PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems

Course Requirements
PhD students are required to complete at least sixteen semester courses as follows: at least ten courses chosen from the CNS Department’s curriculum (CN500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 700, 710, 720, 730, 740, 760, 780, 810, 811) of which two must be 700 or 800 level; and the remaining courses chosen from other departments to form a coherent area of expertise. The latter courses will be selected in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor.

Students who enter the PhD program with a Master’s, MD, or PhD degree in one of these areas—biology, physiology, medicine, computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, or psychology—are required to take eight courses chosen from the CNS Department’s curriculum (CN500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 700, 710, 720, 730, 740, 760, 780, 810, 811), of which at least two must be 700 or 800 level; and to fulfill all other program requirements.

PhD Qualifying Examination
Students are required to pass a qualifying examination on the CNS curriculum, including their area of thesis concentration. The examination is offered each year in January and in May. A student must have passed eight courses in the CNS curriculum to take the PhD qualifying examination.

Dissertation Requirements
Before finalizing dissertation plans, students are required to submit a written prospectus. A dissertation and final oral examination must be completed in accordance with the general requirements for the PhD as outlined in the front section of the Graduate School Bulletin.

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