GWU Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Leading research, practice, and education in the science of psychology
Congratulations to Michelle Kramer, 4th-year Cognitive Neuroscience graduate student, who competed yesterday in the GW 3-minute Thesis (3MT) competition. This is a fun event where Ph.D. students have 3 minutes to present their dissertation project. Michelle went up against a strong group of excellent presenters, and she won both the 3rd place award AND the People’s Choice Award!
When you see her in the halls and have *exactly* 3 minutes to spare…ask her what her dissertation work is about!
Congratulations on these recent fellowships awarded to Psychology folks!
Psychology major, Melissa Baker, has been awarded a Luther Rice Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She will work with faculty mentor, Dr. Mimi Le on a project titled, "The Relationship Between Physical Activity Levels & Postpartum Depression Symptoms at 6 Weeks Postpartum".
Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student, Sanam (Sammy) Dhaliwal, has been awarded a George Washington University Summer Dissertation Fellowship for her project, "The Role of Sleep Disruption in the Onset of Perinatal Depression" Sammy's faculty mentor is Dr. Mimi Le.
Applied Social Psychology Ph.D. student, Steffi Renninger, has been awarded a George Washington University Summer Dissertation Fellowship for her project, "Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses to Weight Loss Failure among Middle-Aged Men: The Potential Moderating Role of Achievement Goals." Her faculty mentor is Dr. Tonya Dodge.
Postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Patrick Cox, received an Early Career Travel Grant to attend the upcoming Vision Sciences Society meeting in St. Petersburg, FL in May. Patrick works with Dr. Steve Mitroff.
Sanam (Sammy) Dhaliwal and Maria Cimporescu, who were awarded Richard Walk Dissertation Fellowships! Sammy’s research mentor is Dr. Mimi Le, and her project is entitled “The Role of Sleep Disturbance in the Onset of Perinatal Depression”. Maria’s mentor is Dr. George Howe, and her project is “Stress Appraisal of Anticipatory Stressors Related to the Transition Out of College”
We wish all of them the best in these endeavors!
Great turnout for the info session on the new Cognitive Neuroscience B.A. & B.S. majors! For more information, contact Drs. Kravitz (for the B.A. in Cognitive Neuroscience) or Dr. O’Halloran (for the B.S. in Neuroscience).
NEW Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Neuroscience (62-64 credit hours). This new major will be headquartered in the Department of Psychology (Director, Dr. Dwight Kravitz). It is an interdisciplinary major integrating the fundamental theories, methods, and findings of neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, and the study of complex behavior. Courses are primarily offerings in psychology and biology supplemented with courses from speech and hearing, anthropology, philosophy, and other fields. The major emphasizes convergences between subfields of cognitive neuroscience. Students with sufficient interest and skill will be assisted in participating in undergraduate research experiences and external internships. Analytic skills and skills in written and oral scientific communication are emphasized. See https://psychology.columbian.gwu.edu/ba-cognitive-neuroscience
NEW Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience (71-73 credit hours). This new major will be headquartered in Biological Sciences (Director, Dr. Damien O’Halloran). It focuses on theories, methods, and concepts in neurobiology and includes all of the math and science courses that are part of the premed curriculum. It has more emphasis on biochemistry and neuroscience at the molecular and cellular levels than the BA in Cognitive Neuroscience. The goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of neural circuitry, processing, and behavioral outputs. Analytic skills and skills in written and oral scientific communication are emphasized. See https://biology.columbian.gwu.edu/bs-neuroscience
WANT LESS NEUROSCIENCE? YOU STILL HAVE THESE OPTIONS:
Psychology Major with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience (39 credit hours). This concentration is for those who want to be psychology majors and obtain the breadth of training that psychology offers but are most interested in cognitive neuroscience. Students must complete four cognitive neuroscience courses (from a menu of undergraduate and graduate courses), attain a 3.3 GPA in Psychology at graduation, complete an independent study (PSYC 4591) with a member of the faculty of the cognitive neuroscience area, attend meetings of the Cognitive Neuroscience Journal Club and Colloquium series, and complete two career counseling sessions with members of the faculty of the cognitive neuroscience area. (You can of course be a major and take our cognitive neuroscience courses without concentrating in it.) See
https://psychology.columbian.gwu.edu/concentrations-psychology-major
Minor in Mind-Brain Studies (18 credit hours). This interdisciplinary minor provides a broader mix of neuroscience-related courses from multiple disciplines. It consists of two required courses (Phil 3153, Mind, Brain, and Artificial Intelligence; Psyc 3122 Cognitive Neuroscience) and four elective courses from a menu. See https://philosophy.columbian.gwu.edu/undergraduate-minor-mind-brain-studies
