Frequently asked questions
We receive many inquiries from prospective students and postdocs and there are too many to respond to each one. Below are the answers to some of the most common questions.
Postdocs
Q: Are you accepting post-docs?
A. Yes, we always have openings for excellent postdocs. At the moment we are only considering outstanding candidates that have strong background and interests in the computational analysis of neuronal data and/or animal training. Please email me directly regarding post-doc positions.
Graduate Students
Q: Are you accepting graduate students next year?
A: Yes, particularly those with background and interests in psychology, neuroscience and computational analysis.
To be considered for a graduate student position in the lab you must apply to either the Psychology (Cognition, Brain and Behavior area) or Neuroscience graduate programs. The deadline for applications is around November each year. You cannot apply directly to the lab.
Q: What are the admissions criteria?
A: Admissions decisions will be based primarily on your past academic performance (including marks and standardized tests like the GRE), your reference letters and forms which we look at very carefully, and any research, teaching or job experience you might have. Having some idea of the sort of research in which you are interested helps us send your file to the relevant faculty, but many students do not know exactly what they want to work on - you shouldn't make up a research interest that you aren't sure of. The program is very competitve - we typically interview only about 30 students out of several hundred applicants.
Q: Can you tell me what are my chances to be accepted to your lab/the Psychology graduate program/the Neuroscience graduate program, based on my CV and statement of interests?
A: No. We have an admissions committee and all decisions are made after all applicants have formally applied to the different programs (see links above). If you wish to be considered for one of the graduate programs, please apply. If you are applying and are specifically interested in working in our lab, please do send me an email to introduce yourself, so I can make note of your application when the time comes to review these and make decisions. You should also mention this interest in your research statement, so that your application is flagged for my attention. You are also welcome to email with questions about the lab etc. (other than "what are my chances of getting accepted", which I unfortunately do not have the information on which to base an answer).
Q: If I were to be accepted, can you provide funding for my studies?
A: Yes. All full time PhD students admitted to the lab will be funded for the normal time of completion of their degree. This money comes from various sources including student scholarships, teaching assistantships, central university funds for student support, and research grants - you should not worry about the details of where your support comes from.
Q: What about working in your group or with you directly?
A: If you are specifically interested in our research, please indicate this on your application. Note, however that students at the Neuroscience program are not admitted to work with specific professors; they are admitted to the program at large, with guaranteed funding and are free to work with whomever they find a good match with once they arrive (this is not the case in the Psychology department in which students are accepted to specific labs). If you are interested in working with me specifically, you can also indicate this in your statement of interest included with your official application. This will mean that I look at your file, and should you be admitted we can decide once you arrive if we'd enjoy doing research together.
Q: Should I apply to the Neuroscience program or the Psychology program?
A: You should apply to the program that best matches your background and interests. However, if your previous experience has straddled both Neuroscience and Psychology you can apply to either program (but NOT both). The Neuroscience and Psychology programs are structured slightly differently. In Psychology you will be admitted directly into our laboratory and will begin research immediately. In contrast, in Neuroscience you are admitted into the program as a whole and spend the first year rotating through three labs for 10 weeks each rotation. In addition, your funding in Neuroscience is covered by the program for the first three years, making it less likeley that you will need to complete multiple teaching assistantships. For these reasons Neuroscience tends to be a little more competitve than Psychology.
Undergraduates
We do not have any positions for undergraduates, interns or high school students. Our work is technically complex and requires a great deal of training.
(Much of the above was adopted from Yael Niv's FAQ, which was in turn adopted from Sam Roweis's FAQ. Thank you, both!)
We receive many inquiries from prospective students and postdocs and there are too many to respond to each one. Below are the answers to some of the most common questions.
Postdocs
Q: Are you accepting post-docs?
A. Yes, we always have openings for excellent postdocs. At the moment we are only considering outstanding candidates that have strong background and interests in the computational analysis of neuronal data and/or animal training. Please email me directly regarding post-doc positions.
Graduate Students
Q: Are you accepting graduate students next year?
A: Yes, particularly those with background and interests in psychology, neuroscience and computational analysis.
To be considered for a graduate student position in the lab you must apply to either the Psychology (Cognition, Brain and Behavior area) or Neuroscience graduate programs. The deadline for applications is around November each year. You cannot apply directly to the lab.
Q: What are the admissions criteria?
A: Admissions decisions will be based primarily on your past academic performance (including marks and standardized tests like the GRE), your reference letters and forms which we look at very carefully, and any research, teaching or job experience you might have. Having some idea of the sort of research in which you are interested helps us send your file to the relevant faculty, but many students do not know exactly what they want to work on - you shouldn't make up a research interest that you aren't sure of. The program is very competitve - we typically interview only about 30 students out of several hundred applicants.
Q: Can you tell me what are my chances to be accepted to your lab/the Psychology graduate program/the Neuroscience graduate program, based on my CV and statement of interests?
A: No. We have an admissions committee and all decisions are made after all applicants have formally applied to the different programs (see links above). If you wish to be considered for one of the graduate programs, please apply. If you are applying and are specifically interested in working in our lab, please do send me an email to introduce yourself, so I can make note of your application when the time comes to review these and make decisions. You should also mention this interest in your research statement, so that your application is flagged for my attention. You are also welcome to email with questions about the lab etc. (other than "what are my chances of getting accepted", which I unfortunately do not have the information on which to base an answer).
Q: If I were to be accepted, can you provide funding for my studies?
A: Yes. All full time PhD students admitted to the lab will be funded for the normal time of completion of their degree. This money comes from various sources including student scholarships, teaching assistantships, central university funds for student support, and research grants - you should not worry about the details of where your support comes from.
Q: What about working in your group or with you directly?
A: If you are specifically interested in our research, please indicate this on your application. Note, however that students at the Neuroscience program are not admitted to work with specific professors; they are admitted to the program at large, with guaranteed funding and are free to work with whomever they find a good match with once they arrive (this is not the case in the Psychology department in which students are accepted to specific labs). If you are interested in working with me specifically, you can also indicate this in your statement of interest included with your official application. This will mean that I look at your file, and should you be admitted we can decide once you arrive if we'd enjoy doing research together.
Q: Should I apply to the Neuroscience program or the Psychology program?
A: You should apply to the program that best matches your background and interests. However, if your previous experience has straddled both Neuroscience and Psychology you can apply to either program (but NOT both). The Neuroscience and Psychology programs are structured slightly differently. In Psychology you will be admitted directly into our laboratory and will begin research immediately. In contrast, in Neuroscience you are admitted into the program as a whole and spend the first year rotating through three labs for 10 weeks each rotation. In addition, your funding in Neuroscience is covered by the program for the first three years, making it less likeley that you will need to complete multiple teaching assistantships. For these reasons Neuroscience tends to be a little more competitve than Psychology.
Undergraduates
We do not have any positions for undergraduates, interns or high school students. Our work is technically complex and requires a great deal of training.
(Much of the above was adopted from Yael Niv's FAQ, which was in turn adopted from Sam Roweis's FAQ. Thank you, both!)
Wallis Lab