Neuroscience and Education MS

Neuroscience and Education 

Program Director: Professor Karen Froud

 

Core Program Faculty: Professors Peter Gordon, Karen Froud, Kimberly Noble, Lisa Levinson, Anlys Olivera, Andrew Gordon, Stephen Sands

 

Program Support: Kellie Walker (Program Secretary), Maria Lamadrid (Director of Academic Administration)

 

Program Advisors: You should already have received your assignment to a faculty member who will be your primary advisor throughout your time with us. If you are not sure, please contact the Program Director. 

 

This document provides an outline of the Program Plan for the Masters in Neuroscience and Education. Each student will take a slightly different path through the program, under the supervision of your advisor. This document explains the basic requirements, and shows some of the possibilities for different pathways to the M.Sc. in Neuroscience and Education. 

 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR AY 24-25:

https://www.tc.columbia.edu/academics/academic-calendar/

 

The Masters Program in Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University was the first graduate program in the country to focus on the educational and clinical implications of recent advances in understanding brain-behavior relationships. 

 

We aim to prepare a new kind of specialist: professionals with dual preparation able to bridge the gap between research underlying brain, cognition and behavior, and the problems encountered in schools and other applied settings. We do so by providing rigorous training and relevant experiences that allow students to further their knowledge and make links between neuroscience, cognition, education, and clinical practice. Some graduates from the program continue in their respective areas of professional specialization, while others develop careers in research settings or apply to doctoral programs for further study.

 

The core competencies addressed in the program are as follows:

 

1. Foundational knowledge of neuroscience at several different levels of analysis: cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and cognitive / psychological neuroscience.

2. Training in the scientific method, and an understanding of the scientific foundations that underpin educational applications of neuroscience research. You will become familiar with the critical evaluation of the primary literature in neuroscience and will develop the skills to understand and critically evaluate experimental research.

3. Professional development, and what it means to be a responsible steward of science and a member of the field. You will receive instruction and training in the ways in which scientific research is disseminated in different arenas of engagement, from journal articles to conference presentations and outreach activities.

4. Applications of neuroscientific research in different professional domains. As multidisciplinary practitioners, our students come from a variety of different backgrounds and move into a wide range of fields. The program offers individualized approaches to tailor your training to your goals, through electives and breadth courses as well  as through the Thesis experience.

 

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

 

1. College Requirements

 

• To be awarded the degree, you must complete A MINIMUM OF 32 graduate degree credits at Columbia University, of which AT LEAST 20 must be taken at Teachers College. Undergraduate degree credits may not count towards this requirement. 

• At least 6 of your credits must come from outside your home academic program, but within Teachers College more broadly. These are referred to as "breadth credits".

 

1. Program Requirements

• You must take at least 20 credits within the Neuroscience and Education program (BBSN courses). 

• Of the 20 courses, you MUST take the CORE COURSES listed below:

 

COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS	SEMESTERS OFFERED	NOTES
BBSN 4001	Foundations of Neuroscience 1: Anatomy & Physiology**	3	Fall	You may test out of the Foundations sequence if you have substantial neuroscience  background. Please see the Foundations instructor for information.
BBSN 4002	Foundations of Neuroscience 2: Systems**	3	Spring
BBSN 4005	Research Methods in Neuroscience**	3	Fall	You may pass out of Research Methods if you already took a suitable similar course and achieved a grade of B or higher. Please provide a syllabus and your grade to the instructor for a decision.
BBSN 4007	Neuroscience Applications to Education	3	Fall and Spring	Take this course AFTER you finish the Foundations sequence (or test out)
BBSN 5500	Thesis and Professional Development	3	Fall and Spring	Take this course in your last full semester (if you plan to graduate during the summer, take it in your last spring).

** To remain in good standing, you must achieve a grade of B or higher in these courses. 

• You must take AT LEAST 3 CREDITS from the Cognitive and Psychological Neuroscience Cluster, which includes the courses below: 

 

COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS	SEMESTERS OFFERED	NOTES
BBSN 5003	Cognitive Neuroscience	3	Spring
BBSN 5070	Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience	3	Spring
BBSN 5080	Social and Affective Neuroscience	3	Spring
BBSN 5005	Evaluation of Neuropsychological Instruments for Research	3	Fall

• You must take AT LEAST 6 elective credits within the program. Our current elective offerings are listed below; these may change from time to time. Also note that any of the courses in the Cognitive / Psychological Cluster above could count as in-program electives, too. 

