Major
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that combines biology, psychology and chemistry to investigate how the nervous system generates the complex experience and behavior of humans and other animals while being shaped in turn by the organism’s engagement with the environment. Drawing most heavily on the offerings of its home departments of psychology and biology, but with additional courses in chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, the neuroscience major offers excellent preparation for post-graduate education and careers in the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience.
Major requirements
The major consists of at least 14 courses, 4 of which must be at the 300-level or above, including the Senior Seminar in Neuroscience.
Required Courses
PSY 202 Quantitative Research Methods
PSY 225 Brain, Mind and Behavior
PSY 227 Drugs and Behavior
BIO 111 Evolution and Ecology
BIO 112 Cells and Genes
CHEM 153 Chemical Principles
CHEM 253 Organic Chemistry I
MATH 141 Introductory Statistics
or MATH 151 Accelerated Statistics
NEUR 400 Senior Seminar in Neuroscience
Electives
Five elective courses and three must be taken at the 300-level.
Two of the following courses in Psychology:
PSY 211 Learning and Memory
PSY 222 Cognition
PSY 226 Comparative Animal Behavior
PSY 261 Psychobiology of Sex and Gender
PSY 312 Perception
PSY 330 Scientific Approaches to Consciousness
PSY 367 Cognitive Neuroscience
Two of the following courses in Biology:
BIO 211 Genetics
BIO 219 Cell Biology
BIO 244 Introductory Physiology
BIO 254 Developmental Biology
BIO 255 Vertebrate Evolution and Anatomy
BIO 303 Evolution
BIO 305 Biochemistry
BIO 316 Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
BIO 324 Neurobiology
One of the following 300-level lab courses:
PSY 337 Practicum in Psychological Research
PSY 341 Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 343 Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology
PSY 348 Laboratory in Animal Communication and Cognition
Related Programs
News
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UPDATE: Parker '12 wins regional conference award!
November 10, 2011Laura Parker '12 has won the best undergraduate student poster award at the annual meeting of the New England Psychological Association. -
Parker '12 presents research at regional conference
November 8, 2011Laura Parker '12, Assistant Professor Jason E. Reiss, and Associate Professor Rolf Nelson presented their research at the annual meeting of the New England Psychological Association. -
Kirkpatrick publishes with recent alum
March 23, 2011Assistant Professor Meg Kirkpatrick and Wheaton alumna Liana Merrill '09 published their research in the January issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. -
Morris receives funding from NIH
March 23, 2011Bob Morris, Associate Professor of Biology, and his lab were awarded a $150,000 grant from the National Institutes for Childhood Health and Development. -
Reiss pays attention to cognitive function
February 23, 2011June 20, 2009 Assistant Professor of Psychology Jason E. Reiss, a cognitive neuroscientist, is researching the hidden mental processes involved in the acquisition and use of visual information.
