The CNBC Training Program is an interdisciplinary Ph.D. and postdoctoral training program operated jointly with several academic departments at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. Participating Computer Science faculty are Tai-Sing Lee, Michael Lewicki, James McClelland, David Plaut, and David Touretzky. Other affiliated departments at CMU are Biological Sciences, Psychology, Robotics, and Statistics. Affiliated departments at the University of Pittsburgh are Mathematics, Neurobiology, Neuroscience, and Psychology.
The CNBC option for Computer Science Ph.D. students allows them to combine intensive training in CS with a broad exposure to cognitive science, neural computation, and other disciplines that touch on problems of higher brain function.
Course of Study: CS/CNBC students are admitted through their home department (Computer Science) and fulfill the normal CS Ph.D. program requirements. In addition, they take a sequence of CNBC core courses in neurophysiology, systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. The CNBC core courses take the place of the three elective course unit requirement in CS. CS/CNBC students also participate in a research seminar series and experience a lab rotation.
Because of the extra time required to complete the CNBC requirements, students may apply for one year of financial support from the CNBC. In addition, CS/CNBC students are given an annual travel allowance to help them attend conferences and workshops.
Completion of all degree requirements earns the student a Ph.D. in Computer Science plus an additional certificate in the ``Neural Basis of Cognition.'' More information about the CNBC option is available at http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/.