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Becoming a Golden Hawk means more than just cheering on our (really good) varsity teams – it means being a student who cares about your community, who works hard in the classroom, and who takes advantage of all the learning opportunities that can happen outside the classroom, too.
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Neuroscience is one of the most exciting and rapidly advancing fields in all of the life sciences. At Laurier, we take a broadly integrative perspective, examining the interaction between behaviour, cognition and the nervous system across a diverse set of species from fish to humans, ranging in scale from populations, to individuals, to cells, on timescales ranging from milliseconds to generations.
Our research interests are interconnected, focusing on the mechanisms underlying:
The objective of our PhD program is to train students to become independent research investigators in the field of neuroscience. An apprenticeship model provides students with an opportunity to acquire advanced academic knowledge in the biological basis of cognition and behaviour. Human and animal psychological issues are addressed by exploring the interaction between cognition, behaviour and the nervous system. Commonalities between humans and animals relating to cognitive, learning, and motivational processes and behaviour are explored to determine the role of the inner workings of the brain.
Students will develop basic and/or applied research skills in neuroscience. The PhD dissertation requires original research that contributes significant new knowledge to the field. Graduates are trained for positions in university, hospital, community, industry or government settings.
Our facilities allow faculty members and students to employ a rich diversity of tools and techniques including:
In addition, a field station is equipped to study large groups of freely behaving animals to study the neural mechanisms organizing complex social behaviour.
Admission is contingent upon successful completion of a master’s degree program. If a student applies with a MA or MSc degree from another university, she/he may be admitted to the PhD program; some make-up course work may be required depending on the courses completed at the master’s level.
Training at the doctoral level in all five fields is based on a research apprenticeship model, in which students work closely with faculty supervisors conducting research. Doctoral students are encouraged to teach a course as part of their program experience.
The university regulations regarding the requirements for submitting a doctoral dissertation and scheduling the oral examination will apply.
Contact Us:
For more information about the Cognitive and Behavioural Neurosciences program, as well as admissions-related inquiries, email rsharkey@wlu.ca.
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