Applying to doctoral programs in science I

I keep giving advice over the years on how best to apply for doctoral programs. It’s time to put down at least the most central part of this advice as a service to loyal readers who, after careful consideration, have decided to go on to get their PhD in science. The advice here is somewhat localized (to use the computer software vocabulary): it applies best to my own field of neuroscience and the value of the advice probably tails off significantly as the discipline becomes further from my own. I’d also welcome comments on my advice (although, as always, I’ll moderate) because there may be valuable insights from other faculty members who are also readers of Advanced Studies.

So first piece of advice: understand that the costs of education at the doctoral level in neuroscience are counter-intuitive, especially to an undergraduate. The more established elite institutions (with the stellar undergraduate tuition costs) actually are the better economic deals for a doctoral student. That’s because they typically pay higher graduate student stipends and almost universally wave tuition. Sometimes they even subsidize housing (in expensive housing markets like Manhattan).

The result is that, in deciding where you want to apply for graduate school (in the hard sciences), don’t be scared off by what the undergraduate tuition costs may be. If admitted (with a fellowship and most folks are), you’ll be looking at probably full tuition remission and a substantial stipend. If you can get subsidized housing in addition, you’re earn your PhD with a small amount of savings and at least no debt.

But are the bubbles growing?

NY Times reports on the discovery of very large gamma ray bubbles at the center of our galaxy, The Milky Way. Bubbles grow and bubbles burst of course. It would be interesting to get a read on that.

David Brooks: the US as cross-roads nation

His column from today’s NY Times is here. As is usual for Brooks, he has an underlying optimism about America’s future. My only addition would be that Singapore is that cross-roads nation right now.

Caltech’s Antonio Rangel’s work on economic choice

From The American Scientist here. The short version is that Cal Tech student subjects are willing to pay more for a material thing (say a baseball cap) if it’s actually displayed. An image or text just doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t strike me as market efficient, so there must some brain mechanism pushing the bias.

Get your Ph.D. in neuroscience at George Mason University

The homepage is here. We have excellent fellowships, we’re 12 miles from the US Capitol Building and you’ll be working with superb faculty.

DIADEM redux

Here’s the link from the HHMI Bulletin. Be sure to click on the slide show link half-way down the page and turn the sound up on your computer. Kudos to our own Giorgio Ascoli!

First exterior bricks going up on Phase II

Yes, the first bricks are going up on Phase II. These bricks are the common architectural feature of just about all the buildings at George Mason University. When you see them being attached to the building, it’s a good sign–delivery isn’t so far off. Today Institute staff got a hard-hat tour of the new wing. I know they were as excited as I am.

Steve Smith’s axial array tomography video of mouse cortex

I’ve been waiting to see this video hit You Tube ever since I saw it as part of Christof Koch’s talk at DOM VI in Singapore. The video gives the viewer a real idea of the complexity of the system and the daunting challenges facing neuroscientists who want to make sense of it all. And this is just mouse–imagine human neocortex!

The Mid-Term Elections

As loyal readers know, this blog is strictly non-political (although we do advocate for good science), but without question the mid-term election results will have secondary and tertiary effects that will be felt in the Federal R&D budget. At a macro-level, this is a non-partisan issue because Federal R&D comes out of the discretionary part of the budget (as opposed to mandatory expenditures such as Medicaid and Medicare). As the overall budget gets squeezed by the deficit (and the need to pay more and more on the federal debt), only the discretionary side of the budget is left to cut–at least without a major overhaul of so-called “third rail” entitlement spending.

So the upshot is pressure on the science programs we love to advocate for–such as the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation. It will be interesting to see how the new GOP leadership in the House decides to view these programs. The last time they were in control, after the 1994 elections, NIH did quite well.

We'll have to stay tuned….

Krasnow Decision Maker Short Courses Summer 2011

Are now up on the web here. The Institute for Advanced Study will be offering really unique perspectives on Neuropolicy and Computational Social Sciences in an incredible venue, 12 miles from the U.S. Capitol building.