Issues for Research Involving Animals or Human Subjects

Regulatory approvals can take considerable time to process; therefore, students must ensure that the lab initiates the approval process early enough to avoid delays.

Work with live animals requires Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) approval prior to initiating research. ‘Animals’ in this context includes all animals with a spine. For additional information, contact your research mentor and this link: https://sites.research.virginia.edu/compliance/compliance-programs/animal-care-use-committee

Human subject research requires specific Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals prior to initiating research.  Human subject research includes research with living subjects and work with human-derived data that can potentially be identifiable. For more specifics, contact your research mentor and this link: https://research.virginia.edu/irb-hsr

Human Subject Research often requires a significant amount of preliminary work, including routine patient processing tasks essential for the execution of multi-patient studies. These tasks, while fundamental, can overshadow the more intellectually engaging aspects of research. As such, Research in Neuroscience, NESC 3995, 3960, 4960 or 4970, should devote at least 50% of time and effort devoted to data collection and analysis rather than just enrolling and processing of patients.

Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Courses:

NESC 3995: Research in Neuroscience. For Non-Neuroscience Majors.

NESC 3960 (3rd Year), 4960 (4th Year):  Research in Neuroscience. For Neuroscience Majors.

NESC 4970, 4980: Distinguished Majors Thesis. For Neuroscience Distinguished Majors.

Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

Please visit the Center for Undergraduate Excellence's page for opportunities for Scholarships and Fellowships or their Undergraduate Research page for grants and research opportunities.

Pre-requisites/requirements for admission to the DMP

• Satisfaction of all college requirements as stated in this record with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 in the student’s college and university courses;
• A GPA of at least 3.4 in all courses taken as part of the Neuroscience Major;
• A brief (1-2 page) proposal of the project, outlining the research question to be pursued, methods to be used, and expected outcomes that would support the hypothesis. A timetable to complete the project and a written endorsement of the work by the faculty member who will sponsor the distinguished major project should also be included.

Paperwork needs to be completed and approved before the end of classes in the sixth semester.

Note: PSYC 3160, a core course, is often taught at a time that conflicts with NESC 3980, a course required for the DMP. Students who are considered applying to the DMP are strongly encouraged to complete PSYC 3160 no later than the Fall semester of their third year to avoid potential conflicts with DMP courses.

Steps for applying to the DMP

To gain admission to the DMP, the student submits his/her cumulative and Neuroscience GPA (with transcripts) and a research proposal (max 2 pages) to the Director of the DMP. The research proposal should summarize any results obtained relevant to the thesis project in prior semesters of NESC 3960 or NESC 3995. The names of the primary (i.e., mentor) and secondary faculty reader and the declared graduation date must also be included.  A secondary faculty reader is a faculty member with expertise in the field of the proposed thesis but outside the lab in which the student is working. The second reader must agree in writing to assist in mentoring the student and evaluating the thesis.

Once admitted, the student registers for three credits of NESC 4970 in the first semester of the fourth year. In this course, students conduct research under the supervision of a UVA faculty member who directs research in neuroscience. In the second semester, the student registers for NESC 4980 to complete any unfinished research and write a thesis. The research project is intended to foster independent thought and develop the student’s critical ability to formulate and conduct scientific research. The date of the student’s final submission of the DMP thesis to the committee is two weeks before the last day of classes for that semester. The two-member faculty committee (mentor and second reader) reports its evaluation of the thesis to the DMP Director by the first day of the exam period. The executive committee of the major then considers the thesis evaluation, along with the student’s academic record, to submit a final level of distinction (Distinction, High Distinction, and Highest Distinction) to the College Registrar.

Admitted DMP students must also enroll in NESC 3980 - Current Topics in Neuroscience first term of their fourth year and in NESC 3985 Current Topics in Neuroscience II in the second term of their fourth year.