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<h3class="anchored" data-anchor-id="how-do-i-choose-a-program">How do I choose a program?</h3>
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<p>In choosing a program, there are several important differences:</p>
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<li><em>Research:</em> While most of these programs are fairly flexible, there are generally some expectations regarding the kind of research you will do, depending on the specific program. For example, if you are joining the BMI program then your work is expected to have at least some focus on novel data analysis or informatics methods, whereas if you are joining Psychology your work is expected to make some contact with psychological function. Having said that, most of what we do in our lab could be done by a student in any of these programs.</li>
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<li><em>Coursework</em>: Perhaps the biggest difference between programs is the kind of courses you are required to take. Each program has a set of core requirements. In psychology, you will take a number of core courses in different areas of psychology (cognitive, neuroscience, social, affective, developmental). In the neuroscience program you will take a set of core modules spanning different areas of neuroscience (including one on cognitive neuroscience that Justin Gardner and I teach), whereas in BMI you take core courses around informatics-related topics. In each program you will also take elective courses (often outside the department) that establish complementary core knowledge that is important for your particular research; for example, you can take courses in our world-class statistics department regardless of which program you enroll in. One way to think about this is: What do you want to learn about that is outside of your specific content area? Take a look at the core courses in each program and see which ones interest you the most.</li>
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<li><em>First-year experience</em>: In Psychology, students generally jump straight into a specific lab (or a collaboration between labs), and spend their first year doing a first-year project that they present to their area meeting at the end of the year. In Neuroscience and BMI, students do rotations in multiple labs in their first year, and are expected to pick a lab by the end of their first year.</li>
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<li><em>Research:</em> While most of these programs are fairly flexible, there are generally some expectations regarding the kind of research you will do, depending on the specific program. For example, if you are joining the Bioengineering program then your work is expected to have at least some focus on novel computational or data acquisition methods, whereas if you are joining Psychology your work is expected to make some contact with psychological function. Having said that, most of what we do in our lab could be done by a student in any of these programs.</li>
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<li><em>Coursework</em>: Perhaps the biggest difference between programs is the kind of courses you are required to take. Each program has a set of core requirements. In psychology, you will take a number of core courses in different areas of psychology (cognitive, neuroscience, social, affective, developmental). In the neuroscience program you will take a set of core modules spanning different areas of neuroscience (including one on cognitive neuroscience), whereas in Bioengineering you take core courses around biomedical engineering topics. In each program you will also take elective courses (often outside the department) that establish complementary core knowledge that is important for your particular research; for example, you can take courses in our world-class statistics department regardless of which program you enroll in. One way to think about this is: What do you want to learn about that is outside of your specific content area? Take a look at the core courses in each program and see which ones interest you the most.</li>
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<li><em>First-year experience</em>: In Psychology, students generally jump straight into a specific lab (or a collaboration between labs), and spend their first year doing a first-year project that they present to their area meeting at the end of the year. In Neuroscience and Bioengineering, students do rotations in multiple labs in their first year, and are expected to pick a lab by the end of their first year.</li>
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<li><em>Admissions</em>: All of these programs are highly selective, but each differs in the nature of its admissions process. At one end of the spectrum is the Psychology admissions process, where initial decisions for who to interview are made by the combined faculty within each area of the department. At the other end is the Neuroscience program, where initial decisions are made by an admissions committee. As a generalization, I would say that the Psychology process is better for candidates whose interests and experience fit very closely with a specific PI or set of PIs, whereas the committee process caters towards candidates who may not have settled on a specific topic or PI.</li>
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<li><em>Career positioning</em>: I think that the specific department that one graduates from matters a lot less than people think it does. For example, I have been in psychology departments that have hired faculty with PhDs in physics, applied mathematics, and computer science. I think that the work that you do and the skills that you acquire ultimately matter a lot more than the name of the program that is listed on your diploma. Having said that, you ultimately do need to position yourself so that a particular department will feel that you “fit” with them; this is often a challenge for people working on interdisciplinary topics, where sometimes it can be difficult to find a department who feels that the person fits well.</li>
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