During the student's first year, a minimum of three laboratory rotations is required. MD-PhD students may count neuroscience rotations completed prior to starting the program at the discretion of the Rotations Coordinator. Each rotation is four to eight weeks.

BCS broadly defines its research in four areas: cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. Many BCS faculty span more than one of these four areas, bringing together ideas and techniques best suited to answer the questions they pursue. Exploring the profiles and lab websites of faculty is the best way to learn more about their research, lab environment, and whether they might fit with your interests. 

• Faculty in cellular and molecular neuroscience
• Faculty in systems neuroscience
• Faculty in cognitive science
• Faculty in computation

To familiarize new students with the research being conducted in the department, during September the department hosts a series of talks by faculty whose labs are open for rotations. Students must choose their first rotation by the end of these talks (October 1). The BCS Rotation Coordinator is always available to help with questions or concerns regarding rotations and/or choosing a thesis lab. An optional fourth rotation is also available during spring term but must be approved by the rotation coordinator. Students may rotate with faculty outside BCS only with approval from the Rotation Coordinator.

Students must submit a brief rotation proposal at the start of each rotation, and a brief summary upon completion of each rotation.

• Rotation 1 form
• Rotation 2 form
• Rotation 3 form
• Rotation 4 form

Please email these rotation forms to the graduate program assistant. Students who have not successfully completed at least three rotations by March 31 have missed a degree milestone, and will receive a department warning (see below).

After all of the rotations are complete, students declare a thesis advisor and lab prior to April 30 of the first year. A thesis lab is declared by emailing the graduate program assistant, and cc’ing the thesis advisor. The thesis advisor must be BCS faculty, or participate in the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience (MCN) program, and must assent to taking the student on as advisee. In some cases, students have two co-advisors who share responsibility for overseeing the student’s research; in this case, one of the co-advisors may be appointed outside of BCS. Principal and Senior Research Scientists can serve as co-advisors, but cannot be a student's primary advisor.

Students who do not declare a thesis advisor by April 30 are required to meet with the Rotation Coordinator in May. Students who have not declared a thesis advisor by the end of the Spring term have missed a degree milestone, and will receive a department warning (see below). Choosing a thesis advisor by the end of the second semester is a program requirement. Exception requests for this requirement should be sent to Mark Harnett or Nancy Kanwisher.   

Teaching experience is an imperative piece of preparing for an academic career and can also be a very fulfilling element of the graduate school experience.

All BCS graduate students are required to complete two terms as a teaching trainee, one in the second year and one in the third. To receive their assignment, students must register for 9.919, Teaching Brain and Cognitive Sciences, in the appropriate terms.

Before teaching assignments begin, graduate students complete trainings offered by the Teaching and Learning Lab. Additional resources are available online through the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education and the Teaching and Learning Lab.

Faculty and students in BCS work in diverse disciplines and therefore have variable expectations regarding the qualifying exam ("quals"). Students should speak directly with their advisor and the chair of the quals committee about more detailed expectations for oral and written quals. 

Forming the Qualifying Exam Committee and Second Year Meeting

In the Spring semester of the second year, students form a Qualifying Exam advisory committee, and hold a pre-qual advisory meeting. A Qualifying Exam committee is made up of the advisor and two other MIT faculty. The chair of the committee must be appointed with tenure in BCS, and cannot be the student’s advisor or co-advisor.

Two weeks before the meeting, students must send the committee a written summary (1-2 pages) of the proposed topic, and a proposed reading list. At the pre-qual meeting, the student presents the topic of their quals orally. Readings are drawn from core classes along with papers that are relevant to the students’ specific interests. The reading list should be approved by the Qualifying Exam Committee at the second year meeting. 

Written Examination

The written exam consists of a grant proposal that follows the format and policies of either the National Institutes of Health (R01 not F31) or the National Science Foundation.

