Interdisciplinary Training Program in Cognitive Science

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Official Title:

"Interdisciplinary Training Program in Cognitive Science"

Note: Lists of program faculty, stipends and other details may change, so be sure you refer to the most recent version of this document. An up-to-date version should be available in the Center for Cognitive Sciences office in Elliott Hall.

Training Grant Director:

Principal Investigator: Gordon Legge

Grant Website:

http://www.cogsci.umn.edu/train/trainee.htm

Eligibility:

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or noncitizen nationals.

Applicants have normally completed one year of the phd program in one of the affiliated departments before entering our training program. The program will typically provide support during 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of the graduate program, with no student being funded beyond their 5th year.

Outstanding incoming students whose research interests are especially well-suited for the training program also may be considered. Because they are eligible for University fellowships during their first year, trainees selected from among incoming students normally would not begin their traineeships until the second year.

The application includes the following materials:
" The student's two-page statement of research interests and goals, explaining how the traineeship will benefit his/her development as a researcher in cognitive science.
" Student's vita and recent publications (if any)
" Graduate transcript (or undergrad transcript for incoming students).
" GRE report.
" Letter of recommendation from a faculty referee in the student's Ph.D. program
" The potential advisor (if other than the referee) and co-advisor must submit letters attesting to their willingness to serve the student (these must be Program Faculty). The advisor and co-advisor need to give assurances that appropriate research facilities will be made available to the student.

Research Focus:

The Program has modules in three topical areas:
" Perception and Action
" Learning and Memory
" Emotion

And four methodological approaches
" Behavior
" Computational analysis
" Development
" Neuroscience

The grant proposal awarded us funding for ten predocs each year for the 5 year duration of the grant.

The plan is to equally distribute predocs across the three topical modules.

Our plan is to train predoc students for two to three years during the middle to latter part of their Ph.D. training. We believe that our training program will have optimal impact by supporting students beginning in their second or third year.

See attached table A, which includes FY 2004 stipends for predocs, and all other expenses covered for each trainee.

Goals:

According to the grant proposal: "Our goal is to train students at the boundary between brain and behavior in cognitive science. The role of the training program will be to encourage trainees to master and integrate different approaches in addressing specific research questions. We believe that the major advances in cognitive science will come from researchers who have expertise bridging multiple approaches, and we aim to provide a context for interdisciplinary training."

General characteristics of a trainee's program must include
" Each trainee must have a research focus in one of the three topical modules.
" Trainees are expected to participate in research using more than one methodological approach. Sometimes, two or more approaches will occur within a single lab. In other occasions, students will do research in two labs.
" The student's program must include exposure to at least one of the other topical areas through monthly journal clubs, faculty lab meetings, or other identifiable means.

Typically, the curriculum in the student's major department will provide one of the four approaches (e.g., a student in Child Development will conduct research with a developmental focus). Typically, a minor or supporting program will provide the second methodological approach.

Advising and mentoring of students include:
" Faculty research advisor from their Ph.D. department.
" Co-advisor in their minor or supporting program. At a minimum the co-advisor will guide the trainee in selection of courses and training opportunities. Often the co-advisor will serve as a research co-advisor.
" Both advisor and co-advisor must be members of the program faculty.

As part of the application to the training program, students will identify a research and academic advisor, and a co-advisor. Students may elect to retain an existing advisor relationship (with someone outside the program), but trainees will be expected to conduct their research under the direction of the research advisor.

Five multidisciplinary curricular activities:
" Attendance at the CCS weekly colloquium (credit granted through Psy. 8410).
" Monthly journal club meeting in student's topical area or monthly journal club in one of the other topical areas. The journal clubs are organized by the module faculty.
" Lab meetings of advisor and co-advisor.
" Two-Part professional socialization course offered by program faculty: Each part is one semester, to be taken in the trainees first and second years in the program.
" Annual Spring Research Day: The training grant will host a mini-symposium in which all trainees are expected to present their research as poster or talk.

Yearly evaluation of student progress includes
" A brief report of academic progress and accomplishments by the student.
" Updated vita.
" Meeting with the grant PI or another program faculty.

Additional Information:

Table A: For the most recent information check here

Trainee expenses

Predocs, FY 2004:
Stipend: $20,772
Travel: $500, to attend one scientific meeting per year
Tuition: 2 semesters, not including summer courses
Fees: 2 semesters, not including fees associated with summer courses
Health: Full year coverage

Faculty Trainers:

Table B: For the most recent information check here

Table 3. Steering Committee