Introduction to Neuroscience Graduate Program
Degrees Offered: M.S. and Ph.D.
Washington State University's Program in Neuroscience
is an interdisciplinary biomedical program featuring nationally and
internationally renowned faculty experts recognized for their contributions
to science and society. Doctoral students interested in
neuroscience research can pursue their studies with faculty members who are
unraveling the complexities of:
The Neuroscience Program is administered through the Department of
Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology (VCAPP) in
the College of Veterinary Medicine. Our faculty and students participate in
a variety of graduate degree programs within the University. These include
not only Neuroscience, but also Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biochemistry,
Genetics, BioEngineering, Biotechnology, Physics, and
Veterinary Science. Consequently,
graduate degrees may be taken via several distinct programs with
concentrations in a number of specialty areas, such as the neural regulation
of physiology and behavior, muscle physiology, and molecular and cellular
neurobiology.
The research emphasis of our faculty include: neurobiology of sleep,
coordination of eating and energy balance, diabetes, cellular function and
biophysics of muscle and related heart disease, memory, behavior, vision,
reproduction, cardiovascular physiology, muscle physiology, motor control,
cancer, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, and drug abuse.
The Master of Science (MS) degree program typically takes 2-3 years,
whereas the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program takes 4-6 years.
Students in both the MS program and PhD program take a series of
classes to familiarize the students with neuroscience concepts and gain
knowledge in related areas of scientific interest (cell biology,
biochemistry, statistics) that will complement their knowledge in
neuroscience. In addition, students
take a course in bioethics. Finally,
students are exposed to critical reading and commentary of current
neuroscience concepts through a series of topical courses that concentrate
on readings from the primary literature.
For both the MS degree and the Ph.D. degree an experimentally based thesis
is required, the main difference being the greater depth and breadth of the
research needed to fulfill the requirements of the Ph.D. project.
Ph.D students are typically expected to complete two laboratory
rotations (Neuro 531), after which the student will choose a mentor in the
area of his or her choice. MS
students are required to have selected a mentor before they start their
studies. Both MS students and Ph.D.
students will also have a Thesis or Advisory Committee made up of 3 - 4
other graduate faculty who provide addition technical and/or conceptual
perspectives that will help the student accomplish the goals of their
research proposal. During their
studies students have the opportunity to learn numerous research techniques
in areas such as electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, cell culture, ,
molecular biology, genetic manipulations of cells and animals, biochemical
analysis (small molecule and macromolecule), , light, fluorescence and
electron microscopy, image analysis, computer-assisted molecular modeling,
and a wide variety of behavioral measurements including, but not limited to,
those involved in feeding, sleep, learning, reproduction, and responses to
drugs of abuse.
Mission of the Neuroscience Program:
Maintenance of human and animal health, development of food and fiber
resources, and improvement of our environment are all central to the
land-grant mission of Washington State University.
The ultimate mission of the Neuroscience Program at Washington State
University is to improve human and animal health and well-being through a
deeper understanding of the brain and nervous system.
To achieve this mission, the Neuroscience Program concentrates on
educating graduate students in current concepts that underlie brain and
nervous system function; to provide the students with knowhow and skills
necessary to develop a career in which they can contribute to both the
generation of new knowledge and dissemination of existing knowledge of
neuroscience; and, through high quality, world-class research programs,
explore fundamental questions within neuroscience.
Graduates of the Neuroscience Program are prepared for careers in
teaching, research, and public service. Potential employers of Program
graduates include colleges and universities, pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies, and governmental agencies.
Graduates are capable of teaching neuroscience, physiology, and
pharmacology to professional and graduate students in the health sciences.
Graduates are trained to pursue research in neuroscience with a
specialization in an area of their choice. Upon graduation, they are
credible experts in the areas of their thesis research. Graduates can
identify significant research problems and formulate logical, comprehensive
strategies for studying these problems. They have extensive knowledge
of the scientific method and an appreciation for the demands that this
method makes on the integrity of scientists.
What is the purpose of Doctoral Education?
When considering the first principles of graduate, especially doctoral,
education, it is reasonable to ask, "What is the purpose of doctoral
education?" One answer is, "It is to prepare the next generation of
disciplinary leaders, or stewards." The graduate faculty believes that
this idea of stewardship of a discipline lies at the core of scholarly
pursuits, and that a disciplinary steward has developed both the habits of
mind and the technical ability to tackle three related areas: the
generation, conservation, and transformation of knowledge.
Knowledge Generation. The doctoral degree is, at its heart,
a research degree. Demonstrating one's ability to conduct research and
scholarship that makes unique and independent contributions, and that meets
standards of credibility and verifiability, is the culminating experience of
the Ph.D. One skilled at knowledge generation is able to ask and frame
important questions, and is able to assess, critique, and defend knowledge
claims.
Knowledge Conservation. Another facet of disciplinary
leadership and stewardship is an understanding of the history and
foundational ideas of the discipline. Disciplines evolve continuously,
and stewards have responsibility for maintaining continuity, stability, and
vitality of the discipline. A Ph.D. recipient should understand the
foundations of the field – which ideas to keep, which ideas to reject.
Moreover, a steward should understand how their discipline fits into a
broader intellectual landscape, have a respectful understanding of the
questions and paradigms of other fields, and understand how their discipline
can speak to important questions.
Knowledge Transformation. A third facet, transformation,
speaks of the importance of representing and communicating ideas effectively
and clearly. Transformation implies teaching in the broadest sense.
Whether working in a university research laboratory, classroom, non-profit
or governmental organization, industry, or policy arena, a disciplinary
steward must be able to convey the information and value of their knowledge
and skills to a multitude of audiences. Transformation also implies
application. Knowledge is used in a variety of settings, and a steward
must understand the range of uses to which knowledge can be applied.
Such communication calls upon skills that ought to be developed during the
apprenticeship period. This implies the ability to communicate in both
oral and written forms to technical and lay audiences. It also
suggests that stewards must understand how to appreciate and communicate
across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The use of the term "steward" is deliberately intended to convey a role
that transcends a mere collection of accomplishments and skills. A
steward is a person entrusted with care of the discipline by those in the
discipline on behalf of those in and beyond the discipline. There
are conservative aspects to the term, implying the preservation of the past.
A steward thinks about the continuing health of the discipline, and how to
preserve the best of the past, the heart and essence of the field, for those
who will follow. But there are also important forward-looking
meanings; stewardship does not imply stasis. A steward is a caretaker
who trains a critical eye toward the future and must be willing to take
risks and move the discipline forward. Ultimately, stewards consider
how to prepare and initiate the next generation of leaders.
Finally, in all their work, disciplinary stewards act with responsibility
and according to the highest ethical standards.
(Adapted from the "Invitation for Participation" in the Carnegie
Initiative on the Doctorate)
