Neuroscience (BS)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2023–Spring 2024 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience 
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences
Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology
Academic Plan Code(s): NEURBS

Program Information

The Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience (BS in Neuroscience) is an interdisciplinary degree with a STEM+Health focus. The program trains students to critically assess and analyze ideas and concepts from the diverse disciplines that contribute to the field of neuroscience. Students achieve an in-depth understanding of nervous system function, from the molecular level to the cognitive sciences, and become familiar with the techniques used to measure nervous system function from the cellular level to the whole brain.

Graduates of this program are poised for careers in a wide variety of areas, including neuroscience and health-related fields, the social sciences, and the biological sciences. This program also prepares students for advanced-degree study in graduate school and professional degree programs.

Completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement. For details, contact the department.

Degree Summary

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Some credit hours from the General Education Requirements may be satisfied by courses defined by the program, in which case additional electives will be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree. 

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Accelerated BS Neuroscience/MS Experimental Psychology

Neuroscience majors who are considering pursuing a master's degree (MS) in Experimental Psychology can speed up the process by applying some of their undergraduate credit hours toward a master's degree. Students accepted into the accelerated BS Neuroscience/MS Experimental Psychology take three graduate courses (9 credit hours) as an undergraduate that apply toward both the bachelor's degree and the eventual master's degree.

Interested students must apply to the program by December 1 of their junior year. Applicants must have completed PSYC 201, PSYC 301, PSYC 302, and PSYC 491 prior to application. Applicants must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and maintain a GPA of greater than 2.5 during their enrollment in the BS/MS program.

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission to the BS in Neuroscience:

1. Complete PSYC 201 or (equivalent) and PSYC 305, earning a grade of C or higher.
2. Complete Statistics Requirement (PSYC 301 or BIOL 350), earning a grade of C or higher. Completion of MATH 180 or MATH 205 is required for the degree. For admission to the major, students must have completed the necessary math coursework, or have a math placement score, to satisfy the prerequisites to enroll in MATH 180 or MATH 205.
3. Have an overall cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 (no grades of C-minus or lower in core or supporting coursework may be counted toward requirements for the major).
4. Have completed at least 30 hours of degree-applicable credit.

The Change Major Request form can be found under the Academic Progress tile on ULink.

General Education

*All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Program/Major Requirements

At least 50 of the total minimum hours required must be at the 300 level or above.

Students who wish to double major in the BS in Neuroscience and the BS in Psychology degrees must complete 18 credit hours toward the Psychology (PSYC) degree that do not count towards meeting the Neuroscience (NS) degree requirements. These 18 credits must include the following courses: PSYC 306, PSYC 307 and PSYC 308. If these courses are taken as electives for the NS degree, additional PSYC courses must be taken in their place. Students must also complete one PSYC CUE course and one NS CUE course. For elective courses that can count toward either degree, the student must specify whether each course will count for NS or for PSYC.

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Completion of the second semester of a single foreign language; hours will vary depending on the language taken

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In addition to courses counted toward General Education

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May be incorporated into other degree requirements

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Students who satisfy General Education Requirements by courses defined by the program will require additional electives to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

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Does not satisfy CUE requirement for the Neuroscience BS

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Students may select any courses they wish to fulfill the elective credits; however, the faculty suggest that students consider taking electives from the provided list as these courses are aligned with training in the discipline or may be required to fulfill preparation for certain degree paths (such as completing the typical pre-med requirements). 

Flight Plan

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At least two of the courses selected to satisfy these General Education/Cardinal Core requirements must also satisfy Diversity requirements (at last once course/3 credits each of U.S./D1 and Global/D2 Diversity coursework).