Considering majors: psychology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology... and a lot more.

College Majors
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<p>At heart, I would say that I am a philosopher in the literal sense: I am a lover of wisdom. But majoring in philosophy alone would result in limited opportunities. I also want to be able to explore: to look into science and the philosophical implications of various fields. </p>

<p>For the most part, I’ve been considering quite an array of fields. Because physics, philosophy, and psychology are usually offered at schools, I’ve placed my focus on less popular majors.</p>

<p>Anything pertaining to the mind and the way people think would interest me. Therefore, cognitive science, biopsychology, and neuroscience would be interesting. But what more is out there? I took a look at what colleges offered both biopsychology and neuroscience and only five in the nation did, at least according to the search offered by CB. As for cognitive science and neuroscience, there are fourteen. Biopsychology and cognitive science? Two. All three? None. </p>

<p>My dilemma:
— I want to find a college that will close the least doors and open the most. I want to be able to go into a field, maybe realize it’s not for me, and try the next option. </p>

<p>I realize that these fields are very related to each other… One of my friends said that it wouldn’t matter which I chose because everything was so similar. And I know that after my undergraduate years, I’ll probably head off to graduate school to get a doctorate in order to do research, so I shouldn’t seek to be an expert early on. But the question in mind is not which college will prepare me the most, but which college offers the major that will interest me the most. I just don’t know which one I’ll like best.</p>

<p>So, my questions to all of you out there are:</p>

<li><p>What other related majors are out there? (Though this may further escalate my dilemma ><)</p></li>
<li><p>What path ought I take? Which will close the least doors, or open the most? I have read that cognitive science draws on all the majors… so maybe it’s the most inclusive? </p></li>
<li><p>Also, such a path most likely will be to the college that offers two majors… which two will open up more subject matter? </p></li>
<li><p>In general, what are my options? What do you suggest?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Maybe I’m just being ridiculous here. Maybe the differences in the majors would be so minute that I really shouldn’t care about it, but right now, I don’t know how minute they would be… so, suggestions?</p>

<p>Also, thank you!</p>

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<p>PaniKirjava,
From the what you have said in your post, it sounds like you would be well suited to attend a large, well-funded research university. Besides having more to choose from major-wise, you may also have an opportunity to participate in doing research during your time as an undergraduate.</p>

<p>Please remember that your choice of major alone should not determine which school you attend. There are a number of other factors that may tip the scale towards one school over another!</p>

<p>All the best!</p>

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<p>PaniKirjava,
I recommend the University of Rochester (NY). </p>

<p>Their department of Brain and Cognitive Science is highly reputable, and one takes classes crosslisted with psychology, or computer science, or neuroscience, whichever upper-level "track" one chooses for their major.</p>

<p>Neuroscience is offered as well (more focused for Premed however). </p>

<p>Finally, their Philosophy department is decent, with small class sizes.</p>

<p>Curriculum-wise, the cluster system offers fantastic flexibility. Look into it.</p>

<p>But I mean, I'm a first semester freshman here, and I think I'm pretty lucky that UR has this range of opportunities for me to pursue. Because it's eerie how closely your academic interests mirror mine.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>this may be a little delayed, but i highly recommend franklin and marshall college in lancaser, pa. it is a small, libral arts college that just got a brand new philosophy/bio/neuroscience building =)
there are no grad students at f&m, so all of the lab equipment can be used by the undergrads. since there are only 2000 students, there are a lot of research opportunites and students work very closely with professors.
as for majors, f&m has neuroscience, biopsychology, and a major called the scientific and philosophical studies of mind, which combines philosophy, psych and bio.</p>

<p>"Students delve into current debates from multiple perspectives, employing intellectual tools adopted from Philosophy, Psychology, Biology, Computer Science and beyond. This diverse approach enables students to achieve a deeper level of understanding than any single discipline alone could provide."</p>

<p>there is also a minor "the philosophy of science" offered at f&m, which is something you sound like you would be interested in.
good luck =)</p>

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<p>Wow, what you described sounds a lot like what I want to do as well!</p>

<p>I'm hoping to transfer to UCLA which has CogSci, Neuroscience, Psychobiology, and Regular Psych (in addition to minors in CogSci and Neuro!!!). Collegeboard is fooling you! </p>

<p>UCLA</a> Undergrad Admissions: Majors - College of Letters & Science</p>

<p>I do believe that Cognitive Science is a very diverse major which you could mold to your interests as they change (or stay the same, who knows?) It draws on Neuroscience (for the more chemistry/biology/physiology-oriented), Computer Science (for more technical applications and CS is highly marketable), Philosophy (need I say more? it's freakin philosophy!), Anthropology (more cultural), Linguistics, Psychology......the list goes on.</p>

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<p>"Maybe I'm just being ridiculous here. Maybe the differences in the majors would be so minute that I really shouldn't care about it"</p>

<p>the spectrum of exploration of the human mind moves in gradations and so with each major you get different focuses....don't think you're being ridiculous! i'm the same too haha===or maybe i'm just ridiculous as well?!?! </p>

<p>anyway, if you're willing to log the necessary hours to study math/physics/chem/bio, i would probably recommend neuroscience in combination to something else...probably cogsci. it gives you a level of expertise and scientific depth necessary to conduct the research you mentioned. since neuroscience is such a vast, unexplored field in comparison to most others nowadays, i say it could definitely open up doors for you.
good luck :]</p>

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<p>What do you do with a major in Cog Sci though?</p>