Neuroscience Curriculum Overview

Faculty:

Charles A. Dana Professor Karen Hinkle; Professor Lauren Howard; Associate Professors Megan Doczi (Chair), Allison Neal, Scott Page and Simon Pearish; Senior Lecturer David Ebenstein (Lab Coordinator); Lecturers Mary Beth Klinger-Lawrence and Amanda Northrop.

The Neuroscience major exposes students to a rapidly growing field at the intersection of biology and psychology. Educating students about the human nervous system in health and disease prepares them for managing the public health challenges of our global population, while exposing them to interdisciplinary learning at the earliest stages of their undergraduate careers. Neuroscience graduates draw knowledge from a variety of specialties, effectively mastering the human nervous system from cellular, molecular, biochemical, cognitive, and behavioral perspectives.

Through the inherently diverse nature of the Neuroscience field, students engage in a broad-based curriculum spanning multiple disciplines. During the first year of study, the Neuroscience curriculum introduces students to fundamental concepts in biology, psychology, chemistry, and mathematics, while developing communication skills through concurrent introductory English courses. Successful students will progress to intermediate level courses designed to provide a thorough background in the anatomy and physiology of the human nervous system, with an emphasis on cellular and molecular biology, and carbon compounds. The third year of the Neuroscience major builds upon the knowledge gained in previous years by engaging students in applied research methods courses, coupled with an analytical reasoning of the natural properties of the physical world. The third and fourth year curricula seek to refine the students’ understanding through specialized courses detailing the human nervous system through health and disease. With five free electives, the third and fourth years of study also offer the flexibility for students to pursue a minor in a discipline of their choice.

Mission: 

The mission of the Neuroscience curriculum is to provide undergraduate students with a working knowledge of the human brain and nervous system, while emphasizing a strong foundation in the natural sciences.

Goals:
  • To educate students about the human nervous system in health and disease
  • To prepare students to manage the public health challenges of our global population
Outcomes:
  • Acquire a basic proficiency for information literacy and exercise effective written and oral communication skills.
  • Conduct hands-on, experiential laboratory research, effectively exposing students to common experimental methodology, approach, and design within the Neuroscience discipline.
  • Demonstrate a fundamental competency in Neuroscience via an array of disciplines including biology, psychology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

Careers for this Major:
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Biotechnology
  • Research and Development
  • Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuropsychology
  • Science Writing
  • Medical Liaison