Direct Track Courses and Study Regulations

Course of Study

First Year

Semester A → Supplementary courses (according to individual background)

Semester B → Required courses

Second Year

Semester A → Completion of all required courses

Semester B → Finding a lab; M.Sc. Seminar

**The required courses during the first and second years are divided into four topics: Physiology, Research Techniques Theoretical Neuroscience Cognition (as detailed in the table below)

Required courses must be completed by the end of the second year.

Third Year

Semester A → Qualification exam; registration as a doctoral student, including a short research proposal (Stage A)

Fourth Year

Completion of elective courses

Submission of the full research proposal (Stage B)

Fifth Year

Submission of the dissertation

Course list table:
YearSemesterCourseCredit Points
1stASupplementary Courses 
1.   76944 – Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology3
2.   76989 – Introduction to Cognition2
3.   76943 – Tutorial Course2
BRequired Courses 
1.   76900 – From Molecules to Circuits3
2.   76905 – Research Techniques in Neurobiology8
3.   76908 – Dynamics of Computation in the Brain4
4.   76993 – Human Neuroscience Methods2
2ndA5.   76901 – Systems Neuroscience3
6.   76903 – Neuroscience of Behavior2
7.   76909 – Neural Learning4
8.   76913 – Advanced Cognitive Processes2
9.   76915 – Information and Coding in the Brain4
B10. 76980 – M.Sc. Seminar2
2nd  and beyondA+BElective Courses
As needed to sum up to 50 credit points (46 credit points for students who are required to take the supplemental math exams)
  1. Requirements

First Year

  1. Supplementary Required Courses are compulsory for all students, unless exempted by the course instructor.
  2. Supplementary Elective Courses are highly advisable; each student should discuss them with the Head of the Program before the start of the semester.
  3. Attending the weekly seminar (course 76920; 0 credit points and not listed in the table) is compulsory for the first two years of the program.

Second Year

  1. Required Courses not completed in the First Year should be completed in the Second Year.
  2. It is highly advisable that students find their Ph.D. adviser at the start of semester A of the Second Year and begin working on a research proposal. Students must have found their adviser by the start of semester B.
  3. Right before the beginning of the Third Year, students will present a small project as their M.Sc. Seminar (76980). Oftentimes this project is included as part of the Ph.D. project.
  4. Students whose research will include animal experiments are required to take the elective course Ethical Handling of Laboratory Animals (94810; 1 elective credit point).

Third Year

  1. In order to register as a doctoral student (Stage A), students are required to take the Qualification Exam.
  2. Fellowship from the Third Year is contingent upon the student’s transition to Stage A.

Fourth Year and Beyond

  1. It is advisable to transition from Stage A (registration as a doctoral student) to Stage B (submission of a full research proposal) within 18 months.
  2. In order to register for Stage B, the student will present his/her research to a Ph.D. committee, which includes the student’s adviser.
  3. The committee will send its decision to the university’s Authority for Research Students, which approves Stage B status. With this confirmation, the student will receive the M.Sc. diploma.
  4. Fellowship from the Fourth Year is contingent upon the student completing all Required Courses.
  5. Fellowship from the Fifth Year is contingent upon the student completing all 50 required credit points.

M.Sc. in Computational Neuroscience

Students who successfully completed the first year of the direct track program and found a lab in ELSC can continue their studies for a M.Sc. degree.

In the second year of studies they will be requires to:

  1. Complete two courses of each topic.
  2. Complete the M.Sc. Seminar. 
  3.  Complete 32 credit points.
  4.  Write a research thesis.

Please note that ELSC scholarships for M.Sc. students will be reduced by 50%.

 The M.Sc. thesis is expected to be roughly equivalent to a paper in a scientific journal. The thesis defense is an oral presentation of the work before a committee and the M.Sc. adviser.  

Additional Points

  1. Incoming students who do not hold a degree in mathematics, physics, engineering or computer science are required to pass two supplemental math exemption exams, one in linear algebra and the other in calculus. Students may take these exams either at the end of the summer break (prior to the fall semester of the first year) or during the break between the fall and spring semesters of the first year. To help students study for these exams, we offer two online courses. A teaching assistant will be provided (both during the summer and during the academic year) to assist the students taking these courses.
  2. The total number of credit points required is 50 (46 for those students required to take the supplemental math exemption exams). Only one course may be taken with a pass/fail grad.
  3. 3. Passing grades:
      • A passing grade in a Supplementary Required Course is 80.
      • A passing grade in a Required Course is an average of 80 in each of the four topics: Physiology (76900, 76901 and 76903), Research Techniques (76905, 76993), Theoretical Neuroscience (76908, 76909 and 76915), Cognition (76989 and 76913 ).
      • A passing grade in all other courses is 60.
     
  4. Students are encouraged to perform a research project in at least two labs (one of which may be their Ph.D. lab). In order to receive credit points for these projects, students should register for the Lab Rotation course (76922; 4 elective credit points). Registering for this course can be done at any time, including after the completion of the projects.
  5. Students who start the program with a master’s degree:
    • You should register as a Research Student at the university’s Authority for Research Students.
    • You do not need to attain a total of 50 credit points. You are required to take only the Required Courses and the Supplementary Required courses.
    • You are not required to take the Qualification Exam.
  6.  Minor track student, who will be accepted to the PhD program, will receive academic credit for the mandatory courses he/she already took, and will need to attain only 42 credit points.

“Working memory”