Curriculum

Students in the education track can expect: 

• To produce a capstone project involving the creation of a new course, a paper on a specific topic or other scholarly product
• To be mentored by strong teaching faculty

Sample Education Track Schedule: 

Sample plan of study for students in the education track for the MS in Applied Neuroscience program.

Autumn Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
NeuroSc 7001: Foundations of Neuroscience I (4 credits) NeuroSc 7100: Current Topics in Neuroscience (1 credit) NeuroSc 7000.02: Education Techniques (4 credits) Elective: (2-3 credits)	NeuroSc 7002: Foundations of Neuroscience II (4 credits) NeuroSc 7050: Neurobiology of Disease (3 credits) NeuroSc 7000.02: Education Techniques (2-3 credits) NeuroSc 7600: Capstone Project I (2 credits)	NeuroSc 7600: Capstone Project II (3 credits) BIOPHRM 5510: Responsible Conduct in Biomedical Research (3 credits) NeuroSc 7000.02: Education Techniques (1 credits) Master’s Defense – Written and Oral Component. Capstone project serves as written component.
Total Credits: 11-12	Total Credits: 11-12	7 credits
Total Credits: 30 credits

 

Students in the research track can expect: 

• An intensive research experience in an active and dynamic laboratory
• Research mentoring by renowned leaders in their chosen field
• Access to state-of-the-art facilities and opportunities to perform research in a collaborative and open environment
• Practical exposure to active laboratories in the Ohio State Department of Neuroscience and College of Medicine
• Access to mentors who can provide firsthand advice on what it takes to succeed in the field of neuroscience
• Ample networking opportunities including lab meetings, group journal clubs, etc.
• Presentation and defense of a capstone project before graduation

Sample Research Track Schedule: 

Sample plan of study for students in the research track for the MS in Applied Neuroscience program.

Autumn Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
NeuroSc 7001: Foundations of Neuroscience I (4 credits) NeuroSc 7100: Current Topics in Neuroscience (1 credit) NeuroSc 7000.01: Research Techniques (4 credits) Elective: (2-3 credits)	NeuroSc 7002: Foundations of Neuroscience II (4 credits) NeuroSc 7050: Neurobiology of Disease (3 credits) NeuroSc 7000.01: Research Techniques (2 -3 credits) NeuroSc 7600: Capstone Project I (2 credits)	NeuroSc 7600: Capstone Project II (3 credits) BIOPHRM 5510: Responsible Conduct in Biomedical Research (3 credits) NeuroSc 7000.01: Research Techniques (1credits) Master’s Defense – Written and Oral Component. Capstone project serves as written component
Total Credits: 11-12	Total Credits: 11-12	7 credits
Total Credits: 30 credits

 

The capstone course is designed to demonstrate that the students are able to think critically, solve challenging problems and develop skills such as oral communication, public speaking, research skills, media literacy, teamwork, planning, self-sufficiency, or goal setting—i.e., skills that will help prepare them for careers in the biomedical science field. The projects will require students to apply skills or investigate issues and to demonstrate research or education proficiency.

The objective of the capstone course is to allow the students to synthesize and integrate the knowledge from their didactic course work with laboratory and teaching skills. The goal of the capstone course is designed to evaluate the students' ability to problem solve, carry out a critical analysis of scientific procedures and/or educational material, and their ability to communicate this information to their peers and instructors in the degree program. The course will determine if students are prepared to critically assess the literature, demonstrate competence in various lab skills or educational strategies analyses.

The capstone document will also constitute a portion of the University’s required master’s examination. The ultimate educational goals of the capstone project is to demonstrate learning and
proficiency, enhance student confidence and self-perception, and solidify educational and career aspirations.

This course provides students with an understanding of basic cellular, molecular, neurophysiological and neuropharmacological principles. It also relates these principles to the basic organization of the normal and diseased nervous system. This is a letter graded course.

This course covers basic neuroanatomy as well as the organization of select systems in the nervous system including motor, sensory, autonomic and higher cognitive centers. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of how neural systems are organized and function and to relate this information to basic principles of behavior. This is a letter graded course.

The intent of this course is to familiarize students with clinical and basic science research being carried out related to various diseases of the nervous system. The course also helps students develop critical thinking skills by having them discuss a relevant paper on each topic and to have them write a National Institute of Health (NIH) style grant in which they develop a research project related to a specific neurological disease. This is a letter graded course.

This course reviews recent literature under the direction of an expert in the field. They will be asked to critically evaluate the assigned papers with respect to the hypothesis of the study, techniques, writing style and whether the data supports the conclusions. Critical thinking and ability to interpret relevant neuroscience literature is essential for all types of positions. The papers selected for the course are correlated with material presented in Neuroscience 7001. This is an S/U graded course.

Students intent on a career in an education setting (e.g., high school science, neuroscience courses at community or small liberal arts colleges) will be paired with a faculty member engaged in didactic teaching at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. These students will be assigned to a mentor with a primary focus in education where they will become competent in developing courses, giving lectures, grading exams, counseling students, etc. These will be a letter graded course.

This will provide the necessary skills for students who have a goal to work in a basic science or clinical research laboratory either in academia or industry. Students will be assigned to laboratories where they will become competent in various lab skills including, but not limited to, animal handling, PCR, immunohistochemistry, genetic screening, CRISPR, maintenance of lab notebooks, basic data analysis, experimental design, microscopy, etc. This will be a letter graded course.

Offers a philosophical survey of the moral foundations of contemporary bioethical theories and healthcare policies. 

Designed as initial preparation for instruction at the college level; focuses on the generic skills, strategies, and issues common to university teaching. Open to grad students committed to teaching in any area or discipline at the college level.

You will be required to either take STAT5301 Intermediate Data Analysis I or Psych 6810 Statistical Methods in Psychology I. However, if you have taken a statistics course as an undergrad, you may be exempt from this requirement upon review.