Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive Neuroscience is a scientific discipline focused on the study of the relationship between the brain and cognitive processes such as attention, memory, language and executive function. The Cognitive Neuroscience program faculty at CSU are particularly focused on clinical application areas such as developmental disorders, mental health, aging and dementia. The Cognitive Neuroscience program has a small number of faculty and graduate students that benefit from access to cutting edge technology such as high density EEG, functional near infrared spectroscopy, high-speed remote eye tracking and transcranial electrical stimulation, as well as more traditional behavioral and neuropsychological methods. A new 3T MRI scanner is opening on the CSU campus in 2018, which will enable anatomical and functional MRI studies. Program faculty collaborate within the Department and with other CSU Department faculty including those from Occupational Therapy, Computer Science, Human Development and Family Studies, Health and Exercise Science, and the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences Program. Strong collaborations are also maintained with other Colorado universities such as University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where access to additional technology such as MEG is possible.

An official transcript of all collegiate work completed along with a certified translation into English.
An undergraduate grade point average of 3.000 (A = 4.000) is required by CSU regulation for admission.
Minimum TOEFL score for admission without condition is 550 (paper based), or 80 (internet based).
Minimum IELTS score for admission without condition is 6.5.

Submit: (1) a vita or resume which lists your educational background, relevant work experience or training, research experience, and any publications or presentations for which you appear as an author and (2) a statement of interest which describes how you became interested in Cognitive Neuroscience. You are also encouraged to be as specific as possible in describing your research interest and to indicate the faculty member or members with whom you wish to affiliate. , (3) OPTIONAL – a sample of your scientific writing ability such as a senior honor's thesis, term paper from a psychology course, laboratory report from an experimental course, or some similar material. In addition, a statement of diversity describing your experience and/or commitment to diversity is encouraged.
The Cognitive Neuroscience program has suspended use of the GRE in admissions decisions during the 2020-2021 application cycle.
The following information and instructions have been written to assist the applicant in completing the application materials for our Graduate Programs. The application process is highly competitive with 500 plus applicants each year. Although the selection process is not based on GPA and GRE scores alone, we recommend that applicants have a GPA in the range of 3.2 to 3.6 or better, and GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores in the range of 50 to 70th percentile or better.

Across all graduate training programs in the Department, we offered positions to 21 out of 681 applicants for the 2017 term. The average GRE Verbal percentile was 80%, average GRE Quantitative percentile was 65%, and average GRE Writing percentile was 80%. The average GPA of applicants offered positions was 3.77.

Applied Social and Health, Cognitive, Cognitive Neuroscience, Counseling and I/O psychology programs offer M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, but only accept those applicants who definitely wish to pursue the Ph.D.