Neuroscience Undergrad

<p>Hey all! I was wondering if anyone out there knows of a ranking list for schools with a Neuroscience undergrad program. I got accepted to Fordham for that major and I plan on applying to NYU as well under the major. I was wondering which both of these schools rank for Neuroscience.</p>

<p>Well, I can tell you that NYU ranks very high for most of its programs, but the school is very expensive and I’ve heard that the staff there is pretty unhelpful when it comes to the students, especially in terms of financial aid. It’s one of the most expensive schools to attend nowadays.</p>

<p>I didn’t see Fordham on any neuroscience lists; they seemed to rank higher in humanities programs. But that doesn’t mean their program isn’t good.</p>

<p>instead of just looking at rankings of a rapidly growng major, first look towards the type of neuro that you want to focus on: psych-based, bio-based, math/comp sci-based. Each</p>

<p>I believe Fordham’s program is only a couple years old, so that might explain its absence from lists. </p>

<p>blue bayou is correct. unless you’re just going neuro to avoid the crowd going the bio route to med school, neuro is a major that requires you to do some research about it and about the kinds of neuro programs out there. They are interdepartmental, so they run the gamut from life sciences to compsci to social sciences to humanities and, in some cases, the fine arts. So instead of knowing one department, neuro, you have to evaluate 3-6.</p>

<p>Since if you’re not going to med school you’ll probably be looking at grad schools, it is helpful to have some sense of what courses grad schools will expect their students to have taken and done well in. Some grad programs are more psych- or language-based, but all acknowledge that the fundamental unit of cognition is the neuron and the biochemistry of such cells. So they expect applicants to have taken courses in cell biology and biochemistry. A course in biostatistics and math thru calculus is usually expected as well. Many grad programs are STEM-based. Here is Johns Hopkins’ description of their expectations:</p>

<p>Applicants should have a B.S. or B.A. with a major in any of the Biological or Physical sciences (Biological Psychology, Mathematics, Physics or Computer Science are all OK). Recommended course requirements for entry into the Program are mathematics through calculus, general physics, general biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. Laboratory research experience is desirable. </p>

<p>Brown has a similar description. However, there are grad programs that, while not ignoring the cellular foundation of neuroscience, give emphasis to the contributions of other, more social science-oriented disciplines to the study of cognition. Such graduate programs are commonly referred to as cogsci programs, and you can find plenty of these as well. In the humanities, these programs operate under the heading of something like “philosophy of mind.” Penn, for instance, has one program with both these qualifiers.</p>

<p>Many programs, Brown’s, UCSD’s, and Duke’s come to mind, require students with weaknesses in this field or that to fill in those gaps the summer before entry into the program, kind of grad school boot camp. I’d recommend then that if you’re serious about neuroscience that each semester, at pre-registration, you consider choosing your undergrad courses with particular grad schools’ requirements in mind.</p>

<p>This is more than you were asking for, but it’s an exciting field of study, a new frontier in understanding our species.</p>

<p>My DD is in neuroscience, so I know some thing about it.</p>

<p>There is no/little neuroscience jobs available for an undergraduate neuroscience major, basically, you need to have an advanced degree, PHD preferred, or go to the medical route.</p>