Neuroscience Major

Students may elect one of two routes to a major in neuroscience: behavioral neuroscience or cellular neuroscience.

Behavioral neuroscience examines the relationship of the brain to complex behaviors of the organism, and cellular neuroscience focuses on the structure and function of cells and molecules in the nervous system. Although emphasizing different levels of the nervous system, the two areas of study have a common core curriculum consisting of the following eight courses as well as required labs (only two 300-level courses per term can be counted towards the major).

For more information about the program, honors/high honors, transfer credit, etc., visit the Neuroscience program page.

Major Requirements

Required Courses

CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I
CHEM 102 - General Chemistry II
NEUR 170 - Introduction to Brain and Behavior completed with a grade of C- or better (formerly PSYC/NEUR 170)
NEUR 498 - Senior Thesis
Students not meeting the grade requirement for NEUR 170 must consult with the coordinator of the program before continuing in the major.

Quantitative Methods or Biostatistics

One of the following:

Elective 1

One of the following:

Elective 2

One of the following:

Elective 3

One of the following:

Emphasis Electives

Three additional courses in one of the following emphasis:

Behavioral Neuroscience

All of the Following

PSYC 200 - Research Methods in Psychology
One course chosen from PSYC 250–259 or 350–359 (any single course from this range of courses in cognitive psychology)

And One Elective

One elective chosen from the following:

NEUR 379 - Fundamentals of Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology
NEUR 384 - Fundamentals of Neurophysiology
Any biology course above 150.

Cellular Neuroscience

All of the Following

And One Elective

One elective chosen from the following:

Senior Thesis

NEUR 498 - Senior Thesis (one term) must be taken in the fall or spring of the senior year. During the spring term of the junior year students identify several areas of interest for their senior-year research experience. Students are then assigned to faculty research supervisors and assigned to the fall or spring semester sections based upon students’ interests and the availability of resources. On the rare occasions when PSYC 450 is offered, students may substitute that seminar for NEUR 498 .

Students planning honors research are required to enroll in NEUR 498 in the fall of the senior year, followed by NEUR 499 in the spring of the senior year. On occasion, students who are not pursuing honors or high honors may complete two semesters of senior research by taking NEUR 498 in the fall and NEUR 491 in the spring.

GPA Requirement

A minimum GPA of 2.00 is required in all courses counting toward the neuroscience major. A passing grade must be received for a course to satisfy a major requirement.