Explore neural and brain function in a groundbreaking, rapidly growing field with the Master of Science in Neuroscience: Systems, Behavior and Plasticity in Temple's College of Liberal Arts. This 30-credit graduate degree provides highly advanced training and faculty-mentored research with practical applications in careers ranging from economics to healthcare and public policy.
The innovative master's program was developed by faculty in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the College of Liberal Arts and the Physical Therapy and Kinesiology departments in the College of Public Health. The aim of the program is to help qualified students gain core expertise in specific areas of neuroscience–including behavioral, cellular, molecular and systems.
As a Neuroscience: Systems, Behavior and Plasticity MS student, you can choose from one of the three following areas of study.
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Motor neuroscience and rehabilitation
Graduates of the Neuroscience MS will have
- built core knowledge in specific areas of neuroscience;
- created and undertaken hypothesis-based research projects;
- developed a general professional competence in oral and written expression as well as in the critical analysis of research articles;
- gained independence in communicating, teaching and thinking;
- learned to effectively communicate and teach neuroscience; and
- trained in a variety of techniques and approaches to studying the nervous system.
Master's Project
Students are required to work on a master's project for both semesters in the second year of the Neuroscience: Systems, Behavior and Plasticity MS program. Depending on your career goals, students may opt to engage either in a laboratory-based research project or in a non-laboratory project.
Students motivated to join doctoral programs or interested in research positions will likely gain the requisite experience by working independently on a neuroscientific investigation under the supervision of a faculty member who maintains an active neuroscience research program. The purpose of the project is to train students in specific neuroscientific techniques, and train them to develop scientific and analytical approaches to a problem, formulate clear research questions, conduct experiments, and analyze and interpret data.
Students who do not pursue bench-level research after earning their degree, and who are interested in non-research careers such as counseling, public policy and/or research administration, may engage in a non-laboratory project of a similar scope. This may include conducting a literature review and presentation on a specific topic, drafting a scope of work for a grant funding agency, or preparing a consulting proposal for a prospective client.