NEURO-M.S.
FOR INCOMING 2015-2016 STUDENTS
TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE
NEUROSCIENCE AND EDUCATION
Program in Neuroscience and Education 2015-2016
Program Coordinator: Professor Peter Gordon
Core Program Faculty: Professors Peter Gordon, Andrew Gordon, Karen Froud, Erika Levy, Kimberly
Noble, Lisa Edmonds, Alisha Holland, Stephen Sands. Instructors: Trey Avery, Lisa Levinson. Student
advisement: Students will be assigned to one of the following faculty members for advisement: Peter
Gordon, Karen Froud, Kimberly Noble, Alisha Holland. You will be notified during orientation who your
advisor is.
Welcome to the program in Neuroscience and Education. We hope you all have an enjoyable and
rewarding experience in the program.
Early Registration Required in 2015
The following is a quick guide to registration. Because of changes in the healthcare benefits
requirements, students will be required to register by August 15th . However, courses may be added or
dropped up until add/drop date, so early registration does not commit you to a particular set of courses.
If in doubt, just register for any of the basic BBSN courses, and make changes during orientation on
Spetember 1. It is highly recommended that you attend this orientation session, even if you attend a
session during the summer so that you can get caught up on changes in program structure.
New Program Structure for 2015
With the addition of new faculty and courses, we are changing the program structure beginning in the
Fall of 2015. New students should register using the new guidelines. Existing students may be
grandfathered with the old guidelines or may adapt to the new guidelines, whichever is preferred.
Basic things to know about registration and course requirements:
1. The MS degree requires that you take 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.) For example, courses taken in the
Psychology Department on the Main Campus are GSAS rather than Teachers College. Such courses can
be registered through TC, but do require permission of the instructor, so make sure you are prepared in
advance. Columbia College undergraduate courses at the entry level (1000, 2000 level) cannot be used
to fulfill graduate degree requirements. Advanced undergrad courses can be petitioned for program
course credit with the registrar, but this is not automatic. Graduate courses (4000 and above, or
preceded with G) can count for credit in the program. If you are considering enrolling in advanced
graduate courses in neuroscience, biology etc. outside of TC, please be sure that you have the sufficient
prerequisites and background training to handle the content. If in doubt, speak with the instructor
and/or your advisor. Many of these courses are very rigorous and require a solid preparation in the area
of study. Students may end up failing these courses if they overestimate their preparation.
2. The program requirements consist of the following:
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). Students
entering with previous neuroscience background may substitute more advanced neuroscience
courses from other Columbia University Colleges (Medical School, Main Campus, Barnard etc.)
with permission of the instructor and their advisor.
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.
C. BBSN 5575 Proseminar is required for all students in their first Fall term. Exceptions must be
approved by the advisor. BBSN 5XXX Capstone and Thesis is highly recommended for students
in their final Spring term unless there are other forms of thesis advice such as mentorship with a
sponsor of a practicum experience.
D. Breadth Courses: At least 6 credits of breadth courses outside of BBSN. Most out of program
courses qualify for this requirement, and students should consider more than the minimum 6
credits to combine a content area with their neuroscience training. Students with advanced
preparation who wish to focus on advanced courses in Neuroscience offered at the Columbia
Medical School and Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Main Campus) may count
these as their breadth requirement with the permission of their advisor. Such an option is
typically taken by students who will be applying to doctoral programs following the Masters
degree at Teachers College.
E. 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 5XXX Capstone and Thesis, to provide guidance and feedback in the writing of
the thesis.
F. 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 and Cognitive Neuroscience) or Brain and Behavior
I and II. If students substitute undergraduate courses for these requirements, then a B grade or better is
also required on their transcript. Students who fail to obtain a B grade in these courses will be required
to repeat them.
