Georgia Tech to Offer Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, New Minor | News Center – Georgia Tech News Center

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has approved a new Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Ph.D. Program at Georgia Tech.

The interdisciplinary degree is a joint effort across the Colleges of Sciences, Computing, and Engineering. The program expects to enroll its first graduate students in Fall 2025, pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

The Institute Curriculum Committee has also approved a new Minor in Neuroscience, set to become available in the Georgia Tech 2024-2025 Catalog.

The Ph.D. and Minor offerings build on the recently launched Neuro Next Initiative in Research, and the established Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, respectively.

Approved by the Board of Regents in 2017, the interdisciplinary B.S. in Neuroscience degree in the College of Sciences enrolled more than 400 undergraduate students in 2022, and has been the fastest growing undergraduate major at Georgia Tech.

The B.S. in Neuroscience is also key to a strong ecosystem of undergraduate neuroscience education across the state, which includes peer programs at Mercer University, Augusta University, Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, and Emory University.

The new doctoral degree will provide a path for the rapidly growing pipeline of in-state neuroscience undergraduate students and young alumni while also welcoming a wider slate of graduate researchers to campus.

The Ph.D. Programs mission is focused on educating students to advance the field of neuroscience through an interdisciplinary approach, with scientists and engineers of diverse backgrounds ultimately integrating neuroscience research and technological development to study all levels of nervous system function.

Biological Sciences Professor Lewis A. Wheaton, who chaired the Ph.D. Program Planning Committee, shares that a cohort model will fuse experimental and quantitative skill development, creating opportunities for students to work in science and engineering labs to promote collaborations, while also fostering a program and community thats unique to the state and against national peer offerings.

Wheaton explains that the new Ph.D. aims to equip graduates for a wide range of employment opportunities and growing specializations, including computational neuroscience, neurorehabilitation, cultural and social neuroscience, neuroimaging, cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, and neurolinguistics.

The new degree will also help meet the countrys growing demand for a neuro-centric workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for medical scientists (including neuroscientists) tracked around 13% between 2012 and 2022, faster than the average for all tracked occupations.

Wheaton, who also serves as director of the Cognitive Motor Control Lab and director of the Center for Promoting Inclusion and Equity in the Sciences (C-PIES) at Georgia Tech, adds that the program will equip neuroscientists to conduct research that can significantly improve lives.

The Planning Committee anticipates a tentative February 1, 2025 application deadline for Fall 2025 enrollments and encourages students with the following interests to learn more and apply in the coming school year:

Director search

The participating Colleges will soon conduct a search for a program director, engaging a tenured member of the Georgia Tech faculty to serve as the new programs administrator. A graduate program committee composed of five faculty members and mentors across the Colleges of Sciences, Computing, and Engineering, will also be created.

During their April 2024 meeting, Regents also announced budget approvals and tuition changes for Georgia's 26 member institutions.

The Ph.D. Program Planning Committee included the following faculty:

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Georgia Tech to Offer Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, New Minor | News Center - Georgia Tech News Center