Seeking advice regarding Neurosci and Psych

[Perception]

I am currently a Psychology undergrad and my career goal is to ideally work with the brain regarding mental disorders involving what exactly causes certain disorders, methods of treating and curing mental disorders, that sort of stuff. I plan to graduate with my B.S. next summer, at the latest, so I am now attempting to research graduate schools to find a good fit. While it seems that my interests are tailored more towards the neuro- field, should I be applying for Neuroscience/Neuropsychology programs strictly instead of a Psychology program, or would it not hinder me too directly?

 

Any advice regarding programs/schools to apply for, and the entire graduate school system at large, is much appreciated. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

[Dedi]

Many psychology programs have neuroscience components/faculty, especially if they don't have a separate neuroscience program.

 

Really, you are more applying to the faculty you want to work with rather than the program itself. If you can find faculty in the psych program that match your interests, don't be hesitant to apply to the psychology program. Though I want to go into behavioral neuroscience, one of the programs I'm applying to is in the Public Health area because the professor I want to work with is under that program.

 

Overall, do keep an open mind about the program you may end up in.

[juilletmercredi]

I know neuroscientists with PhDs in biology, psychology, neuroscience, biomedical sciences and there are probably some in some other fields too (like biochem).  Even at one particular university there may be many choices.  For example, at Columbia there's the doctoral program in neurobiology and behavior, which has three Nobel laureates in it - but you could also study neuroscience in the neuro-heavy psychology department (especially if you are interested in social neuroscience or cognitive neuroscience), in biology, probably also in chemistry (one of the three Nobel laureates won his Nobel in chemistry) and even math and/or computer science if you were interested in computational neuroscience.

 

As was already mentioned, what's really important is the work that you do and who you work with.

[Perception]

Thank you both for your replies! I believe that a neuro- or biopsych- approach would be most beneficial for me personally as far as subject material goes but I do understand the importance of faculty and who I am working with. I am new to how graduate school runs so I am happy to learn, and I will be sure to research professors who work in, or teach, fields that pertain to my interests.

[neur0cat]

I am currently a Psychology undergrad and my career goal is to ideally work with the brain regarding mental disorders involving what exactly causes certain disorders, methods of treating and curing mental disorders, that sort of stuff. I plan to graduate with my B.S. next summer, at the latest, so I am now attempting to research graduate schools to find a good fit. While it seems that my interests are tailored more towards the neuro- field, should I be applying for Neuroscience/Neuropsychology programs strictly instead of a Psychology program, or would it not hinder me too directly?

 

Any advice regarding programs/schools to apply for, and the entire graduate school system at large, is much appreciated. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

I have the same problem as you - I graduated with a BA in Psychology in the U.S. (however, I do have 1 year of biology and chemistry, and have taken a few higher-level psychology courses with a science component, e.g. behavior genetics) and recently graduated with an MS in Cognitive Neuroscience in the U.K. I have been looking up different programs and potential faculty to work with recently as I plan to apply next year. Most of the faculty I am interested to work with hold double positions in psychology and neuroscience as a lot of the work I am interested in involves neuroimaging. Hence I am also a bit unsure if I should apply to Psychology or Neuroscience programs eventually. Some schools like Duke do have an integrated program in Cognitive Neuroscience, but others don't.

Edited December 4, 2014 by neur0cat