Admissions
- Students must be EITHER:
(a) accepted into the neuroscience undergraduate major OR
(b) if in another major, have completed minimum neuroscience coursework, including
– PSYCH 107 or BIOL 230: Statistics
– PSYCH 213W (or comparable course with approval of Director): Experimental Psychology
– PSYCH 243: Behavioral Neuroscience
– BIOL 373: Neurobiology
– plus two 200 or 300 level courses from the list of Neuroscience Majors required or elective courses
A grade of B or better must be earned in ALL these courses for consideration. - Students must be in good academic standing (minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0).
- Students must be actively involved in research with a recommendation from their current research mentor for the dual program.
- Students should identify who they would like to work with for their graduate thesis, either continuing with their current mentor or identifying a new mentor.
Interested students should apply as follows:
Log into the Accelerated Degrees Online Application System using your QC username and password (CAMS account credentials, not CUNYfirst) to submit an application. In the section labeled “Name of Reference” enter the name of the mentor you would like to work with for your graduate thesis. Note: The recommendation letter cannot be uploaded but needs to be sent by your mentor directly to the MA Neuroscience Director Dr. Kerstin Unger (kerstin.unger@qc.cuny.edu).
You must be actively involved in research and your research mentor must send a letter of recommendation identifying why you would be an appropriate and good candidate for the program. The letter should be sent by your mentor directly to Kerstin.Unger@qc.cuny.edu. If you plan to do your MA work with a different mentor, that mentor should send an email acknowledging that they are able to take you into their lab when you start the MA program.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis (ie., no deadline), your current mentor and proposed mentor will be contacted and a decision will be made whether to accept you into the program or not. If accepted, Kerstin Unger (MA Neuroscience Director) will advise you moving forward with regard to your MA work.
Important Notices
LIMITED SLOTS: Students should be aware that we have only limited slots available for this program. The number of slots will vary and depends upon current enrollment in the Behavioral Neuroscience MA program and course availability and capacities. Meeting the requirements above is necessary to be considered but does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Among those that meet the requirements above, we will evaluate which candidates are the best match for the program. We will consider factors such as the quality of research experience, both completed so far as an undergraduate, and proposed research for future MA work. While part of this matching evaluation is based on the applicant, part of it is also based on the program, including availability of research opportunities and distribution of students across faculty to support a range of research activities. We encourage novel, interdisciplinary research experience and plans. There are no appeals to admission decisions to the Neuroscience MA accelerated program. Students not accepted into the program but still interested in the MA in Behavioral Neuroscience are encouraged to apply through the traditional route. While there is no deadline for submitting an application to the accelerated program, we will evaluate applications and offer acceptance into the program on a periodic basis as applications accumulate.
TIMING: (i) students should apply and be accepted into this program ideally before registration begins in Spring for Fall classes. If a student applies after and classed are filled/closed, they will not be able to take the courses they would like, even if accepted into the program. (ii) though we will accept and review applications at any time, there is a limit on how many students the Neuroscience MA program can maximally accommodate. For students outside this program, we accept applications once a year (deadline April 1st). Current undergraduate neuroscience students interested in this program are advised to submit their application before the general deadline for outside applicants to ensure they get priority for limited program slots that are available.