Behavioral Neuroscience

B/N Department

Our program is designed to train students broadly in experimental psychology in addition to their behavioral neuroscience specialization. While courses are an important part of training, students should expect to engage in laboratory research throughout their master's and doctoral program. Successful degree candidates typically have broad training in the biological sciences as undergraduates.

During the first year, students take two quantitative courses, core courses, and two-part Topics course. The first part consists of a closely-supervised research project designed to teach a variety of research techniques and skills. The second part consists of an interdepartmental seminar involving faculty and graduate students who are interested in behavioral or cognitive neuroscience. In the second year, students complete their core courses and finish their MS thesis research. The doctoral preliminary examinations are taken in the third year, after which students begin their doctoral dissertation research. Throughout their training, students are expected to take biological science courses outside the Psychology Department.

Curriculum

Required courses (credit hours)

  • PSYCH 803 Physiological Psychology (3)
  • PSYCH 812 Perception (3)
  • PSYCH 810 Learning (3)
  • PSYCH 814 Advanced Cognitive Psychology (3)
  • PSYCH 802 Quantitative Methods (3)
  • PSYCH 805 Experimental Design (3)
  • PSYCH 956 Multivariate Statistics (3)
  • PSYCH 968 Seminar in Professional Problems

Graduate students are encouraged to take advantage of other elective courses within the department as part of their program of study. In addition, possibilities for courses outside of the department exist and a partial list of courses is listed below.

Biological Science Course Possibilities

  • Organic Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry
  • Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates
  • Embryology
  • Physiological Adaptation of Animals
  • Human Physiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Evolution
  • Endocrinology
  • Evolution of Animal Behavior
  • Measuring Behavior of Insects
  • Insect Physiology
  • Insect Behavior
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Veterinary Physiology I and II
  • Bioinstrumentation Laboratory
  • Neuroscience

Preliminary Examination Formats

Graduate students in the Behavioral Neuroscience/Animal Learning area will have the opportunity to take the traditional preliminary exam or the grant proposal format described below. Students must consult with the major professor prior to deciding which preliminary exam format they will complete.

Traditional Preliminary Examination by General Written Exam

This exam format evaluates the student’s knowledge of their field of study with an emphasis on material covered in their graduate course work and the research literature in the area of their proposed dissertation research. The scope of the preliminary exam is to be determined by the student’s doctoral committee in consultation with the student. Papers for review (25-40 references) can be included as a reading list, created by student and committee members. A set of questions of general relevance to the student’s field of study and previous graduate course work in the Behavioral Neuroscience / Animal Learning area is written by the members of the preliminary exam committee. The exam is taken over a period of 3 days, for 4 hours per day, typically with 4-5 questions per day. Students may use the papers for review during the writing process (but not ChatGPT/other AI tools) to aid him or her. The questions test both knowledge of the literature and integrative and insightful critiques of research and the state of the field.

Grant Proposal Preliminary Examination

Students will have the opportunity to prepare a predoctoral grant proposal for the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, or equivalent agency. The student will discuss the best mechanism and an overview of the design with their major professor. Following these discussions, the student will arrange for an initial meeting with their supervisory committee. The student will prepare a brief presentation containing an overview of the agency and mechanism for the submission and a brief overview of the specific aims. The supervisory committee will then approve the agency, mechanism, and overall idea. The supervisory committee in most cases will have the student use the stated page length and format guidelines for the selected mechanism, but exceptions may occur depending on the mechanism. The student will then prepare an independent proposal (specific aims and research strategy 6-8 pages) and vertebrate animal’s section. The goal is for there to be sufficient detail to assess experimental design and methodology. The final documents will then be submitted to the supervisory committee for review. A minimum of two weeks after submission, the student will have an oral exam on the proposal with their committee. During this exam, students will prepare a 15 minute overview of the background, specific aims and expected outcomes. The committee will then ask questions broadly related to the proposal.

Once the student has initial approval from the supervisory committee, the student may not discuss any major elements of the proposal design with the major professor. Students may talk to other peers/postdocs/ faculty not on the committee, but not get any written feedback. If the student requires substantial discussion of the design, the student may request a meeting of the supervisory committee. The proposal may not be edited in any way by a faculty member, including the major professor. The major professor and members of the supervisory committee cannot view the document prior to submission to the committee. The experiments described in the grant proposal may be used in the dissertation proposal, but the dissertation proposal must be a separate independent document. Graduate students may review prior preliminary examination materials for the purpose of understanding the nature, extent, and style of questions typically asked.

For more information, please contact the Program Director:
Bethany Plakke
413 Bluemont Hall
Manhattan, KS 66502
(785) 532-0525
bplakke@ksu.edu