About / Neuroscience Program Description

Thesis Research Requirements

A. Selection of Research Advisor:

After completing the four laboratory rotations during the ISP year, students electing to enter the Graduate Program in Neuroscience will select a research advisor from the Program Faculty and begin graduate research in the advisor’s laboratory. Students may not commit to work with any faculty member before the end of the first year.

B. Selection of Research Committee:

During the second year of study, the student will select a Research Committee consisting of three Program faculty members (including the student’s research advisor). Students are encouraged to add a fourth faculty member from outside the Neuroscience Program at this point, but doing so is not a requirement until the thesis work is further developed. At the initial meeting, the student will present to the Committee the general outlines of the thesis topic area, the hypothesis to be tested, and the proposed approach. Committee members will provide advice and guidance throughout.

C. Thesis Committee Meetings:

The Committee will meet with the student twice per year to review the student’s work and provide research guidance. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule such meetings in a timely fashion. After the meeting, a summary (written by the Committee Chair with comments from the student, where appropriate) must be transmitted to the Program Director and to the Program Assistant (currently, Kate Nelson). The Committee Report Form can be found here (PDF).

After the end of the second year, and before the end of the third year, the student will present a fully developed thesis proposal (in the abbreviated NIH grant format described below) to the committee and discuss it orally. Formal approval of the thesis topic by the Research Committee is required before the student can begin full-time dissertation research; approval must be transmitted to the Program Director and Program Assistant.

D. Written Reports to the Thesis Committee:

Approximately one week prior to each Research Committee meeting, students will provide committee members with a written report, whose content will develop in parallel with the thesis research; i.e., the initial report will be refined and updated over time as the project progresses. The proposal will summarize the specific aims of the research project and include background information, preliminary results, an update on progress, and an outline of future experiments. The format will follow that of a typical NIH grant application (although much abbreviated); an example of such a report can be found here (PDF).

E. Dissertation Writing and Oral Defense:

When the research is judged by the committee to be ready for presentation, the student will prepare a written dissertation that will include a literature review, hypothesis, rationale, results, and discussion. If the student’s work has resulted in the publication of manuscripts, they may be included; however, they should be supplemented with additional material to complete the dissertation. If the thesis committee does not contain an external member from outside the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, then one must be chosen at this point for the examination.

Copies of the thesis will be submitted to the dissertation committee for review and comments at least two weeks prior to a planned oral defense. Three days before the planned defense, the Committee Chair will contact the other members of the Research Committee to ascertain whether the work is deemed fit for oral defense. If the Committee agrees, the student will then present the work publicly in a scheduled seminar and open defense lasting approximately one hour. The Committee will reconvene following the seminar to further examine the student and vote on the acceptance of the thesis. Requests for amendments and other stipulations that must be met prior to final approval may be made at this point.