How do I become a neurobiologist?

College Majors Science Majors
1

I’m really fascinated by neuroscience, especially neurobiology. I want to major in neuroscience/neurobiology, so that I can study mental disorders and find causes and cures for them (hopefully). But, I don’t quite get the process of becoming a neurobiologist. Would I go to med school, earn a Ph.D., receive a Bachelor’s degree? I know I sound really uninformed, but I’m pretty confused about how I might go about securing this job.

2

Step 1: Major in neuroscience (either in a standalone neuroscience department, a track within a bioscience major,
a track within a psychology major, or an interdisciplinary neuroscience major). If you want to go to medical school, you’ll need to complete the medical school prerequisite coursework, which you would do anyway as part of a neuroscience major (standalone or bioscience track). If you do your major through a psychology department, the requirements might not include all the premed courses, so you’d have to use electives to complete those. (Many of the strongest neuroscience programs will essentially require the equivalent of the premed requirements, however.)
Step 2a: Go to medical school, then do a residency in either neurology or psychiatry. You also might consider a joint MD/PhD program since you want to do research.

OR
Step 2b: Go to graduate school for a PhD in neuroscience (again, either in a standalone neuroscience department, a track within a bioscience department, or a track within a psychology department, or an interdisciplinary neuroscience program). Depending on your research interests and what you consider the most promising approaches to the causes/cures of mental disorders, you could consider a doctoral program in certain other biosciences, e.g., pharmacology, where you could emphasize neuro/psychopharmacology.

3

If your goal is to do research, the best path to take is probably a PhD. (If you wanted to do more clinical practice, then an MD would be the route to take.) To head in that direction, get involved in research during your first or second year at college, volunteering in a lab, as a work study student, or through a summer internship.