The PhD program in Cognition and Neuroscience offers advanced study and research training for students seeking to become leading scientists and scholars in the field. Research in the program encompasses all aspects of cognition and neuroscience, including studies of perception, memory, stress, reasoning, pain, addiction, decision-making, neurodegeneration, neuroplasticity and neuro-engineering.
The Cognition and Neuroscience PhD program offers a distinctive blend of research initiatives and doctoral study in the neural processes underlying sensation, perception, memory, learning, language and executive function throughout the lifespan. Students may focus on perception and memory for complex information patterns such as faces, speech, language, music, and text, or reasoning and decision-making processes in conditions such as brain damage and addiction. Another area of strength is cellular and molecular neuroplasticity " in typical learning and memory as well as in chronic pain and other atypical conditions such as addiction and psychiatric disease. The program also has strengths in artificial neural networks and neuro-engineering.
The PhD program in cognition and neuroscience offers exceptional research facilities, including state-of-the art laboratories for investigating neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, neurochemical, and neuropsychological processes, as well as for conducting advanced mathematical analyses and modeling. In addition, the school's centers, such as the Center for BrainHealth and the Center for Vital Longevity, house outstanding research facilities for the study of cognitive neuroscience, including cutting-edge brain imaging technologies for identifying the neural signatures of learning, aging, and disease. Collaborative arrangements with the UT Southwestern Medical Center expand student research opportunities through additional access to clinical populations and neuroimaging facilities.
The Cognition and Neuroscience Program is divided into two research tracks. The cognitive neuroscience track in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) includes research in human psychology, including memory, perception, music and addiction. It is centered in our Department of Psychology and utilizes human neuroimaging tools such as MRI, EEG and PET. New students are directly admitted to a single research laboratory.
The systems and cellular neuroscience track in BBS focuses on neurobiological approaches in neuroscience, including molecular, cellular and systems approaches in animal models and humans. Research foci include learning and memory, stress, addiction, psychiatric disease and pain. It is centered in our Department of Neuroscience. New students typically rotate through multiple research laboratories to choose a dissertation laboratory.
PhD students selected for the program are fully funded through either a teaching assistantship (TA) or a research assistantship (RA). The minimum funding amount is $2,196 per month, paid over 12 months. Additionally, all PhD students receive a tuition waiver from the university. All students receive health insurance paid for by the program.
