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Graduate: Masters – 4 + 1 Program

Office: 3053 Percival Stern Hall
Phone: (504) 862-3305 or 314-7548
Fax: (504) 862-3365
Email: brain@tulane.edu, bwee@tulane.edu
Gary Dohanich, Ph.D., Beth Wee, Ph.D.

The purpose of the 4+1 M.S. Program in Neuroscience is to provide students with training at the graduate level for one additional year beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students accepted to the 4+1 program may follow one of two tracks toward completion of an M.S. in Neuroscience.

For the Thesis Track option (24 credit hours), students will take courses relevant to their interests in neuroscience or related fields and complete an empirical masters thesis under the supervision of an advisor who is a member of the Neuroscience Graduate program. Because completion of an empirical masters thesis normally requires more than one year, students accepted into the 4+1 program must be active in research at the undergraduate level.  Each student will be encouraged to develop a masters thesis that is a continuation or extension of his or her undergraduate honors thesis or independent study. The thesis advisor will provide guidance in the selection of courses and in all aspects of the masters thesis. For the Non-Thesis Track option (30 credit hours), students will take courses relevant to their interests in neuroscience or related fields but are not required to complete an empirical masters thesis.

**Students who pursue the thesis track in the Masters Program in Neuroscience are strongly encouraged to defend and submit the  masters thesis to the School of Science and Engineering within one year after entering the program.  However, the masters thesis must be defended and submitted in final form to the School of Science and Engineering within two years after entering the masters program.  Students who fail to meet the two-year deadline will be recommended for dismissal from the Masters Program in Neuroscience.**

Admissions

Tulane students working toward the B.S. in Neuroscience or a related major may apply for admission. To be considered for admission, the student should submit a Tulane graduate application form; SAT or ACT scores; an official transcript; and two letters of reference written by full-time members of the Tulane Faculty who have had the student in a science course. For students planning to do the thesis track, one of these letters must come from a faculty member who is a member of the Graduate Neuroscience Program confirming his or her commitment to supervise the student. Acceptance into the program will be competitive and based on the decision of the 4+1 Neuroscience Program Committee comprised of 5 faculty members of the Neuroscience Graduate Program, including two from each campus. Applicants will need a minimum of 3.2 undergraduate GPA. The deadline for receipt of the COMPLETED APPLICATION, INCLUDING ALL SUPPORTING MATERIALS is June 1 to start in the fall semester and October 15 to start in the spring semester. Completed applications received prior to the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis as early as March 1 for students applying to start in the fall and October 15 for students applying to start in the spring.

Program Committee:

• Jill Daniel - Psychology
• Norman Kreisman - Physiology
• Benjamin Hall - Cell and Molecular Biology
• Guyong Wang - Structural and Cell Biology
• Beth Wee - Neuroscience

Contact Dr. Wee regarding specific admission procedures.

Costs

The cost of the 4 + 1 Masters Program for the 2009-2010 Academic Year is $13,650 for tuition and approximately $1650 for fees. In addition, all students are required to have health insurance while enrolled at Tulane. Students may elect to enroll in the Tulane sponsored health insurance plan which is approximately $2000 this year. Estimated personal expenses are about $1500.

Thesis Committee and Prospectus

Master's thesis research is the central element of the 4+1 Thesis Track degree. The thesis normally is an extension of research conducted at the undergraduate level and tied closely to the research advisor’s interest and expertise. A student conducting a thesis in partial fulfillment of the 4+1 degree in Neuroscience will assemble a thesis committee of three faculty members, two of whom must be members of the Neuroscience Graduate Program. The student will prepare a written thesis prospectus for the committee, not to exceed 5 pages. The prospectus should describe briefly the specific hypotheses, the most relevant literature, the proposed methodology and data analysis, and the expected outcomes and significance of the project. Within one week after submission of the prospectus to committee members, the student will meet with the full committee for comments and guidance. The meeting with the thesis committee should occur prior to October 1 of the 4+1 year of study. Upon completion of the thesis, the committee will read and review the final thesis document and evaluate student performance at a formal thesis defense. The final document submitted to the Science and Engineering Graduate office following the thesis defense is due in late March for spring graduation or late July for summer graduation. The exact dates vary from year to year. Details about the thesis can be found in the School of Science and Engineering's Thesis Preparation Guidelines. For additional information, contact Dr. Wee or Dr. Dohanich.

Curricula

The Thesis Track degree will require 24 credits at the graduate level, and the Non-thesis Track degree will require 30 credits at the graduate level. Up to 12 credits may be earned prior to the fifth year of study at the 600 and 700 levels, but only 6 of these credits may be applied toward both the baccalaureate and master's degrees. Students who accumulate more than 120 credits prior to earning the baccalaureate degree may apply additional graduate level credits to the M.S., provided these credits are not needed for the baccalaureate degree. The curriculum is flexible and specific to each individual student. However, the course plan must be developed in consultation with Dr. Wee.

Please note that 4+1 students are required to take Methods in Neuroscience, Graduate Neuroscience and Trends/Seminar (1 or both semesters).

Elective Courses

View a list of all graduate courses available to graduate students in neuroscience.