Internship / Research Requirement 

The internship/research requirement for Neuroscience at the University of Puget Sound applies to both the Neuroscience minor and secondary major. Below is more information regarding this requirement, as well as resources to help students determine what they would like to do to fulfill this requirement. 

*A list containing some current internships and research opportunities is located here.

Secondary Major in Neuroscience

The neuroscience major focuses on educating students in the methodologies, approaches, and underlying principles within the field of Neuroscience, with a focus on a chosen concentration. Currently the Neuroscience major is only offered as a secondary major, meaning that students must first choose a primary major in a different academic field. Students in the Neuroscience major pick one of five available concentrations: 

  • Neuro Philosophy
  • Neuro Economics
  • Neuro Arts
  • Neuro Spirituality
  • Neuro Bioethics

Depending on a student's choice of concentration, the goal of the major in Neuroscience is to provide an interdisciplinary education that teaches students how to apply Neuroscience principles to their chosen concentration. A key feature of the major is a research or internship experience in Neuroscience. These experiential learning opportunities serve to deepen a student's understanding of not only neuroscience as a field, but also the way in which neuroscience can be applied to a variety of different disciplines. They also help students get hands-on training and experience in the field, and foster a deeper appreciation for the methodologies,  philosophies, and ethical issues that exist within the field of Neuroscience.

Minor in Neuroscience

The minor in Neuroscience educates students on the underlying principles, methodologies, and approaches in the field of Neuroscience for the purpose of applying them to real world issues. A key feature of the minor is a research or internship experience. This personalized learning experience will not only deepen a student’s knowledge and training in a particular area of neuroscience, but will serves to kindle an interest in and appreciation for the methodological, philosophical, and ethical issues that neuroscientists are concerned with.

Guidelines

Objectives of this requirement

  • To advance awareness of a particular area of neuroscience through internship or research experience.
  • To provide an opportunity for students to engage in independent work outside that classroom that expands knowledge about neuroscience acquired elsewhere in the curriculum.
  • To offer a deeper experience in a specific area of neuroscience related to the students’ particular areas of interest.
  • To provide positive learning experiences that enable students to make decisions about the types of work settings or graduate training they would like to pursue in the future.

Experiences that typically meet the requirement.

  1. Independent basic or clinical research on a topic in neuroscience that is supported by a university summer research stipend (e.g., Summer Research Grants in Science and Mathematics Program.)
  2. Active participation in ongoing, supervised research in neuroscience, with participation in team conferences and systematic literature review.
  3. Participation in a structured off-campus undergraduate program in neuroscience.
  4. A systematic theory-based review and paper in neuroscience, overseen by a faculty advisor and completed for credit in the major or minor (e.g., a senior thesis.)
  5. An internship or practicum experience in neuroscience taken for university credit.
  6. Shadowing patients in a clinical setting as part of a clinical or research team, with participation in team conferences and with systematic literature review.

Note: Other experiences will be considered on a case-by-case basis, if they satisfy the requirements outlined below.

Requirements for satisfactory completion of the NRSC research/internship experience.

  • Consult with a neuroscience advisor.
  • Submit to the Neuroscience Steering Committee an pre-approval form explaining how you plan to satisfy (or have satisfied) the research/internship experience as well as the pre-internship survey (Note: the proposal form must be submitted prior to the end of the second semester of the junior year.) To satisfy the requirement, the student must:
  1. dedicate 120 hours to the experience.
  2. be engaged in an experience that is solidly based in neuroscience.
  3. have a meaningful role in the work, for example by conducting independent research, by learning through direct interaction with research participants, patients, or technologies, by conducting an independent theory-based systematic review of literature, and others.
  4. Submit to the Neuroscience Steering Committee a post-internship approval form explaining how you plan to satisfied) the research/internship experience as well as a post-internship survey (Note: the proposal form must be submitted prior to the April 1 for spring graduation). View guidelines for the final report.
  • Students will be asked to present their research work at a public forum in the form of a 15-20 minute talk. The venue and date for this presentation will be announced at a later date. Students will NOT be evaluated on their talk, rather this will be a forum for them to present their work to a larger audience.

University credit

Completion of the research, internship, and systematic review experience satisfies a requirement for the Minor in Neuroscience, and depending on the particular experience, may also earn credit toward the major, minor, or university graduation requirements.

For example, students may earn one unit of credit toward the major or university graduation requirements by completing a systematic review in neuroscience as part of a senior thesis toward a philosophy major (PHIL 495) or by completing an internship experience in neuroscience through the university internship program (INTN 495). In contrast, summer research supported by University Enrichment funds would satisfy the NRSC requirement, but does not earn university credit.

Neuroscience Program Advisory Committee

  • Susannah Hannaford, Biology
  • Gary McCall, Exercise Science
  • Melvin Rouse, Psychology
  • Siddharth Ramakrishnan, Neuroscience, Biology
  • Sam Liao, Philosophy
  • Justin Tiehen, Philosophy