 

COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS	SEMESTERS OFFERED	NOTES
BBSN 5000	EEG Lab Methods	3	Spring, Summer	Requires in-person
BBSN 5010	Neuroscience of Reading	3	Fall
BBSN 5022	Eye Tracking Lab Methods	3	Summer
BBSN 5122	Psychoneuroimmunology & Ed	3	Spring
BBSN 5152	Neuroscience, Ethics and the Law	3	Fall
BBSN 5193	Neuroscience of Adversity	3	Fall
BBSN 5199	Careers in Neuroscience	3	Summer
BBSN 5199	Neuroscience of Adolescence	3	Spring

 

For most students, the Foundations sequence, plus the cognitive neuroscience cluster minimum, plus the electives minimum will add up to 24 (thus exceeding the required minimum within BBSN). 

 

• You must take at least 6 breadth credits. These are within Teachers College, but outside of BBSN. 

 

For students who do not have substantial background in psychology, statistics or data handling, we recommend that the breadth courses are taken in those areas. Suggested breadth courses are listed below, but in practice you may take almost any course outside of the BBSN listings to satisfy this requirement. Consult with your advisor first, and remember that in some cases instructor permission is also required. Some courses are limited to students in clinical course progressions and may not be open to all applicants. 

 

COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS	SEMESTERS OFFERED	NOTES
STATISTICS AND DATA HANDLING
HUDM 4120	Basic Concepts in Statistics	3	Fall and Spring
HUDM 4122	Probability and Statistical Inference	3	Fall and Spring
HUDM 5026	Intro to Data Analysis in R	3	Fall	Pre-req: HUDM 4122 or equivalent. Contact instructor.
HUDM 5122	Applied Regression Analysis (Advanced)	3	Spring	Pre-req: HUDM 4120 or 4122.
HUDM 5123	Linear Models and Experimental Design (Advanced)	3	Spring	Pre-req: HUDM 5122 or 5126.
HUDM 5126	Linear models and regression analysis	3	Fall
PSYCHOLOGY AND RELATED AREAS
HUDK 5024	Language Development	3	Fall	Taught by Dr. Gordon
HUDK 4023	Developmental Psychology: Adolescence	3	Fall
HUDK 5023	Cognitive Development	3	Spring	Usually runs two sections
HUDK 4027	Development of Mathematical Thinking	3	Spring
HUDK 4020	Theories of Human Development	3	Fall
HUDK 4022	Developmental Psychology: Childhood	2 or 3	Spring
HUDK 4035	Technology and Human Development	3	Fall
HUDK 5121	Children's Social and Emotional Development in Context	3	Spring
HUDK 5037	Psych of Children's TV	3	Spring
HUDK 5040	Developmental Psychopathology:  Atypical Contexts	2 or 3	Spring
HUDK 5029	Personal and Social Development across the lifespan	3	Spring
HUDK 5120	Development of Creativity: Case Study Methods	2 or 3	Spring
HUDK 4015	Psychology of Thinking	3	Spring
HUDK 4029	Human Cognition & Learning	2 or 3	Spring
HUDK 5011	Cognition of Social and Emotional Learning	2 or 3	Spring
HBSK 5096	Psychology of Memory	3	Fall
HUDK 5025	Spatial Thinking	3	Fall
HUDK 5030	Visual Explanations	3	Spring
HUDK 4080	Educational Psychology	3	Spring
HUDK 5035	Psychology of Media	3	Spring
HUDK 5125	Cross Cultural Psychology	3	Fall

 

NOTE: although we check all listings each year, course offerings do change. Please always check current availability through the current course calendar, and consult with your advisor if considering an elective or breadth course not listed here. 

 

• For most students, the Foundations sequence plus electives and breadth credits adds up to 30 credits. This leaves a minimum of 2 more credits to meet the minimum for the degree. These credits can be additional courses from the cog/psych cluster, additional electives, additional breadth courses, or practicum credits (see # 7 below).

 

• Practicum, BBSN 4904, 0-3 credits. This course allocation is for students who undertake a significant practical learning component during their program. For example, if you volunteer in a lab, or if you attend external trainings such as the fMRI training at the Martinos Center, you may wish to have this reflected on your transcript as a practicum experience. This should be discussed with your advisor. 

• If you are working in a lab within the Neuroscience Program (the labs directed by Dr. Froud, Dr. Gordon, and Dr. Noble), the relevant lab director may agree to supervise you for Practicum credits. The number of credits associated with the Practicum registration will reflect the hours you are working in that laboratory and/or your needs for registration, at the discretion of the lab director. This should be discussed with the lab director and communicated to your advisor. 

