The neuroscience curriculum includes rigorous, foundational course work in math, statistics, and the natural sciences. The 18-credit neuroscience core courses, as well as upper-division elective courses, are offered through the departments of biology, psychology, and human physiology. Upper division coursework focuses on three main areas of neuroscience: molecular/cellular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. Students are also required to take advanced skills courses in programming or computational techniques or conduct research in a neuroscience lab.
All courses counted towards the neuroscience major requirements must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C or better. The total number of credits is 103-106 (depending on whether majors complete the General Biology Sequence or the Biology Honors Sequence).
Foundation Courses in Natural Sciences (46-49 credits)
- General Biology Sequence: BI 211, 212, and 214 (12 credits) OR Biology Honors Sequence: BI 281H, 282H, 283H (15 credits)
- General Chemistry Sequence: CH 221, 222, 223 OR Chemistry Honors Sequence: CH 224H, 225H, 226H (12 credits)
- Introductory Physics Sequence: PHYS 201, 202, 203 OR Foundations of Physics Sequence: PHYS 251, 252, 253 (12 credits)
- General Chemistry Laboratory: CH 227, 228, 229 OR General Physics Laboratory: PHYS 204, 205, 206 (6 credits)
- Mind and Brain: PSY 201 (4 credits)
Life Science Fundamentals (7 credits)
- Medical Terminology: HPHY 211 (3 credits)
- Scientific Investigations in Physiology: HPHY 212 (4 credits)
Math and Statistics Courses (8 credits)
- MATH 246 Calculus for the Biological Sciences OR MATH 251 Calculus (4 credits)
- PSY 302 Statistical Methods in Psychology OR MATH 425 Statistical Methods OR ANTH 470 Statistical Analysis of Biological Anthropology (4 credits)
Core Neuroscience Sequence (18 credits)
Students are encouraged, but not required, to take these courses in the following order:
- HPHY 321 Human Anatomy I and HPHY 322 Human Physiology I (Fall; 10 credits)
- PSY 304 Biopsychology (Winter; 4 credits)
- BI 360 Neurobiology (Spring; 4 credits)
Upper-Division Elective Courses (16 credits)
At least 12 credits must be from 400-level courses, and at least one course must come from each of the following three areas:
Molecular/Cellular/Developmental
- BI 320 Molecular Genetics
- BI 322 Cell Biology
- BI 328 Developmental Biology
- BI 356 Animal Physiology
- BI 410 Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- BI 410 Neurogenetics
- BI 422 Protein Toxins in Cell Biology
- BI 427 Molecular Genetics of Human Disease
- BI 463 Cellular Neuroscience
- BI 466 Developmental Neurobiology
- HPHY 432 Neural Development
Systems
- BI 353 Sensory Physiology
- BI 399 Visual System
- BI 410 Auditory Systems
- BI 410 Neurobiology of Motivation and Addiction
- BI 461 Systems Neuroscience
- HPHY 333 Motor Control
- HPHY 412 Sleep Physiology
- HPHY 433 Neurophysiology of Concussion
- HPHY 434 Movement Disorders
- HPHY 436 Clinical Neuroscience
- PSY 445 Brain Mechanisms of Behavior
- PSY 450 Hormones and Behavior
Cognitive
- BI 410 Neural Basis of Cognition
- PSY 305 Cognition
- PSY 348 Music and the Brain
- PSY 383 Psychoactive Drugs
- PSY 399 The Science and Culture of Sleep
- PSY 433 Learning and Memory
- PSY 436 Human Performance
- PSY 438 Perception
- PSY 440 Psycholinguistics
- PSY 449 Cognitive Neuroscience
- PSY 458 Decision Making
- PSY 475 Cognitive Development
Advanced Skills and/or Research Experience (8 credits)
Students may choose any of the following:
- BI 399 Introduction to Python for Biologists
- BI 401 Research
- BI 403 Thesis
- BI 407 Neuroscience Seminar
- BI 410 Introduction to Programming for Biologists
- BI 410 Matlab for Biologists
- BI 410 Analysis of Neural Data
- BI 410 Data Visualization
- BI 485 Techniques in Computational Neuroscience
- BIOE 410 Synthetic Biology
- CS 372M Machine Learning for Data Science
- CS 472 Machine Learning
- HPHY 401 Research
- HPHY 403 Thesis
- MATH 410 Machine Learning Statistics
- PSY 401 Research
- PSY 403 Thesis
- PSY 412 Applied Data Analysis
Why Study Neuroscience?
What’s required to earn a degree? It's all summarized in our major map.