<p>I am currently considering a career in Occupational Therapy, but I would like to major in Neuroscience. I have read many times that it is not extremely important what you major in, as long as you meet the graduate school's prerequisites. I understand that each school will be different on their exact requirements. However, I am a bit concerned of whether choosing Neuroscience will be beneficial for me to major in, in relation to pursuing a Master's in OT. I am very interested in neuroscience, and I feel as though the subject will help further my understanding of certain disabilities. Unfortunately, with that being said, it seems a bit more challenging to match the prerequisites for most graduate schools with a degree in neuroscience. How is it possible for me to both major in neuroscience and meet the prerequisites for OT? would it be beneficial to take a pre med track as well as majoring in neuroscience? or should i just totally nix the idea of majoring in neuroscience and major in a normal OT undergrad major such as psychology, sociology, physiology, kinesiology etc? Thank you so much</p>
<p>In many settings in which OTs work, you will function as a member of a team made up of representatives of various disciplines, PTs, psychologists, dieticians, neurologists, speech pathologists, et al.
A background in neuroscience will prepare you well to collaborate with other disciplines. As you mentioned, it also will help further your understanding of certain disabilities.
A solid neuroscience program will include supporting coursework that is essentially equivalent to the usual premed coursework requirements.
Depending on the particular school, neuroscience majors can be completed in a standalone interdisciplinary program or department or as a subspecialty track within a psychology major or a biology (or physiology or cell biology) major. The standalone programs and the subspecialty programs within a biology program tend to have more rigorous requirements in supporting sciences (e.g., math, physics, chemistry) than the subspecialty programs within a psychology program, though, again, it depends on the particular school.Thre also are neuroscience minor and certificate programs that can be combined with a major in a bioscience or psychology department. Of course, even if it major in neuroscience, you probably would need at least basic coursework in psychology, sociology, anatomy & physiology, and, perhaps, kinesiology, to meet the admission requirements for an OT master’s program.</p>