Dartmouth College | Graduate Program in Psychological and Brain Sciences

Overview

Students conduct research in a state-of-the-art facility that includes extensive laboratory space and a research-dedicated MRI machine. Students benefit from the strength of our faculty’s research programs as well as their close ties with several other departments and programs, including the Dartmouth Medical School. The size of the department helps to foster a personable community with plenty of opportunities for communication and collaboration between different lab groups, facilitating innovative and interdisciplinary work. Annual stipends are provided to all PhD students in good standing and students are not charged tuition or fees. For additional information on funding and benefits, please see the Guarini website. Graduates of the program have been very successful in obtaining academic positions, and the most recent National Research Council survey (2010) found our program ranked 2nd in the country in placing students in academic programs.

We recognize that many applicants continue to face particular barriers in accessing graduate training in psychology and neuroscience. To facilitate this, the program does not require the GRE, and has a number of mentoring and community initiatives in place to promote individual well-being and mutual support. For more information, please see the mentoring, diversity and inclusion, and admissions FAQs page, as well as the Innovators in Cognitive Neuroscience seminar series, which bridges scientific and social justice objectives.

The Graduate Program in Psychological and Brain Sciences is divided into three programmatic groups: Social and Affective Neuroscience; Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience; and Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience. Although most requirements are similar for the three groups, each group can set independent requirements beyond the minimum standards set by the Psychological and Brain Sciences Graduate Program. Regardless of the group in which the student completes his/her training, the student will receive his/her PhD in Psychological and Brain Science. Students who complete additional requirements can opt to receive their PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience.

Research Areas

• Social and Affective Neuroscience: Social psychologists study how individuals think and act in their social worlds. The faculty within our department are active researchers on the topics of self-regulation, social cognition, mood and emotion, health behaviors, and social perception. The social psychology program at Dartmouth emphasizes understanding the social brain using behavioral measures and neuroscience methods such as functional and structural brain imaging and evoked brain potentials. In addition, research is conducted using a variety of experimental and nonexperimental designs in laboratory and applied settings. Many research projects in this area are supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (e.g., NIDA, NIMH, NIA) and the National Science Foundation. Graduate students often collaborate with other faculty in the social brain sciences interest group, which includes faculty in cognitive neuroscience, education, and philosophy, as well as faculty from the medical school.
• Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience: The Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Group is concerned with how the brain controls the mind. The exploration of the mind is interdisciplinary, and also includes scholars from areas such as computer science, biology, neurology, psychiatry, physics, education and philosophy. Research areas include the cognitive and neural basis of perception, attention, memory, language, executive function and the frontal lobes, cognitive development and plasticity, evolutionary perspectives on the brain, and the problem of consciousness. Methodological approaches represented within the group include behavioral and neuroimaging studies with human subjects, including neurological patients, as well as computational, neural net, and mathematical modeling. An interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience is available through the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
• Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience: The Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience Group focuses on the neural systems and mechanisms that control behavior. The task of the behavioral neuroscientist is to explain behavior in physiological terms, and he/she must be expert in both behavior and neurobiology. Thus, PhD students in systems and behavioral neuroscience will receive multidisciplinary training in behavioral theory and technique and in a broad range of neuroscience topics, including neurotransmission, neurophysiology, sensory and motor systems, regulatory and reward processes, and higher cognitive functions. Many important areas of research are represented by the faculty and are funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and other agencies. Examples include neural basis of attention, decision making and executive control of behavior, reward, spatial cognition, habit formation, learning and memory, developmental psychobiology, emotion, hormonal regulation of social behaviors, sensory processing, and pain and addiction. Researchers use a variety of complementary and cutting-edge behavioral and neurobiological methods including in vivo single and multi-channel electrophysiology, optogenetics/pharmacogenetics, neuroanatomical and histochemical techniques, neuropharmacology, and sophisticated behavioral analysis. Students also have the opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary research with faculty in the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and through collaborations with the Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth.

Coursework

The major components of the program are the core curriculum, a number of elective courses, and research.

During the first year students take Proseminar, which is taught by the entire faculty. This seminar explores the diverse areas of psychological and brain sciences represented in the department. First-year students also begin to take a series of Core Courses and conduct supervised research in their chosen advisor’s lab. The program does not have first-year rotations, although co-supervision and collaboration is encouraged. The IND graduate program, in which a number of PBS faculty participate, does offer rotations.

Second-year students receive training in statistics, enroll in focused seminars, carry out independent research, complete a Specialist Examination in their area, and complete a master’s thesis before proceeding to their dissertation research in subsequent years of the program. Students serve as teaching assistants for four terms during their time in the program.

The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences maintains close ties and affiliations with a number of other departments and programs, including the Dartmouth Medical School and the Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth. Coursework and research is often conducted in conjunction with these other programs.

How to Apply?

Applications are accepted through the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth. Please review the Guarini School Admissions Information page to learn more about the admissions process. Applications for fall 2026 admission will be accepted starting in early September, 2025 and the application deadline is December 1, 2025. Please follow this link to apply. Program application requirements can be found here. Applicants who are asked to interview will be contacted by late December or early January. Grad Recruiting weekend typically occurs in mid-January, and offers are made on a rolling basis starting in late January.

Who can apply?

• You should have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). The specific degree area isn’t important; current and past students have degrees in diverse fields including not only psychology and neuroscience, but also physics, computer science, biology, engineering, philosophy, cognitive science, and others.
• Whatever your degree is in, a strong application benefits from experience that has allowed you to reflect on why you want to pursue graduate studies, and Psychological and Brain Sciences in particular. Graduate school is a major commitment from both sides (see “what makes a strong application” in the FAQs) so the decision to apply should be made intentionally.
• Applications are open to US and international applicants (but note current visa and travel restrictions).
• It is not unusual for potential applicants to feel unsure whether they are ready/qualified for graduate school. We encourage you to reach out to specific faculty whose interests align with yours (see the FAQs for suggestions on how to write such an email) to ask what they think, and/or apply anyway! Faculty can sometimes offer an applicant a 1- or 2-year position as a research assistant/lab manager in preparation for graduate school.

Requirements:

1. A completed application form
2. Personal statement 1 required personal statement prompt
3. Resume/CV
4. Transcript(s) from your bachelor’s coursework. An unofficial copy may be used for initial submission, and an official copy will be required if an offer of admission is made.
5. Letters of recommendation (3 required, up to 4 accepted) from professors, research advisors, employers who can speak to your skills, experience, and promise
6. A list of potential advisors whose work interests you.

Note that the GRE is not required for admission to the program.

Source and more details: https://pbs.dartmouth.edu/graduate/graduate-program-psychological-and-brain-sciences