Academics / Graduate program
BCS Training Grants
Current Grants:
research plan &
progress report forms:
For information about faculty participation, please see the Training Grant Participating Faculty webpage.
NIGMS T32 GM007484 Integrative Neuronal Systems
PI: Mriganka Sur
We envision a program that stresses interdisciplinary knowledge and outlook spanning the four areas of cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, computation, and cognitive neuroscience. The brain sciences are, by nature, interdisciplinary; many of its subfields (e.g., cognitive neuroscience) and advances come from applying the techniques and theoretical constructs from traditionally separate fields.
Our department was designed to promote an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the brain by combining the experimental technologies of molecular neurobiology, systems neuroscience, and cognitive science with the theoretical power coming from the fields of computer science, physics and psychology. We are committed to the creation of a new generation of scientists who are well versed in a variety of the tools of modern neuroscience.
For first time appointments,
use this template for your research plan
For reappointments,
use this template for your progress report
NEI T32 EY013935 Integrative Training Program in Vision
PI: Edward H Adelson
The goal of this program is to support graduate training in the field of vision at MIT. Vision scientists seek to understand how the eye and brain work, and also seek to understand what goes wrong in visual disorders and diseases. Today’s vision scientists must be trained in multiple disciplines, including biology, psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. MIT’s training program is designed to give students the scientific breadth and depth that they need to make advances in the field.
Students in the vision training program must take 9.036, a graduate course on the visual system. In addition, they must take two more courses that have significant vision-related content. One of these courses must be from outside the student’s main track. Possible courses include the following:
| 6.341 | Discrete-Time Signal Processing (Oppenheim, Goyal) |
| 6.866 | Machine Vision (Horn) |
| 9.181 | Developmental Neurobiology (Nedivi) |
| 9.29 | Introduction to Computational Neuroscience (Fee) |
| 9.301 | Neural Plasticity in Learning and Development (Tonegawa, Quinn, Wilson, Bear) |
| 9.343 | Cognitive Artifacts and Architectures (Richards) |
| 9.35 | Sensation and Perception (Adelson) |
| 9.357 | Special Topics in Vision Science (Adelson) |
| 9.364 | Research in Cognitive Architectures (Richards) |
| 9.520 | Statistical Learning Theory and Applications (Poggio, Rifkin) |
| 9.641 | Introduction to Neural Networks (Seung) |
| 9.675 | Development of Object and Face Recognition (Sinha) |
For first time appointments,
use this template for your research plan
For reappointments,
use this template for your progress report
NIMH T32 MH074249 Training Program in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
PI: Mark Bear
Applications to the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (NLM) program will be considered only after the first year of training in the BCS graduate program has been completed. Applications consist of a letter from the candidate explaining the rationale for pursuing additional training in learning and memory, and a letter of nomination from a faculty sponsor who is a trainer in this program.
The goals of the NLM program are to train students (1) to conduct research on the neurobiology of learning and memory, and (2) to be aware of the broader potential of such research to be translated into clinical medicine relevant to the mission of the NIMH. NLM program requirements are (1) that the student conducts thesis research in the laboratory of an NLM trainer, (2) that the courses taken by the student prior to graduation include one on the neurobiology of disease, one on neural plasticity, and two courses from two different categories (cell/molecular, systems, cognitive, or computational) from the BCS course list, (3) that the student participate in "plastic lunch", a series of seminars given by students on their ongoing research or recent literature on the neurobiology of learning and memory, and (4) that the students participate in the annual retreat of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.
All BCS students are required to take two of three core courses, and five electives. For the program in NLM, these electives must include a course on the neurobiology of disease (9.24), a course on neural plasticity in learning and development (9.301), and at least two courses, each from a different category, from the list of approved graduate classes, in consultation with the advisor.
In addition to course work and specific research training in the laboratory of an NLM trainer, each trainee will participate in "plastic lunch." These hour-long sessions occur biweekly throughout the academic year. At Plastic Lunch, two students from the participating laboratories will each present a 30-minute seminar on their research, or on a topic relevant to learning and memory that interests them. These sessions serve several purposes. They provide students valuable experience giving oral presentations, they educate the broader NLM community about current research in participating labs, and—because of the diversity of interests and approaches, ranging literally from molecules to mind—they expose students to learning and memory at all levels of analysis.