Websites for Registration and Course Selection
Teachers College
Biobehavioral Sciences
, Human
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/tc-schedule/schdsearch.cgi
Development & Other Departments Bases
on Specialization
Columbia University
Directory of Classes
Columbia University GSAS
Graduate Program in Psychology
College of Physicians & Surgeons
Ph.D in Neurobiology & Behavior
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/dept/curriculu
m/index.html
Note: Only 3000 level (graduate) classes and above
http://www.neurosciencephd.columbia.edu/index.php?
page=8
Note: Special Registration Required, Classes on
Different Schedule than TC
Updating the Academic Progress Spreadsheet
All students in the program will have access to a moodle site in which they will be
required to update their progress in the program during their studies at TC. Progress
reports will be visible to advisors and will be the basis for monitoring of student progress.
Available courses for program requirements:
** Required for all students
* Required for students in first term unless substituted by previous coursework
^ On-line course
# Daytime lectures video recorded and offered on-line
Course Number
Course Name
A. MINIMUM 20 CREDITS REQUIRED IN BBSN PROGRAM (including BBSN methods courses)
FALL TERM
BBSN 5575
**Proseminar in Neuroscience and Education
BBSN4003
*Foundations of Neuroscience
BBSN4000
*Cognitive Neuroscience
BBSN4005
*Neuroscience Methods I
BBSN 4007
#Applications of Neuroscience to Education
BBSN5122
^Psychoneuroimmunology & Education
BBSN 5005
Evaluation of Neuropsychological Instruments for Research
BBSN 5199
#Neuroscience of Reading
BBSN 4904
Practicum / Res Ind Stdy
CCPX 4199
Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology
SPRING TERM
BBSN 5XXX
BBS5068
BBS5069
BBSN5070
BBSN 5199
BBSN 5044
BBSN 5XXX
BBSN 5199
BBSN 4904
Capstone and Thesis writing in Neuroscience and Education
*Brain & Behavior 1
*Brain & Behavior 2
#Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
#Affective Neuroscience
Current Issues in Neuroscience
#Neuroscience of Adversity
^Human Functional Neuroanatomy
Practicum / Res Ind Stdy
B. Neuroscience Research Methods and Statistics (MINIMUM 9 CREDITS)
BBSN4XXX
Neuroscience Methods I
BBSN 5XXX
Capstone and Thesis in N&E
BBSN5199
Eye Tracking Methods
BBSN5005
Evaluation of Neuropsychological Instruments
BBSN 5000
EEG Methods
BBSN 6000
EEG Data Collection and Analysis
BMEN E4840
Functional Imaging of the Brain
MARTINOS
CENTER
***WorkShops in fMRI, NIRS etc. (external courses offered in Boston MGH: Can count as
credit for this requirement)
Other courses qualifying for credit under B. Research Methods and Stat
Courses offered in the program in measurement and Statistics (HUDM)
HUDK 5040
Core Methods in Educ. Data Mining
HUDM4120
Basic Concepts in Statistics
HUDM4121
Intermediate Statistics
HUDM4050
Introduction to Measurement (elementary statistics)
HUDM5122
Appled Regression (Advanced)
HUDM5123
Linear Models and Experimental Design (Advanced)
HUDM6122
Multivariate Analysis (very advanced)
Breadth Courses MINIMUM 6 CREDITS REQUIRED
Students may choose courses as they wish from other programs at TC or Columbia, while
respecting the provisions of the excluded courses section (see above).
The following are suggestions for breadth courses from the Human Development/
Cognitive Studies Programs
Developmental Psychology
HUDK5024
HUDK 4023
HUDK5023
HUDK4027
HUDK4020
HUDK4024
Early Language Development
Dev Psych: Adolescence
Cognitive Development
Development of Mathematical Thinking
Theories of Human Development
Developmental Psychology
HUDK 4035
Technology and Human Development
HUDK 5020
Development of Creativity
HUDK 5037
Psych of Children's TV
HUDK 5040
Dev Psychopathology: Atypical Contexts
HUDK 5120
Dev of Creativity: Case Study Method
Learning & Cognition
HUDK4015
Psychology of Thinking
HUDK4029
Theories of Human Cognition & Learning
HUDK5096
Psychology of Memory
HUDK 5025
Spatial Thinking
HUDK 5030
Spatial Explanations
HUDK 4080
Educational Psychology
HUDK 5035
Psych of Media
HUDK 5120
Psych of Language and Reading
HUDK 5125
Cross Cultural Psychology