 

• If you are working in a lab elsewhere in the College, or external to Teachers College, you will need to obtain a letter of support from the lab director or from someone who is directly supervising you (a postdoc, lab manager or similar). The number of credits associated with the Practicum registration will reflect the hours you are working in that laboratory and/or your needs for registration, at the discretion of your academic advisor and in consultation with your supervisor in the lab. Please see your advisor for further information about this requirement. 

 

• If you are undertaking the Martinos Center fMRI training (see # 9 below), you may register for 0 or 1 credit of BBSN 4904, under the section operated by your academic advisor. Please see your advisor if you wish to add this registration to your transcript. 

 

• The Thesis. The Thesis is required for graduation. It constitutes a summative assessment, and should be an APA-formatted document that provides a comprehensive review of the literature in a selected field of neuroscience. 

 

The Thesis and Professional Development course (BBSN 5500, 3 credits) must be taken by every student in their last regular (fall or spring) semester before graduation.

 

The thesis course instructor will be the first reader for all theses, and will provide your feedback and request any needed edits or changes before the submission deadline. After submission, your thesis will be reviewed by a second faculty member, who will confirm that the thesis meets acceptable standards. 

 

• fMRI training. For students interested in gaining some experience in the application of fMRI for neuroscience research, we recommend the excellent functional MRI Visiting Fellowship training experience offered as a five day, residential course at Massachusetts General Hospital, by the Martinos Center. Further information, including course fees and registration deadlines, is available here: https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/training/fmri

 

If you register for the fMRI training, you may wish to also register for BBSN 4904 Practicum so that this experience is reflected on your transcript. Please discuss with your advisor if you wish to do this.

Please note that Teachers College cannot offer financial support to attend the Martinos fMRI fellowship, as this is completely external to our institution. 

 

• Students entering the program in the Spring or Summer Terms should take breadth and statistics courses, and then begin the foundational sequence in their first Fall Term (though Neuroscience Research Methods is offered some summers). Please discuss with your advisor. 

 

• Excluded courses:

• Do not register for Brain and Behavior I or II (BBS 5068, 5069) for intro courses, since these are not tailored for neuroscience students.

 

• Previous undergraduate or graduate coursework in various areas may be petitioned to fulfill program requirements (discuss with your advisor), but credits cannot be transferred from other institutions. In order to have a course from another institution "count" towards a program requirement, you must provide an original syllabus and evidence of your grade. A copy-paste of a catalog or web entry is not sufficient. 

 

• Courses that offer non-traditional or alternative approaches to neuroscience may not be allowed to count toward your degree if they are not considered by program faculty to be scientifically rigorous. Always consult with your advisor before taking an elective or breadth course that is not listed in this document. 

Websites For Registration and Course Selection:

Teachers College Biobehavioral Sciences, Human Development & Other Departments	https://www.tc.columbia.edu/academics/courses/?_ga=2.189886507.1275265622.1727884473-258127907.1667575038
Columbia University Directory of Classes	http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/
Columbia University GSAS Graduate Program in Psychology	http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/dept/curri culum/index.html Note: Only 4000 level (graduate) classes and above can count towards program requirements.

 

Academic Progress Audit

The College maintains an online Degree Audit system that gives you a way to monitor your progress towards the degree. Please check this regularly through the myTC Portal. 

 

2023-2024 Neuroscience and Education Graduation Checklist

	# of credits	Semester Taken (or substitution info) and grade
Foundational Courses (must take or substitute all of the following)
BBSN 4001 Foundations of Neuroscience 1: Anatomy & Physiology	3
BBSN 4002 Foundations of Neuroscience 2: Systems	3
BBSN 4005 Research Methods in Neuroscience	3
BBSN 4007 Neuroscience Applications to Education	3
BBSN 5500 Thesis	3
Cognitive & Psychological Neuroscience Cluster (minimum 3 credits, 1 course)
BBSN 5003 Cognitive Neuroscience	3
BBSN 5070 Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience	3
BBSN 5080 Social and Affective Neuroscience	3
BBSN 5005 Evaluation of Neuropsychological Instruments for Research	3
Neuroscience Electives (minimum 6 credits, 2 courses)
BBSN 4904 Practicum  (if taken)
TOTAL BBSN CREDITS (must add up to at least 20)
Breadth Courses (minimum 6 credits, 2 courses)
TOTAL CREDITS (must add up to at least 32)

 

Thesis submitted (date): _________________

 

Requirements completed and approved by advisor:

 

Advisor Signature __________________________ Date ______________________