The written exam must contain specific aims, which can be drawn from the student’s area of research, including their potential dissertation project. Unlike a grant proposal, students are not expected to include preliminary data in the proposal. The proposal should be 10-12 pages in length in at least 11 point font (excluding references) and must demonstrate:

• A command of the background and relevant literature
• An ability to articulate novel or important hypotheses
• Specific ideas for methods to test those hypotheses
• A structured plan for how to interpret the results of the test(s)

Deadline for submission of the written exam to the student’s Exam Committee is two weeks prior to the oral exam. 

Oral Examination

The oral exam includes:

• An oral presentation (typically 30-45 minutes) of the contents of the written exam
• Questions from the Committee about the exam and reading lists
• Closed session: advisor leaves and committee discusses progress with student
• Closed session: student leaves and committee discusses progress with advisor
• Feedback; forms are signed; everyone present 

The precise structure of the oral exam (including duration of the presentation and whether questions are asked during the presentation or held until afterwards) may vary according to different disciplinary norms.  Students and their advisors should confer with committee members in advance to establish consensus and expectations.

The oral exam will be held during the month of October in the third year (or occasionally in November due to scheduling constraints), scheduled by the Graduate Program Assistant.

If the student does not pass the written or oral exams, the Qualifying Exam Committee may offer students a second opportunity to take the exams; this could require additional work on the grant proposal or additional study of the reading list. If requested by the committee, a second oral exam will be held no later than February of the third year. Students who do not pass the Qualifying exam may complete a Master’s thesis by the end of the Summer of their third year, but will not be allowed to enroll in the fall of their fourth year. 

Third year form

Please contact the Graduate Officer, a member of the GAC, or the Graduate Program Assistant with questions about this process. 

Current doctoral students may choose to earn a Master of Science in Brain and Cognitive Sciences en route to earning the PhD. The master’s is only available to students currently enrolled in the BCS PhD program and must be awarded by the end of the student’s fourth year. Students interested in earning the master’s en route to their PhD must: 

1. Complete all of the required courses (6) for the PhD program. 
2. Submit a master’s thesis that has been approved by their faculty advisor to the BCS Academic Office by the deadline published in the MIT Academic Calendar. The Graduate Officer will conduct a final review of the thesis. 
3. Register for 12-units of 9.THM during the semester(s) in which they will work on the thesis. 
4. Apply for the degree list at the start of the semester in which they will turn in the final thesis. 

The thesis should be of equivalent rigor to an Annual Reviews of Neuroscience paper with the same scientific scope and scholarly standards providing students with an opportunity to synthesize a wider range of literature relevant to their future PhD work. The thesis should also include original thoughts and contributions, a synthesis of concepts and questions for future research. Students should conclude their review by highlighting the most important open questions that emerge from their synthesis of the past literature.

Thesis Committee

The Thesis Committee is composed of the student’s advisor and three additional faculty members with interests and experience in research areas relevant to the student’s research. The committee should consist of three BCS faculty members and one non-departmental faculty member (i.e., from other departments at MIT or from another university), each with one vote. The non-department faculty member should not be a collaborator on the thesis research. Principal and Senior Research Scientists can be members of a student's Thesis Committee if and only if they are acting as the student's co-advisor. 

The Committee Chair must be a tenured BCS faculty member who is not the student's advisor, co-advisor and is not a collaborator on the thesis project. The Chair, with the help of the other members of the committee, is responsible for:

• Ensuring that students are making reasonable progress toward their degree, and that the research plans and timelines developed by the student and advisor are appropriate.
• Confirming that the student has passed the requirements of each annual committee meeting, and remains in good standing in the program. 

Thesis Committee Meetings

The thesis committee must meet annually beginning in the fourth year. To document student progress, and to assist the student with the organization of their thoughts and goals, each year has a corresponding form with the expectations for written items that the student must complete and attach to the form. At the end of each meeting the committee chair, the advisor, the committee members, and the student all sign the meeting form. Students must also provide a written summary of the feedback received from their committee. All forms should be returned to the BCS Graduate Program Assistant in BCS HQ.  

