Education Overview
The research strengths of the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience ensure that it is ideally placed to contribute to the education of the new generation of neuroscientists.
Ph.D. by research: TCIN currently has approximately 80 registered Ph.D. students. 65%of these are Irish and 35% are international students. Students get first-hand exposure to state-of-the-art technologies for investigating brain function from molecular and cellular levels to clinical and translational levels. They have the opportunity to work in a dynamic research and training environment with the leading principal investigators in the field. 12 students have graduated from TCIN with a structured Ph.D. in neuroscience. The first program, funded by the HRB, was introduced in 2006. About 140 students from around the world applied annually for the 6 places. Students carried out taught modules in neuroscience in their first year, cycled through laboratory rotations of three months duration in their first year, and carried out a major research thesis in their second and third year.
The second program funded in 2012 is called ‘Mollecular & Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Inflammatory Processes’ and is a structured Ph.D. programme in the disciplines of immunology, neuroscience and cancer funded by the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) under cycle five.
B.A. (Mod.) in Neuroscience: There are currently 42 students carrying out the B.A. in Neuroscience. The program was introduced in 2001 and 160 students have graduated since that time. They enter through the omnibus science options and choose to specialise in neuroscience in their third and fourth years. They complete modules in a wide range of neuroscience topics ranging from cellular physiology to cognitive neuroscience.
M.Sc. in Neuroscience: There are currently 18 students carrying out the M.Sc. in Neuroscience. The program was introduced in 2006 and 53 students have graduated since that time, it provides students with a fundamental understanding of the biological basis of nervous system function and is the first program of its kind in Ireland.
Future Education Objectives
- Increase the provision of systematic training in advanced methodologies for Ph.D. students.
- Ensure impact on clinical practice, to address the key problem of how to translate research findings into clinical practice and to create a generation of research-aware clinicians involved in patient care.
- Continue a structured funded Ph.D. program based on the earlier program, to provide a source of world-class Ph.D. students for the research of the future, as well as the fastevolving needs of industry of the future.
- Increase our capacity to supervise undergraduate, M.Sc. and Ph.D. research projects, through increasing the number of Principal Investigators.
- Build on the international visibility of our educational programmes by further promoting them.
- Increase our links with industry, thereby providing attractive alternative forms of employment for our graduates, through placements and collaborative research programmes.