The PhD program in Developmental and Brain Sciences at UMass Boston is an intensive, developmentally-focused, research-based program. Lab work ranges from cognitive development and psychophysics to neuroendocrinology and behavioral genetics. Students may follow a Cognitive specialization investigating functional changes in perceptual and cognitive abilities or a Behavioral specialization investiga
ting neural and hormonal correlates of behavior. Independent of specialization, DBS students will receive rigorous core training in methods (dry and wet lab skills, advanced statistical methods, computational tools like MATLAB) and work in laboratories using multiple levels of investigation including psychophysical and neuropsychological evaluation, functional brain imaging (NIRS, ERP), and neuropharmacological, molecular/cellular, and genetic/epigenetic methods. New lab spaces for the program will be housed in the new Integrated Sciences Building (completion date 2013), part of our campus on the Columbia Point peninsula. This location is just a few miles south of downtown, neighbors metro Boston’s world-class research universities, and offers wonderful views of the city and Boston Harbor.
