Thesis Overview

Yes, students are required to enroll in Thesis Research (CNS 70900) as part of the program’s core requirements. It fulfills 3 credit hours. Students complete the M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience by completing a master’s thesis, which requires empirical data. The thesis research and manuscript enable students to integrate and synthesize the knowledge and data that they have acquired during their coursework and research. For this course, students will work closely with their mentor to formulate a research question that will culminate into the master’s thesis.

Students should enroll in Thesis Research in their last semester. 

Yes, the thesis research course CNS 70900 counts toward the 32 credits required for graduation.

Your mentor assigns a grade at the end of the semester. 

You should inform the program of your intention of enrolling in CNS 70900: Thesis Research a semester prior to enrolling in the course.

Ideally, you should complete your thesis during the semester that you enroll in Thesis Research (CNS 70900). If you do not complete your thesis during the semester, you will receive an INC for the course until you complete your thesis and your mentor submits a Change of Grade form, which is to be emailed to cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu. The Change of Grade form requires approval from the Director before the Registrar’s Office posts the grade.

A thesis mentor must be a CUNY faculty member that has been approved to be on the M.S. Program in Cognitive Neuroscience faculty.

We draw exceptional professors from throughout The City University of New York. Prolific scholars and passionate researchers and teachers, their expertise spans neuroscience and psychology as well as mathematics, computer science, engineering, speech-language-hearing sciences, and the life sciences. Our professors are accomplished, experienced, and accessible to students.

No, you are not assigned a mentor. When you began the program, you were asked to secure a faculty member as your mentor from a list of highly regarded, qualified instructors in our program. The program recommends matches between students and advisors based on their research interests and preferences, as well as by how many students each faculty member is able to accommodate into their labs. However, it is ultimately the students’ responsibility to reach out to a faculty member and develop a student-to-mentor relationship with the instructor.

Yes, the Thesis Overview document provides detailed information on the process and timeline.

The thesis prospectus allows for a thesis abstract and informs the program that you and your mentor are on track and will be submitting your thesis. The Thesis Prospectus must be completed before you submit your thesis and emailed to cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu.

Yes. Depending on the status of your thesis, you and/or your mentor are required to complete the following forms: Thesis Evaluation Form, Thesis Approval Form (due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and until further notice, you do not need to acquire written signatures for this form, but you should include it when depositing your thesis to fulfill the library’s thesis deposit format requirements) and Approval of Revised Thesis Form. Carefully read each form.

No. You must have your mentor email cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu with the approved thesis. We will send the thesis to the second reader for review. You will be notified via email of the revisions to the thesis that are necessary. Upon completion of the revised thesis, you must email the final thesis along with the Approval of Revised Thesis Form to cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu.

The Director will email the Dissertation Librarian, Roxanne Shirazi, notifying the manuscript is approved and ready to deposit.

If you plan to deposit your thesis, the library has modified the procedure for verifying departmental approval of a student’s deposit. Until further notice: in lieu of the signed the Thesis Approval Form, the library will accept an email from the Director confirming that the thesis project has been approved and is ready to deposit. This single email will suffice for both signatures on the approval page; no library verification from the advisor is necessary at this time. An email message to cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu from your mentor approving your thesis will suffice.

You will receive an email from the Dissertation Librarian, Roxanne Shirazi confirming receipt of the manuscript.

Until we receive further information, to apply for graduation, consult the library Dissertation and Theses: Deposit Procedure webpage https://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/dissertations/deposit-procedure for instructions. Contact us (cogneuro@gc.cuny.edu) once you have applied as we must ensure you have fulfilled the degree requirements by submitting an Application for the Master of Arts/Science Degree form to the Office of the Registrar.

The Office of the Registrar will email students with diploma information.

For information on when to apply for graduation, please consult the library’s deadlines: https://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/dissertations/deadlines

Yes, the application is certifying that a student has satisfied all the requirements for the degree including the thesis or will be satisfying all the requirements for the degree upon completion of the current semester including the thesis.

The form is sent to the Office of the Registrar as both a means to inform the student has completed or nearing the completion of the program’s requirements and expected date of graduation.

You should file for an Application for the Master of Arts/Science Degree no later than four weeks prior to applying for graduation.

When you intend to file for an Application for the Master of Arts/Science Degree, you must email the program's Assistant Program Officer.