Degrees | Neuroscience and Education | Biobehavioral Sciences

The MS in Neuroscience and Education degree requires 32 graduate degree credits at Columbia University, of which 20 must be taken at Teachers College (i.e., you can take up to 12 of your credits at other locations in the university such as Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), Barnard College, Columbia Medical School (College of Physicians and Surgeons) etc.) Please note that requirements may overlap, and individual courses may satisfy multiple requirements:

A. Core Requirements: At least 20 credits of courses in Neurosciences and data analysis. These are primarily offered in the Neuroscience and Education program (BBSN prefix).

In the first Fall Term students should take BBSN 4001 Foundations of Neuroscience I: Anatomy and Physiology, and BBSN 4002 Foundations II: Systems Neuroscience.  These courses will be offered twice a week for the first and second half of the term, respectively. In addition, students should take the Proseminar in Neuroscience (BBSN 5575), andNeuroscience Methods (BBSN 4005).

In the Spring Term, Students should take BBSN 4000, Cognitive Neuroscience and BBSN 5044, Current Issues in Neuroscience and Education. Students with very strong preparation in neuroscience may test out of some of the foundation courses, but it is expected that students will take this sequence regardless of their previous training.

Students entering the program in the Spring or Summer Term should take breadth and methods courses, and begin the foundational sequence in their first Fall Term.

B.  At least 9 credits in Methods and Data Analysis.  Some courses may overlap with the requirements in A. Previous undergraduate or graduate coursework in this area may be petitioned to fulfill these requirements, but credits cannot be transferred from other institutions.  Please consult your advisor if you wish to fulfill requirements in this way. Courses for this component can include BBSN 4005 Research Methods in Neuroscience. Other courses that satisfy this component include methods courses involving EEG, fMRI, neuropsychological testing, eye tracking (see course listing below.) In addition, statistics courses offered in the measurement program (HUDM) would satisfy this requirement.

C. Breadth Courses: At least 6 credits of breadth courses outside of BBSN.  Most out of program courses (i.e., non BBSN) qualify for this requirement, and students should consider more than the minimum 6 credits to combine a content area with their neuroscience training. Teachers College presently requires that 2 breadth courses must be taken at Teachers College outside of BBSN although courses in BBS (department- wide), BBSQ (Communication Sciences & Disorders), BBSR (Movement Science) may count.

D. The Thesis is required to be completed by all students before graduation.  This is a journal-style article in APA format that either reports on research conducted during training or is a review article that consists of an integrated analysis of an area of focus. Review articles should be proposing a hypothesis or point of view in the analysis, and should not just be a listing or previous research in the area.  The thesis may also include research proposals for specific experiments to address questions raised in the analysis. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in BBSN 5199 Capstone and Thesis in their final Spring Term.  This course provides guidance and feedback in the development and writing of the thesis. Students who are receiving guidance from other faculty members that they are working with do not need to take this course.

E.  BBSN 4904 Practicum is strongly recommended for all students, especially those pursuing a research/scientific approach to their studies.  Typically this consists of working/volunteering in a research lab or treatment center in the city.  Such experiences can be very rewarding and are extremely useful for future employment and can often lead to publications if the student is highly engaged in a lab project. Students who are engaged in practicum should register for the practicum for 0-3 points.  A zero-point enrollment allows the student to get credit for participation without paying tuition.

EXCLUDED COURSES:

Undergraduate courses generally cannot count toward the graduate degree (see not above.) Courses that do not fulfill the program aims of connecting neuroscience to a content area may not count toward the degree.  Also, courses that offer non-traditional or alternative approaches to neuroscience may not be allowed to count toward your degree if they are not considered to be scientifically rigorous.  Students should consult their advisor if in doubt. 

Please note that to remain in good standing, students are expected to obtain a grade of B or better in the intro-level courses in neuroscience (Foundations I and II, and Cognitive Neuroscience). Students who fail to obtain a B grade in these courses will be required to repeat them. Advanced students may take Neuroscience courses outside of TC upon approval Websites for Registration and Course Selection 

Academic Progress Audit

The college maintains an audit system that tracks your progress in courses.  This audit can be accessed through the myTC portal. Please check on this regularly and look for courses that are not properly applied for the program requirements.  You can fix some of these issues by moving courses into their appropriate category. If not, check with your advisor for help.

Available courses for program requirements:

** Required for all students
*   Required for students in first term unless substituted by previous coursework 

^ On-line course

# Class scheduled during business hours; lectures will also be video recorded and offered online