Information for Mind/Brain/Behavior Secondary Field Students
Fall 2010-2011
Welcome to the fall 2010 semester! This letter will provide juniors and seniors with information about upcoming aspects of the MBB secondary field program.
Registering for the MBB Secondary Field
Students who plan to pursue a secondary field in MBB, or are considering doing so, should e-mail education program coordinator Shawn Harriman as early as possible, ideally during the first or sophomore year, to allow MBB to keep them informed of important policies, events, and other opportunities. When e-mailing, please let Shawn know your year and your concentration. We also encourage you to register your secondary field interest on the secondary field web tool, which is linked from the top of http://www.handbook.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k69286&pageid=icb.page340863&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent722927&view=view.do&viewParam_name=Web+tool#a_icb_pagecontent722927 . This tool does not commit you to completing the secondary field but helps you plan your program as it develops, and lets MBB access your student record to be able to help advise you about your program.
Seniors: Secondary Field Approval
Once you have completed your course work for the MBB secondary field - or, if you are a second-semester senior, once you have enrolled in courses that will complete the MBB secondary field - you should file your application. You can print out the application using the secondary fields web tool, which is linked from the top of http://www.handbook.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k69286&pageid=icb.page340863&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent722927&view=view.do&viewParam_name=Web+tool#a_icb_pagecontent722927. This application requires an MBB signature, which you may obtain from Shawn Harriman. E-mail Shawn (shawn_harriman@harvard.edu) to arrange a time to get the signature. Please attach a copy of your course record to your e-mail, or bring a print copy to Shawn's office (14 Story Street, room 404) a day before getting your signature. Once you have the MBB signature, you should file your form with the registrar. Seniors who will graduate in March 2011 must submit their secondary field form to the registrar by Monday, october 18th, and students who will graduate in June 2011 or November 2011 must submit their secondary field form to the registrar by Monday, March 7th, 2011. The registrar is extremely strict about these deadlines and makes no exceptions to them, and it is the student's responsibility to submit this application on time.
Also by October 18th or March 7th, you should complete an MBB secondary field application, which will be available beginning next week on the MBB secondary field webpage http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/secondaryfields.php. You may submit this to MBB when you get your signature on the form for the registrar. This provides us with information about you and your studies, and we will use this to plan a senior recognition ceremony, which will take place during Commencement Week on the morning of Wednesday, May 25th. Additional details about this ceremony will be provided in the spring.
Course Work
If you have not yet taken either of the two foundational MBB courses, you may do so this semester:
Science of Living Systems 20, Psychological Science, Jason Mitchell
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10-11:30 a.m., Emerson 105
(SLS 20 will also be offered by spring with Steven Pinker as instructor)
(Note: if you have already taken Science B-62, you may count that course in place of SLS 20. If you have taken Psychology 1, please consult with Shawn Harriman.)
Molecular and Cellular Biology 80, Neurobiology of Behavior, Joshua Sanes and Jeff Lichtman
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-2:30 p.m., Geological Lecture Hall (100 Peabody/University Museum)
If you have not completed the interdisciplinary seminar requirement, usually taken in the junior year, a variety of courses are available each semester this year. Consult http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/progjun_sem1011.php for the most up-to-date listings. The listings on this page are more updated than those in the online catalog.
Fall interdisciplinary seminars offered by MBB:
*MBB 94, Theories of Violence, Alan Stone (Law School / Medical School)
Tuesdays 2-4 p.m., Pound 204 (Law School)
*MBB 95, Addiction, Choice, and Motivation, Gene Heyman (Medical School)
Thursdays 4-6 p.m., Barker Center 24
*MBB98z, Love, Hate, and Play, Lawrence Friedman (History of Science/ Indiana University)
Wednesdays 2-5 p.m., William James 422, FIRST MEETING September 8th
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/mbbcourses1011.php. Again, this is more updated that information currently available in the online catalog.
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 adolescent development, cognitive neuroscience, vision science, sleep and memory, social uses of language, social cognitive development, and social psychology of race/conflict/inequality..
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 Wednesday, September 8th. More details are available on the MBB 90r webpage, http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/MBB90fall2010.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. Consult the MBB advising webpage at http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/advising1011.php for the names and contact information of faculty advisors. E-mail to schedule an appointment with one of these advisors.
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.
HSMBB starts this year with two seminars you are encouraged to attend.
Tuesday, September 14th, 4-5 p.m., Kresge Room
Professor Daniel Schacter (FAS/Psychology)
Tuesday, September 21st, 5:30-7 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., location to be announced
Professor Steven Pinker (FAS/Psychology)
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.