GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS:

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Students can earn an MA degree in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience & Behavior. Requirements include completion of the department's proseminar requirements, plus the second Group III statistics course. In addition, students are required to take at least two additional courses in the biological basis of behavior (as determined and approved by the student's supervisory committee) and The Profession of Psychology (PSYC 8000). Research is required, including completion and defense of a thesis. This plan requires completion of 30 credit hours. The Psychology Department’s requirement of a score of 600 on the Advanced Psychology GRE is waived for Neuroscience & Behavior. Instead, the Graduate College requirement for completion of a comprehensive exam will be fulfilled by demonstration of professional excellence in scientific written and oral communication.

Course Requirements

PSYC 8000 (0 hrs)
Proseminars (15 hrs)
2 Field-related (6 hrs)
1 'Other' (Psychobio Seminar, field-related, Research Other than Thesis, etc.) (3 hrs)
2 Thesis (6 hrs)

Comprehensive Exam

Student must complete the following (specifics to be approved by student’s advisor and/or supervisory committee):
1. Completion of the Departmentally required Proseminars plus the second Group 3 statistics course (approved substitution may replace one Proseminar).
2. Public oral presentation of thesis, announced to the campus community two weeks prior. Closed session with questions from student’s supervisory committee.
3. At least one of the following (must be approved by student’s supervisory committee as sufficient to serve as fulfillment of comprehensive requirement):
a. Co-author on a presentation or poster at an approved international or national conference.
b. First author on a presentation or poster at an approved regional level conference.
c. Submission of a national funding agency proposal.
d. Submission of a publication to a peer-reviewed journal in which the student is a first author or co-author and made a substantial contribution to both the research and authorship.

Doctoral Program (Ph.D.)

Doctoral students specializing in Neuroscience & Behavior are required to take the Seminar in Neuroscience & Behavior (PSYC 9290) at least once and at least 12 credit hours of graduate level courses in the biological and behavioral sciences.

Final approval of a student's doctoral program resides with the Supervisory Committees which must be appointed prior to completion of half of the credit hours to be applied to the degree.

 

Laboratory Resources:

The Psychology Department maintains several laboratory facilities including a computerized statistics lab, several experimental labs, observation facilities, and a psychophysiology/neurophysiology lab. The Neuroscience & Behavior labs have facilities for tissue processing, microscopic evaluation and image analysis, and a large endocrine laboratory. There is vivarium space for small primates, laboratory rodents, and other mammalian species. Students specializing in Neuroscience & Behavior also have access to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's biochemistry and electron microscope laboratories, as well as facilities at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. This zoo has a strong commitment to research in biological sciences, including the behavioral sciences, and is generous with respect to access to animals and laboratories.

Access to computers for data analysis, database searches, and on line management of experiments is also provided.

 

Student Support:

Both teaching and research assistantships are available and are awarded on a competitive basis. Limited fellowships are also available. Assistantships and fellowships carry a stipend and include waiver of tuition.

 

Professional Associations:

Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology

Society for Neuroscience

Animal Behavior Society