Welcome
The Cognition and Neuroscience Graduate stream is intended for students who wish to focus primarily on basic research and theoretical issues as opposed to applied training. The program currently offers graduate training in cognitive science and neuroscience.
About Cognition and Neuroscience
Cognition and Neuroscience is flourishing at the University of Saskatchewan. With ongoing programs of research in areas such as reasoning, attention, memory, perception, Multisensory integration, reading, laterality, cognitive evolution, spatial ability and interpersonal coordination, the cognition and neuroscience faculty have a lot to offer both undergraduate and graduate students. Listed below are faculty members and some of the research labs in the Cognition and Neuroscience stream.
Faculty
We have nine faculty members working in the area of Cognition and Neuroscience, each with a different area of interest and research. Our faculty actively collaborates with other faculty in the Department of Psychology and Health Studies as well as the Psychology faculty at St. Thomas Moore College.
Research Labs
The Cognitive Science Laboratory has seen many Undergraduate, Honours, Master's and Doctoral students pass through its doors. Laboratory Alumni have gone on to pursue employment or further training as (among other things) speech therapists, clinical psychologists, social workers, and research assistants. Under the supervision of Dr. Campbell or Dr. Thompson, other students have completed their graduate training and have gone on to prestigious Post-Doctoral placements and faculty positions at other Canadian universities.
Undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers in the BrAIn Lab work together with Dr. Janeen Loehr to examine the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying people’s ability to perform actions alone and in coordination with other people. Recent projects have examined the mechanisms that allow people to a) precisely time their actions (e.g., to achieve the precise synchrony of ensemble music performance), b) monitor their own and others’ actions to ensure that shared goals are achieved, and c) maintain a sense of agency or control over their actions when coordinating with others. Research in the BrAIn lab employs a multi-method approach that includes experimental manipulations and quantitative measurement (including the use of EEG to measure brain activity from multiple individuals simultaneously) as well as qualitative research techniques.
Students in the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab work with Dr. Ron Borowsky in topics that focus on Perception and Language, and Cognitive Neuroimaging, and offers exciting training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students in both basic behavioural cognitive science (through experiments on topics such as speech perception and production, unconscious perception, reading, and semantic memory) and neuroimaging of these processe. Students can combine their interests in these topics to various degrees, and former graduates and post-docs have successfully landed faculty positions in Canada and the US, as well as other careers that fit their specific interests (e.g., MD, Speech and Language Pathology, Clinical Cognitive Neuroimaging, Neuropsychometry, Law).
Research in our laboratory is aimed at advancing the experimental literature on memory as well as extending this research to more applied settings. In general, we focus on factors that produce memory accuracy and inaccuracy across the lifespan. Recently, we have examined the effects of practice on recalling remembered events, the effects of omitting information from practice, false serial position effects, and false memories. In terms of extending laboratory-based memory research to more applied settings, we examine forensic or eyewitness memory (e.g., accuracy of children's testimony), the role memory plays in health-related issues (e.g., effects of dysphoria and depression on the forgetting of negative autobiographical memories), and individual differences in memory. Currently, we are conducting a study that examines how children remember and forget painful experiences. Understanding children's memory for distressful and painful events will aid in the development of a memory-based intervention that will help children cope more effectively with future painful experiences.
The Neurocognition & Psychophysics lab employs a cognitive neuroscientific approach to study the cognitive and cortical mechanisms underlying perception, attention, sensorimotor integration, and multisensory processing. We combine traditional research methods from cognitive psychology and psychophysics with sophisticated research methods using eye tracking, motion capture, and a type of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Dr. Marla Mickleborough’s Brain Health lab explores how health related factors (such as sleep, exercise, stress, mindfulness meditation, migraine, concussion) influence cognitive outcomes (such as visual spatial attention). We are currently interested in understanding the role that cortical excitability plays cognition, specifically focusing on cortical excitability in migraine and concussion. The Brain Health lab has utilized a variety of techniques as appropriate including fMRI, EEG, reaction time measures, surveys, and qualitative interview. Lab alumni have gone on to pursue employment or further training in medical school, graduate school, and as research assistants.
Programs of Study
In the Cognition and Neuroscience stream, the Master's degree requires at least 12 credit units and a thesis. The Master's thesis research will be designed in consultation with each student's advisory committee early in Year 1. One goal of the Master's thesis research is the production of a "publishable unit" of substantial research in the first year of study.
After the first year in the Master’s program, some students transfer into the Ph.D. program. This requires successful completion of 9 cu's and a qualifying examination. The document presenting this the Year 1 research constitutes the qualifying exam for transfer to Ph.D. The qualifying examination will be written in the format of a paper to be submitted for publication following the American Psychological Association style (with any necessary appendices requested by the committee). Advisory committee members will evaluate the examination paper. The paper will not be filed with the College of Graduate Studies and Research, nor with the University Library, but a Departmental copy will be retained. Students who qualify, based on course and research performance, will be recommended for transfer to the Ph.D. program.
