The doctoral program in Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences at Auburn University provides a firm foundation in psychological processes that underlie behavior in a number of domains including affective, behavioral, and cognitive neuroscience, behavioral pharmacology, comparative psychology, computational psychology, decision making, and learning. Our faculty members are actively involved in collaborative, interdisciplinary projects across campus investigating these processes as they play out in a number of contemporary domains.
Leveraging the existing unique resources at Auburn University, our faculty are highly involved in their research and teaching activities. This involvement is recognized in many forms, including funding from federal, state, and local agencies and prestigious awards for service and teaching. Our faculty have been elected to national offices, serve on journal editorial boards and federal panels, and demonstrate involvement in their science and profession. This is important for students because it means that the student's training will be solidly grounded and on the cutting edge of the discipline.
While graduate students work closely with their mentors, the doctoral students in all programs come to know each other very well and form personal and professional relationships. These begin with the first-year experience, during which core courses are taken by students in all three programs and continue in many ways throughout graduate school.
Students are exposed to a blend of didactic, practical, and scholarly activities that can be tailored to provide a broad education. Students become actively involved in research early in their first year, often culminating in thesis or dissertation projects. In addition, all first-year students are supported as graduate teaching assistants, and continued support is provided for those students meeting program milestones.
For more information, please contact the program director, Dr. Jeff Katz.