<p>Hi I'm a prospective neuroscience/ cognitive science major and I've been agonizing over which college to attend. I really like Cornell and plan on applying early decision; the only problem is their lack of a structured neuroscience program. Other schools like Johns Hopkins, Brown, and Amherst have these structured programs with great undergraduate neuroscience electives. Cornell has many neuroscience courses, its just that they're from different departments and a large majority don't seem to be offered (especially the ones on the Neuroscience on Cornell website). If I were at Cornell I would be a Cognitive Science major on a neuroscience track. So I'm basically looking for some assurance that Cornell is a good place to go to study neuroscience and whether or not they ever offer those courses which say "not offered this year". By the way I've already unearthed every Neuroscience thread in the history of CC; I'm really looking for some one who is involved in neuroscience at Cornell to give me advice (or anyone else who has some advice) Thanks.</p>
<p>First, kudos on doing your research, but there isn't a cognitive science major at Cornell. You can concentrate (or minor) in cog sci, but you would have to major in something like biology, psychology, philosophy, math, or computer science. </p>
<p>Secondly, realize where Cornell's strengths lie:</p>
<p>-- human perception and applied social interaction
-- animal social and evolutionary behavior
-- philosophy of mind and science
-- artificial intelligence
-- linguistics</p>
<p>Cornell is strong in neurobio, but not as strong as it is in behavior. This isn't that important for an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Thirdly, I wasn't a bio major, but I did take a bunch of courses in the neurobio and behavior department, so I might be of some help.</p>
<p>You are right to suggest that Cornell doesn't offer a structured neuroscience program in the way that some other colleges offer it. I think this reflects a teaching philosophy at Cornell that emphasizes the fundamentals of a discipline -- if you are a biology or psychology major at Cornell, the professors want to foremost ensure that you are fluent in all aspects of the discipline. (The same, coincidentally, goes for others areas like engineering or the applied social sciences.)</p>
<p>However, I think what is one of the greatest strengths of the Cornell educational system is that it allows students to build off a common foundation towards their interests. So as a bio major you can steer your course towards nuerobio or animal physiology or what have you.</p>
<p>The other great strength of Cornell is that there will be tons of different classes available to you in your area of interest. Much more than, for instance, Brown or Amherst. And over the course of two years all of the courses you see in the course catalog will be offered.</p>
<p>Finally, be aware that Cornell has several appealing independent major options like the College Scholar program that would allow you to design your own major if you are able to prove your academic merit to the faculty.</p>
<p>Hey, I am currently a neurobiology concentrator thinking about doing a concentration also in cognitive science, making for cognitive neuroscience - i think it can work out since there's some overlap in a few of the neurobio specific classes within the major. there's one course called cognitive neuroscience that i cannot wait to take!</p>