For students who do not transfer to Ph.D. studies, the Year 1 research normally will become part of the Master's thesis to be completed in the second year.
For students who do transfer to the Ph.D., the research conducted in connection with the qualifying exam normally will become part of the Ph.D. dissertation.
In addition to the dissertation, the Ph.D. requires completion of at least six additional credit units of coursework beyond that required for the Master's degree and a doctoral candidacy assessment. For students who transfer to the Ph.D. program after the first year of studies, the minimum period to complete the program is two years. Recommendation for transfer to Ph.D. will be accompanied by a new program of study corresponding to the requirements for the Ph.D.|
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Program Requirements
- GPS 960.0
- GPS 961.0 if research involves human subjects
- GPS 962.0 if research involves animal subjects
- a minimum of 12 credit units, including PSY 805.3
- PSY 900.0 (×2 years)
- PSY 994.0 (students must maintain continuous registration in this course)
The non-direct program is for students who enter the PhD program with a comleted Master's degree or equivalent.
- GPS 960.0
- GPS 961.0 if research involves human subjects
- GPS 962.0 if research involves animal subjects
- a minimum of 6 credit units, including PSY 805.3 or PSY 807.3 and 3 credut units chose in consultation with the Department of Psychology
- PSY 900.0 (×3 years)
- PSY 996.0 (students must maintain continuous registration in this course)
- Doctoral candidacy assessment
- Dissertation defense
The transfer program is for students who are admitted to the Master’s program with an undergraduate honours degree or equivalent and then transfer from the Master’s to the PhD program after the first year of study.
- Transfer from Master’s to PhD requires successful completion of 9 cu's and a qualifying examination in the format of a paper to be submitted for publication following the American Psychological Association style and as determined in consultation with the advisory committee.
- GPS 960.0
- GPS 961.0 if research involves human subjects
- GPS 962.0 if research involves animal subjects
- A minimum of 18 credit units at the 800 level, including PSY 805.3 or PSY 807.3 and 15 credit units chosen in consultation with the Advisory Committee
- PSY 900.0 (x3 years)
- PSY 996.0 (students must maintain continuous registration in this course)
- Doctoral candidacy assessment
- Dissertation defense
Admissions and Applications
Application deadline:
All application materials must be submitted and completed by the regular admission deadline of January 15 each year.
Admission requirements:
- B.A.(Hon.) or B.Sc.(Hon.) in Psychology or equivalent combination of courses and experience in research
- References
- Statement of research interests and plans (1 to 3 pages)
- Application fee
- Telephone or in-person interview for shortlisted candidate
Additional Information:
- Applicants are accepted from across Canada and worldwide.
- For more information or to apply please see the College of Graduate Studies website and information on financial support.
Our Students
Current M.A. Program Students
- Zuleika Gasimova
- Katelyn Tourigny
- Hoang Anh Tran
- Lieli Rouhi
- Amanpreet Sidhu
- Kayla Huyghebaert Belsher
Current Ph.D. Program Students
- Liyoumei Zhang
- Ian Newman
- Shaylyn Kress
- Zijun Zhou
- Issac Pasloski
Candidacy Assessment
Ph.D. Candidacy Assessment: Guidelines for the Cognition and Neuroscience Stream
August, 2024
Purpose
The purpose of the Candidacy Assessment is for doctoral students to demonstrate that they have:
- an adequate grasp of the current state of knowledge in their intended field of research, i.e., adequate breadth and depth of knowledge in their primary area of specialization and in related areas of cognitive science or neuroscience.
- the potential ability to conduct advanced original research independently using relevant methodologies; and
- the ability to communicate in ways appropriate to their field of research and practice.
"Adequate breadth and depth" means
- With respect to the primary area of research, the student will have extensive and detailed knowledge of the major current and historically important theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues pertinent to the dissertation research. The student will also be able to generate original, integrative analyses of knowledge in the primary area. The scope and subject matter of the primary readings will be determined by the student and the advisory committee.
- With respect to related, but secondary, research areas, the student will have substantial familiarity with the important theoretical and empirical issues in the general area of research. The list of secondary readings will be constructed by the advisory committee in consultation with the student. Students working in the same area may have the same secondary list or the list may be tailored to a student’s particular needs. The list of secondary readings typically covers approximately 1000 pages of reading. It can include research articles, review articles, book chapters, books, etc. It is organized by content area (e.g., Memory, Attention, Embodied Cognition, Methodology, etc.). The number of content areas and which content areas are covered are flexible and determined by the advisory committee in consultation with the student. Selection of content areas may take into account student interests and career goals. Content areas already covered by approved graduate courses completed by the student may be excluded from the reading list.