An annual committee meeting includes:

• An oral presentation of the student’s ongoing and planned research, including discussion and scientific feedback
• Closed session: advisor leaves and committee discusses progress with student
• Closed session: student leaves and committee discusses progress with advisor
• Feedback; forms are signed; everyone present 

It is the responsibility of the student, advisor, and the chair to ensure that committee meetings are scheduled and happen on time, annually. Students who have not completed an annual committee meeting and submitted the required form by the end of Spring term have missed a degree milestone, and will receive a department warning (see below). 

In the second year:

• Pre-Qual meeting 
• Second year form

In the third year:

• Qualifying exam
• Third year form

In the fourth year: 

• Thesis proposal
• Fourth year form

Starting in the fifth year:

• Fifth year and beyond form

The doctoral dissertation should make an original contribution to the field and be publication-ready. Ideally, the thesis comprises a coherent body of published and publishable work, plus an introduction and discussion that includes a comprehensive literature review. Faculty and students in BCS work in diverse disciplines and therefore have variable expectations for the exact content of a thesis (e.g. whether it must contain first-authored papers, and how many). Students should proactively work with their advisor and the chair of their thesis committee to confirm detailed expectations.

Graduate students must submit their thesis proposal by the end of the Spring semester of their fourth year of the program. Students should aim to finish the thesis research within the following two years. Extension beyond the student’s sixth year requires a report by the student‘s Thesis Committee and review by the Graduate Affairs Committee.

Thesis Proposal 

The annual committee meeting in the fourth year is the presentation of the student’s Thesis Proposal, and must be completed before the end of the Spring term. A thesis proposal is a description of a specific program of research which, if completed successfully and on the proposed timeline, the committee judges would be sufficient to fulfill the requirements of a PhD from the BCS program. The Thesis Proposal is not required to include any complete projects, though evidence of feasibility of the proposed research, such as preliminary data or pilot results, is highly desirable. 

A successful Thesis Proposal typically includes:

• A critical review of current research in the proposed area of study
• Clearly articulated specific goals for each part of the proposed research
• Preliminary findings of the student’s existing work establishing the foundation and feasibility of the proposed work
• Detailed description of the proposed methods for data collection (if applicable) and analysis
• A framework for interpreting the results of the test
• A timetable for task prioritization and completion
• References in an acceptable format. 

In the spring semester of the fourth year, students should register in 9.941, Thesis Proposal, for six units in order to receive credit for the proposal. The written proposal is due to the committee two weeks before the committee meeting.

At the committee meeting, the student should be prepared to discuss all aspects of the proposal in depth. The committee then determines whether or not the proposal is approved.  If the proposal is not completed and approved within the Spring term, the student will receive a grade of U, for unsatisfactory progress, and a warning letter. 

Fourth year form

Thesis Document

Students should consult the MIT Specifications for Thesis Preparation for instructions on document formatting. A digital version of the final thesis draft must be submitted to the committee members and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Academic Office two weeks prior to the defense. The Thesis Committee will review the thesis and if there are no serious objections found by the deadline, the defense will proceed as scheduled. Otherwise, the candidate will be notified in writing, and the defense will be postponed until issues have been addressed.

Thesis Defense

The thesis defense is a public presentation, and is announced in advance by the department. At the defense, the student presents their research in a formal 60-minute talk and answer questions from those present.

At an additional, closed session, the Thesis Committee will question the student further and determine whether or not the oral defense passes. If the student did not pass, the faculty will recommend one of the following actions to the student:

• Meet with the group in a second closed session within two weeks.
• Meet with the group in a closed session before the next term’s deadline.

The Committee will also decide whether the written thesis:

• Passes as written or with non-critical editorial suggestions.
• Passes pending certain changes, which require Thesis Supervisor and Graduate Officer approval.
• Requires more work, with approval withheld for current term.

Graduate students who wish to switch labs after passing quals should notify the BCS Senior Graduate Program Assistant and the BCS Graduate Officer. The new advisor must confirm willingness to support the student. Students who leave a previous lab, but don’t yet have a new lab, should contact the BCS Graduate Officer immediately. Each student’s situation will be evaluated individually. Completed milestones need not be repeated.