Trainees will also participate in the annual Picower Institute retreat, usually held in June. The retreat features talks by the faculty and an outside keynote speaker, and several poster sessions presenting work by graduate students and postdocs. It is an excellent vehicle for building a sense of community among the students and faculty.
All NLM trainees will be required to take 9.24. Our goal is to raise their awareness of how insights into learning and memory might be applied to clinical conditions, such as depression, autism, and anxiety disorders.
For first time appointments,
use this template for your research plan
For reappointments,
use this template for your progress report
NIMH T32 MH081728 Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
PI: John Gabrieli
Understanding the mind and brain is the most exciting scientific challenge of the twenty-first century. At the very core of this challenge is the question of how brains and minds arise in development. The goal of this training program is to train the next generation of developmental scientists with the skills and knowledge necessary to make real headway in answering this question. To this end, our students are trained in multiple approaches to developmental cognitive neuroscience, so that they can forge links between behavioral studies of cognitive development in humans, computational theories of learning and development, biological mechanisms of brain development, and disorders of mental and neural developmental.
Specifically, beyond receiving a firm foundation in traditional approaches to developmental cognitive science, our students will be trained in six new frontier areas of developmental research that are being actively pursued in our Department. First, advances in computer science and machine learning have led to new computational models (e.g., of inductive inference) that are for the first time providing real traction on many longstanding problems in cognitive development; this work involves collaborations with faculty in the Computer Science and AI Laboratory. Second, there has been a new level of integration among psycholinguistic, linguistic, and neuroscience approaches towards understanding language. Third, to enhance the connection between traditional developmental work and neuroscience, our faculty are now advancing the technical frontiers of developmental cognitive neuroscience, for example by developing methods that enable us to conduct fMRI scans on ever younger children. Fourth, many of us are focusing on social cognition, which not only constitutes a core domain of cognition, but which further includes many component mechanisms that are likely to play a necessary role in the development of other domains of cognition. Fifth, virtually everyone in our group is integrating their work on normal development with parallel studies of developmental disorders, including autism, ADHD, pediatric bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment. In addition, many members of our Department are working on the biological mechanisms underlying developmental disorders of the brain. Finally, many faculty in our Department are investigating the basic neural mechanisms of brain development, an area that will be increasingly important in understanding cognitive development and developmental disorders as the links between cognitive science and neuroscience strengthen over the next decade. Through intensive exposure to all of these areas, our students are ideally positioned to shape the future of research in cognitive development.
Selection of Students
The pool of students who may be admitted to the program is comprised of all advanced graduate students (completed second year) at MIT with a well documented interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience. The pool of students who may receive financial support from this program are advanced graduate students (completed second year or later) in the BCS program with a well documented interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Applicants must write an essay describing their long-term career goals and plans for thesis research, and also a plan for courses to be taken. Applicants may or may not ask for funding support, because they may have individual fellowships, or not be eligible for support (e.g., foreign students), or may come from another department with the expectation that that department would be responsible for their financial support (e.g., Computer Science, or Linguistics, or Health Science and Technology). Applicants are evaluated on the basis of grades, progress in research over the first two or more years, and how well their research goals fit with the goals of this training grant. We want to include students from BCS not supported by this grant or from other departments so that we can create a lively critical mass that has diverse intellectual perspectives. Admission will be determined by the Steering Committee.
Requirements
All students are required to take several developmental courses already offered in BCS, three new graduate seminars in developmental cognitive neuroscience, and participate in both an annual Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Mini-Symposium and an annual discussion about career development and research ethics. BCS students also have to fulfill other BCS requirements, and students from other departments have to fulfill their departmental requirements.
Thesis Research
Students are free to perform their primary research with any faculty member at MIT or at another university. We anticipate that many projects may involve multiple faculty members, in part because there are many active collaborations already established among faculty members. If a student chooses to work primarily in a non-MIT laboratory, we will assign an MIT co-advisor so that we can make certain that the student does not fall between institutional cracks.
For first time appointments,
use this template for your research plan
For reappointments,
use this template for your progress report
