLOGY 580 Developmental Biology
• BIOLOGY 750 Advanced Animal Behavior
• CMPSCI 581 Neural Modeling
• CMPSCI 683 Artificial Intelligence
• MICROBIO 721 Neurovirology
• NEUROS&B 691A Modeling the Brain: Perception and Learning
• NEUROS&B 891E Landmark Papers in Sexual Differentiation
• NEUROS&B 891L Neurobiology of Disease
• PSYCH 591 Advanced Seminars in Special Topics in Neuroscience and Behavior (various topics)
• PSYCH 617 ABCD (Applied & Basic Cognitive Development)
• PSYCH 630 Research Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience: The Neurobiology of Mental Disorders
• PSYCH 650 Brain Development and Behavior
• PSYCH 711 Sensory Processes
• PSYCH 721 Conditioning
• PSYCH 723 Animal Learning
• PSYCH 731 Neuroanatomical Bases of Behavior
• PSYCH 732 Neurochemistry
• PSYCH 733 Psychopharmacology
• PSYCH 891 Advanced Seminars in Special Topics

In addition, any course (or three-credit 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. Students may substitute three journal clubs for one 500-level NSB elective. All three journal clubs must be led and graded by a faculty member. Students wishing to substitute journal clubs for an elective should submit to the graduate operations committee a memorandum requesting the substitution and including the reading lists or syllabi of the journal clubs.

Quantitative requirement: Every student must take at least one course to satisfy this requirement, which is determined by his or her guidance committee. In most cases, this involves successfully completing one or more statistics courses, such as: PSYCH 640 and 641 Statistical Inference in Psychology I, II; PUBHLTH 640 Intermediate Biostatistics; STATISTC 501 Methods of Applied Statistics; or STATISTC 506 Design of Experiments or ECO 697S ST Design and Analysis of Ecological Data or ECO 697AB Applied Biostatistics for Natural Resources or ECO 697SA Special Topics Advanced Statistical Ecology or ECO 797S ST Applied Multivariate Statistics for Ecological Data.  However, the Guidance Committee may deem it necessary for the student to meet the quantitative requirement by taking other appropriate quantitative courses in areas such as bioinformatics or modeling.

Additional coursework: With strong recommendations from the Guidance Committee, students select courses in other areas, including genetics, embryology, cybernetics, histology, cell biology, and cell regulation, according to their chosen field of research, interest, and specialization. Students are also expected to take several advanced seminars and to regularly attend colloquia sponsored by the NSB program.

Research projects: Early in their training, all NSB students are expected to gain experience in the design, conduct, and reporting of empirical research. Therefore, all students are expected to engage in major research projects upon entering the Program and to present the results of their work to the entire Program.

Comprehensive exam: Before the start of the third year in the program, all students must pass a preliminary doctoral comprehensive examination, which consists of a written examination and submission of a NRSA-type fellowship application.  This requirement serves both an educational and evaluative role: to enable students to develop and demonstrate a level of scholarship and knowledge in their chosen area of study that is appropriate for the doctoral-level neuroscientist, and to demonstrate students' critical, integrative, and theoretical abilities within the broader scope of Neuroscience and Behavior.  The final requirement of the Ph.D. program in Neuroscience and Behavior is the completion and defense of a doctoral dissertation.

• A completed Application Form.
• A $75 application fee. This fee cannot be waived or deferred.
• International Student Sponsor Statement is required of all international students.
• One official transcript from all colleges/universities attended, undergraduate and graduate, where (nine) 9 or more credits were taken are required. If they are not mailed directly from the college/university, they should be enclosed in sealed envelopes signed by the college/university.  If the official transcripts and/or degree certificate(s) are not in English, notarized English language translations in duplicate must accompany them. Do not list colleges/universities where (eight) 8 or fewer credits were taken.
• Letters of recommendation (academic references) from two (2) professors or instructors who have taught you in courses in the field you are applying to here. After submission of the electronic application, we will send an email to each referee giving them instructions on how to electronically deliver the recommendation to the Graduate School. All recommendations will be considered confidential unless the applicant doesn't waive his/her right of access.
• Scores from the following standard examinations:
  • GRE (Graduate Record Examination)-General Test required by nearly all graduate programs - (refer to Degrees and Programs Offered)
  • GRE SUBJECT TEST (not a universal requirement-refer to the Programspage for those programs requiring a Subject Test)
  • GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test)-for graduate applicants to Management, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Sport Management


  • English Language Test: Either TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)-only the academic version of test is accepted, or PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English)

Scholarships

All students admitted to the NSB Program are supported for 12 months at a nationally competitive stipend level for a minimum of 4 years, assuming satisfactory progress in their graduate training. Tuition waiver and health insurance are also included in the student support package. There are several mechanisms by which NSB graduate students are funded: research grant-funded assistantships (RAs) with a specific faculty advisor, traineeships through NIH-funded Training Grants currently held by the NSB Program overall and by the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, teaching assistantships (TAs) to assist in undergraduate biology or psychology courses, competitively funded NIH predoctoral NRSA fellowships, and Graduate School Fellowships. Incoming students supported on a teaching assistantship or traineeship are expected to select a "laboratory rotation" option which provides the opportunity to work with faculty in more than one laboratory during the first year, prior to choosing a specific research advisor.