If a PI leaves MIT, students have the option to complete an MIT degree while doing research in the PI’s new lab and institution, or to switch to a different lab at BCS. 

Note that students who are admitted to the BCS graduate program are not guaranteed admission to a thesis lab. The process of choosing a thesis advisor requires a mutual commitment between student and advisor. Students who have not secured a position in a thesis lab in time to schedule their qualifying exams will most likely leave the program with a Master’s degree (see below).

Graduate students may take Medical Leave, Parental Leave, or Personal Leave during their time at BCS. Students ready to return from Leave should contact the Graduate Officer in advance. Degree timelines and milestone deadlines are paused immediately when the student goes on leave, and resume immediately upon return. So, for example, a student who is on leave in the Fall of their third year and returns for the Spring will be required to complete oral and written qualifying exams in March of their third year. 

Many students find it beneficial to their academic and professional development to participate in an internship. Participation in an internship must be approved by the faculty advisor and the possibility should be discussed well in advance—at least 2-3 months prior to the internship start date. Students should also inform the BCS Academic Office before accepting any job offers and at least 6 weeks in advance. This will give us time to ensure that the internship is allowable under MIT, department, and government policies which considers several factors including the student’s citizenship status, appointment type, funding source, the semester in which the internship will take place, whether the internship is fulfilling an academic requirement and the number of hours the internship will be. Please note the following: 

• Students are still expected to meet academic milestones on the same timeline outlined for the program and must be in good academic standing. 
• International students must go through the CPT or OPT processes and may have additional limitations including the inability to exceed 20 hours per week of off-campus employment during the Fall and Spring semesters. They should consult the ISO website and/or their ISO advisor early in the process. 
• First-year students may not participate in an internship during the Fall or Spring semester but a Summer internship is permitted, if they have selected a lab to join and their advisor approves. 
• Student stipends may be paused or prorated while they are participating in the internship. 
• All off-campus employment must adhere to MIT policies on outside professional activities and conflicts of interest.

Sometimes professional or personal conflicts arise that make it hard for students to complete their milestones on time. Students who anticipate such a conflict should contact the BCS Graduate Affairs Officer proactively to request accommodations. 

Students who have not completed a milestone are reviewed by the BCS Graduate Affairs Committee every semester. Typically, the student receives a warning letter from the department, indicating the missed milestone and a required deadline for completing the requirements. The Graduate Affairs Committee then reviews whether the student completes the requirements by the deadline indicated in the warning letter; if the student has not, the student typically receives a warning letter from MIT’s Office of Graduate Education (OGE), again indicating required progress towards the degree and a deadline. If the student is not able to complete these requirements by the indicated deadline, the student will typically be denied registration (i.e. removed from the BCS graduate program) by the beginning of the next semester.

In some cases, a student who is on the verge of being denied registration may preemptively be given the option to leave the program with a Master’s degree. 

In order to receive a Master’s degree:

• All course requirements of the graduate program must be completed. 
• The student must submit a thesis on research approved by the Graduate Officer

The thesis must be turned in two weeks prior to the thesis due date listed on the MIT academic calendar in the term specified to the Graduate Officer (typically the term preceding the impending denial of registration).

The Graduate Affairs Committee, led by the BCS Graduate Officer is responsible for overseeing the graduate program, advising students, and implementing new initiatives.  Members of the Graduate Affairs Committee work to promote student wellbeing and success in graduate school. They are available to meet with students individually to provide one-on-one support and advice. You may provide input to the committee by reaching out to any member of the committee, or by reaching out to the Sr. Graduate Program Assistant.

Committee members:

• Mark Harnett, Chair, Graduate Officer
• Nancy Kanwisher, rotations coordinator
• Roger Levy, first year advisor, quals, and committees
• Steven Flavell, website
• Fan Wang

Staff:

Sierra Vallin, BCS Academic Administrator: