Achievement

We launched 2 of our 5-course “Foundations” sequence that provides students from diverse areas (from linguistics to neuroscience) with sufficient background in each other’s fields to allow them to work in collaborative teams. Foundations 1 covered fundamentals of neuroscience, genetics, linguistics, psychology, and computation, with just enough depth to jump-start student interest and prepare them for subsequent Foundations and specialized courses. This was effective: in Foundations 3 (Neurodevelopment & Plasticity), students with backgrounds in linguistics, communication disorders, and psychology kept up with neuroscience students. Trainees report our training has “forced them to think outside” their home disciplines, leading them to “think more deeply” about their own work, and “draw connections [they] would not have otherwise”. Faculty report that diversity in student backgrounds led to novel discussions and is changing the way they think about aspects of their home disciplines.