Fall 2009 Information for Mind/Brain/Behavior Secondary Field Students (Juniors and Seniors)
Welcome to the fall 2009 semester! This letter will provide juniors and seniors with information about upcoming aspects of the MBB secondary field program.
Course Work
If you have not completed the two MBB foundation course requirements, you may do so this fall:
Science of Living Systems 20 (Psychological Science) will be offered by Professor Steven Pinker
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30-4 p.m., Paine Hall/Music Building (first meeting Thursdays, September 3rd, 2:30-4 p.m., Sanders Theatre/Memorial Hall)
(SLS 20 will also be offered in the spring by Professor Daniel Gilbert)
(This is a successor course to Science B-62; if you took B-62, or Science B-29 in 2006-2007, that course will still fulfill this requirement. If you have taken Psychology 1 in a previous semester, please contact me at shawn_harriman@harvard.edu to discuss this requirement.)
Molecular and Cellular Biology 80 (Neurobiology of Behavior) will be offered by Professors Joshua Sanes and Jeff Lichtman
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-2:30 p.m., Northwest Labs B-103
If you have not completed the interdisciplinary seminar requirement, a variety of courses are available each semester this year. Consult http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/progjun_sem0910.php for the most up-to-date listings. The listings for MBB courses at the top of this page (MBB 91, 94, 95) are more updated than information on the registrar's website; also consult Recent MBB Course Changes (top choice in Courses scroll-down menu).
In addition to the two foundational and one seminar course, you must take two MBB electives to complete secondary field requirements. An up-to-date list of courses that will qualify as MBB electives this year is available at http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/mbbcourses0910.php. Again, this is more updated that information currently available on the registrar's website.
Research Opportunities
MBB encourages all its students to consider having a research experience while involved in MBB. The MBB website includes a section on research opportunities, http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/opportunities.php. This page is constantly updated, and currently includes opportunities in such diverse areas as animal cognition, face recognition, cortical neuron activity, the perception of mixed-race individuals, implicit social cognition, and the early identification of youth at risk for psychosis.
Many of these research listings are eligible for course credit through MBB 90r (Supervised Research: Topics in Mind/Brain/Behavior). MBB 90r applications for this semester will usually be submitted by noon on Tuesday, September 8th. More details are available on the MBB 90r webpage, http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/MBB90fall2009.php. This course will count toward your secondary field requirements, as an MBB elective.
Advising
Secondary field students in MBB have two major sources of advice.
For advice including comparing MBB tracks, specific MBB course requirements, and exploring research opportunities, please feel free to consult me. I am also especially happy to help you strategize about the one overlap course limit; you are very welcome to check in with me each semester as you choose your courses, so we can avoid exceeding that limit. You may e-mail me a short question (shawn_harriman@harvard.edu), or may instead e-mail me to request a meeting to discuss more detailed concerns.
For broader MBB advice about the kinds of courses you might take; and MBB and its constituent disciplines, methodologies, and questions; about how to become involved in research; and about career development, you may speak with members of our Board of Faculty Advisors. This year's board consists of faculty from both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School, all of whom have been involved in a broad range of MBB programs over a number of years. E-mail to schedule an appointment with one of these advisors.
Professor Verne Caviness
http://www.massgeneral.org/neurology/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=1639
caviness@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
Professor Albert Galaburda
http://www.bidmc.org/CentersandDepartments/Departments/Neurology/CognitiveNeurology/MeetOurCognitiveNeurologyTeam.aspx
agalabur@bidmc.harvard.edu
Professor Margaret Livingstone http://neuro.med.harvard.edu/faculty/livingstone.html margaret_livingstone@harvard.edu
Professor Richard Wrangham
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/directory/researchers/richard-wrangham
wrangham@fas.harvard.edu
Additional faculty may join the board as the year progresses. Check our (currently under construction) advising page for updates.
Special Events
The larger MBB community gathers several times each semester for a variety of exciting events. In recent years these events have included cross-disciplinary conversations, discussion of recent faculty publications, and series of lectures by distinguished guests to Harvard. As specific events are organized, we will e-mail you details and hope you will be able to join us for them.
The Harvard Society for Mind/Brain/Behavior (HSMBB)
HSMBB is an integral part of the MBB undergraduate program, and is dedicated to building a community among MBB students. HSMBB activities include regular seminars led by faculty and other researchers, communi-teas providing opportunities for students and faculty from across MBB to meet and chat, and the publication The Harvard Brain. To be informed about these and other HSMBB activities, join its mailing list at http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/hsmbb-list.
The HSMBB start-the-year Open House will feature faculty and advisors involved in MBB undergraduate programs, and we hope you will be able to attend. It will take place on Wednesday, September 9th from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Bechtel Room (room 107) in Emerson Hall.
Additional Information
If you have any questions about any of this or about any other MBB activities, feel free to check our website for details (http://mbb.harvard.edu) or to e-mail me (shawn_harriman@harvard.edu). The website provides details or links to track and secondary field requirements, MBB courses, research opportunities faculty and other Harvard researchers have asked us to post for undergraduates, and MBB in general. In addition, MBB sends out an e-newsletter with information updates about monthly during the academic year. If you are receiving this letter, you are on the mailing list for these newsletters.
We at MBB wish you a productive semester, and look forward to working with you this year.