The BS in neuroscience is an interdisciplinary program emphasizing the relationship between the biology and chemistry of the nervous system and the behavior of an organism. This degree prepares students for medical school or graduate study in neuroscience and other health-related fields as well as for work in the neuroscience field.
Degree Requirements (Catalog Year 2013-2014)
Students must fulfill all requirements for bachelor’s degrees, including university general educationrequirements. Students pursuing a BS in neuroscience must complete additional college requirements for the BS degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The program requirements meet the university general education requirements in quantitative reasoning, social and behavioral science, and natural science.
Foundation courses (41-44 credits)
Two courses in biology (7-8 credits)
Students must earn a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in each of these courses.
One required course (4 credits)
BIOL 213 - Cell Structure and Function Credits: 4
One course (3-4 credits) chosen from:
The course chosen to fulfill this requirement cannot be applied to the 24 credits of approved neuroscience electives.
BIOL 311 - General Genetics Credits: 4
BIOL 326 - Animal Physiology Credits: 3
BIOL 425 - Human Physiology Credits: 3
BIOL 430 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology I Credits: 4
BIOL 431 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology II Credits: 4
Two courses in chemistry (8 credits)
CHEM 211 - General Chemistry Credits: 4
CHEM 212 - General Chemistry Credits: 4
One course in mathematics (3 or 4 credits) chosen from:
Students intending to pursue a doctorate in neuroscience or a medical degree are advised to take MATH 114.
MATH 113 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus I Credits: 4
MATH 114 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus II Credits: 4
MATH 213 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus III Credits: 3
One course in statistics (3 or 4 credits) chosen from:
BIOL 214 - Biostatistics for Biology Majors Credits: 4
STAT 250 - Introductory Statistics I Credits: 3
PSYC 300 - Statistics in Psychology Credits: 4
MATH 352 - Statistics Credits: 3
Four courses in physics (8 credits):
Students take one of the following two sequences:
PHYS 243 - College Physics Credits: 3 and PHYS 244 - College Physics Lab Credits: 1
PHYS 245 - College Physics Credits: 3 and PHYS 246 - College Physics Lab Credits: 1
or
PHYS 160 - University Physics I Credits: 3 or PHYS 161 - University Physics I Laboratory Credits: 1
PHYS 260 - University Physics II Credits: 3 or PHYS 261 - University Physics II Laboratory Credits: 1
Three courses in psychology (9 credits)
Students must earn a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in each of these courses. Transfer students who have earned transfer credit for PSYC 372 may substitute this course for PSYC 375.
PSYC 100 - Basic Concepts in Psychology Credits: 3
PSYC 375 - Brain and Behavior I Credits: 3
PSYC 376 - Brain and Behavior II Credits: 3
One course in computer science (3 credits)
CDS 130 - Computing for Scientists Credits: 3
Two core courses in neuroscience (6 credits)
Students must earn a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in each of these courses.
NEUR 327 - Cellular, Neurophysiological, and Pharmacological Neuroscience Credits: 3
NEUR 335 - Molecular, Developmental, and Systems Neuroscience Credits: 3
One course in technical writing (3 credits) chosen from:
Students must earn a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in this course.
NEUR 410 - Current Topics in Neuroscience Credits: 3
NEUR 411 - Seminar in Neuroscience Credits: 3
One required psychology lab course (1 credit)
Students must earn a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in this course.
PSYC 373 - Physiological Psychology Laboratory Credits: 1
Electives (24 credits)
Students should consult with an advisor to choose appropriate elective courses, which must be approved by the director of the program. Students may apply no more than 6 credits of courses with D to this requirement. Students intending to pursue a doctorate in neuroscience or a medical degree are advised to take CHEM 313 and 315.
BENG 101 - Introduction to Bioengineering Credits: 3
BENG 313 - Physiology for Engineers Credits: 3
BIOL 305 - Biology of Microorganisms Credits: 3 and BIOL 306 - Biology of Microorganisms Laboratory Credits: 1
BIOL 311 - General Genetics Credits: 4
BIOL 326 - Animal Physiology Credits: 3
BIOL 327 - Animal Physiology Laboratory Credits: 2
BIOL 417 - Selected Topics in Molecular and Cellular Biology Credits: 1-3 (when topic is Foundations of the Mammalian Brain)
BIOL 420 - Vaccines Credits: 3
BIOL 425 - Human Physiology Credits: 3
BIOL 430 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology I Credits: 4
BIOL 431 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology II Credits: 4
BIOL 452 - Immunology Credits: 3
BIOL 453 - Immunology Laboratory Credits: 1
BIOL 471 - Evolution Credits: 3
BIOL 483 - General Biochemistry Credits: 4
BIOL 484 - Eukaryotic Cell Biology Credits: 3
BIOL 515 - Introduction to Neurobiology Credits: 2
CDS 301 - Scientific Information and Data Visualization Credit: 3
CHEM 313 - Organic Chemistry Credits: 3 and CHEM 315 - Organic Chemistry Lab I Credits: 2
CHEM 314 - Organic Chemistry Credits: 3 and CHEM 318 - Organic Chemistry Lab II Credits: 2
CHEM 321 - Elementary Quantitative Analysis Credits: 4
CHEM 333 - Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences I Credits: 3
CHEM 334 - Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences II Credits: 3
CHEM 463 - General Biochemistry I Credits: 4 and CHEM 465 - Biochemistry Lab Credits: 2
CHEM 464 - General Biochemistry II Credits: 3
MATH 114 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus II Credits: 4
MATH 203 - Linear Algebra Credits: 3
MATH 213 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus III Credits: 3
MATH 214 - Elementary Differential Equations Credits: 3
NEUR 380 - Biological Bases of Alzheimer's Disease Credits: 3
NEUR 395 - Laboratory Methods in Behavioral Neuroscience Credits: 3
NEUR 410 - Current Topics in Neuroscience Credits: 3 (when not used to fulfill the technical writing requirement)
NEUR 411 - Seminar in Neuroscience Credits: 3
NEUR 440 - Independent Study in Neuroscience Credits: 1-3
NEUR 450 - Honors Thesis Proposal Credits: 2-3
NEUR 451 - Honors Thesis Credits: 3-4
PHYS 262 - University Physics III Credits: 3
PHYS 263 - University Physics III Laboratory Credits: 1
PSYC 304 - Principles of Learning Credits: 4
PSYC 309 - Sensation, Perception, and Information Processing Credits: 4
PSYC 317 - Cognitive Psychology Credits: 3
PSYC 472 - Advanced Physiological Psychology Credits: 3
Total: 75-78 Credits
Writing-Intensive Requirement
The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated "writing intensive" in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in neuroscience may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing NEUR 410.
Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.