Neuroscience Major - Curriculum & Duration

Our flexible program is designed to fit your interests: You take at least one course from each track—Molecular and Medicinal, Clinical, and Theoretical—and then can specialize in a track or tailor your electives to gain equal exposure to each area.

Expert faculty members help you study the nervous system from many angles, emphasizing the biological, behavioral, theoretical, and clinical aspects of neuroscience. Faculty come from four USciences departments:

• Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Psychology)
• Department of Biological Sciences (Biology)
• Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology)
• Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics (Physics)

The following is a typical curriculum for neuroscience students entering University of the Sciences in Fall 2019; other students should refer to their academic advisor for their curricula.

First Year

Introductory Biology I, II
Introductory Biology I, II Lab or Phage Hunters I, II
General Chemistry I, II
General Chemistry Lab I, II
Precalculus
General Calculus
Neuroscience Orientation
Physical Education I, II
Writing and Rhetoric I, II
Introduction to Psychology

Second Year

Multidisciplinary Inquiry Requirements
Organic Chemistry I, II
Organic Chemistry I, II, Lab
Introduction to Neuroscience I, II
Neuroscience Colloquium
Communication Requirement
Physics Requirements

Third Year

Neuroscience Core Courses¹
Neuroscience Track Electives²
Survey of Biochemistry or Molecular Structure in Biochemistry or Biochemistry
Directed Research or Independent Study
Humanities or Social Science Discipline Requirement
Humanities Elective

Fourth Year

Seminar in Neuroscience I
Neuroscience Core Course¹
Neuroscience Track Electives² 
Neuroscience Capstone
Humanities or Social Science Discipline Requirement
Free Electives

 

¹Neuroscience Core Courses

• Neurobiology
• Neuropsychology
• Neuropsychopharmacology
• Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience or Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Biophysics of the Brain

²Neuroscience Track Electives

Molecular & Medicinal Neuroscience

• Biology of Aging
• Cell Biology
• Human Molecular & Cell Biology or Molecular Biology
• Human Physiology
• Molecular Basis of Neurological Disorders
• Drug Discovery for Neurodegenerative Disorders
• Directed Research

Clinical Health Neuroscience

• Learning Theory
• Health Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Personality Theory
• Neuroscience
• Geriatric Interdisciplinary Care
• Directed Research

Theoretical Neuroscience

• Biophysics
• Computer Programming
• Electronics
• Advanced Neurophysics
• Mathematical Foundations of Neuroscience
• Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics
• Theory of Networks
• Directed Research