<p>While going through my college search I initially focused primarily on larger research universities as I felt they would provide me the best opportunities to study the more intense as specific fields of neuroscience and computer science (AI concentration). The University of Pennsylvania has a Coordinated Duel Degree program in Cognitive Science and AI which might be great for me! However, the school is very large and I would enjoy having more intimiate seminar style classes and more independent collaboration with professors. What are some of the best small liberal arts schools that have great programs in both fields. My main interests in Neuroscience are the top end (philosophy, psychology, and cog sci) and the molecular underpinnings which allow the brain "circuitry" to function. Ideally, the college would be small, more urban, focused on academics, have a very liberal climate, allow freshmen/undergraduate research, and be as close to an open curriculum as possible. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>hendrix college
muhlenberg college
lafayette college</p>
<p>choose two and then flip a coin! you can not lose!</p>
<p>Just got back from Brain Camp at Muhlenberg. Loved the small school feel but overall felt like it was missing “something” It is a great school though!</p>
<p>[About</a> - Neuroscience Studies - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/neuroscience/about/]About”>http://www.macalester.edu/academics/neuroscience/about/)
[Publish</a> and Prosper - News - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/news/2011/12/publish-and-prosper]Publish”>http://www.macalester.edu/news/2011/12/publish-and-prosper)</p>
<p>Macalester is one of the few LACs located in a truly urban setting. It is focused on academics and seems to have a very liberal climate. Average SATs: approximately 680CR, 670M, 670W. Fall 2010 acceptance rate = 43%.</p>
<p>Fantastic! thanks I will look into that. Now I know it is far from urban, but what do you know about Amherst College</p>
<p>Also what about combining the computer science and artificial intelligence to neuroscience at the undergraduate level?</p>
<p>Amherst has an open curriculum, as well as the advantage of being able to take courses at other schools in a 5-college consortium. It’s one of the most selective colleges in the country.</p>
<p>As for combining CS, AI, and neuroscience, I’d be concerned about getting a mishmash of courses that don’t necessarily add up to a coherent program. Ideally, a well-structured neuroscience major and good academic advising should help you avoid that.</p>
<p>Doesn’t UMich have a top ranked neuroscience department/program or something like that?</p>
<p>Thats actually a great point. Have any of you had experience with doing interdisciplinary studies and managing to construct a coherent course load?</p>
<p>^^ You can check out the NRC/Chronicle graduate program rankings for Michigan (or any other research university with a neuroscience/neurobiology program). </p>
<p>[NRC</a> Rankings Overview: Neuroscience and Neurobiology - Faculty - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“NRC Rankings Overview: Neuroscience and Neurobiology”>NRC Rankings Overview: Neuroscience and Neurobiology)</p>
<p>I don’t know how helpful a ranking like this really is for someone choosing an undergraduate program. You might want to check out high-ranking schools that also have the small size or other features you seek. Brandeis is smaller and somewhat less selective than other private schools with top-10 S-ranks.</p>
<p>Cool! This is somewhat unrelated but still important in my decision. I want an environment where everyone there is into learning, not just getting an education, preparing for a career, or using a college for its name. Should I be looking at more selective schools in order to find a place where everyone is well versed and ready for intense discussions ranging from literary criticisms to political philosophy to theoretical physics.</p>
<p>put rice university on your radar screen</p>
<p>Duke Neuroscience students have a great track record of getting into the best PhD programs in Neuroscience from what I’ve seen. In the past 2 years, I know two classmates who are doing their postgraduate studies at Stanford and two more that are at graduate school at Cornell and Penn respectively.</p>
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<p>If you want to combine CS, neuroscience, and AI, then cognitive science is exactly what you’re looking for. [Here[/url</a>] is a past thread in which I address LACs specifically. In short, if you’re really interested in cogsci, LACs are usually not the best choice - their course offerings are extremely limited (even in the consortia), they often don’t have the constituent departments necessary for cogsci, and their professors either work only in one area (e.g. CS) or are absent altogether. While some might be decent in it, you won’t get the critical mass of people in the field at a LAC as you would at a university. [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1198228-neuroscience-harvard-stanford-princeton-yale.html]This”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1198228-neuroscience-harvard-stanford-princeton-yale.html]This</a> thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/1188431-undergraduate-cognitive-science-programs.html]Here[/url”>Undergraduate cognitive science programs - College Majors - College Confidential Forums) on neuroscience may also be helpful.</p>
<p>Don’t discount a school for its size. What really matters, if you want small classes, is how many people are involved in the field, relative to the course offerings; at many top cogsci schools, the # of students in the field is pretty small, so it’s the functional equivalent of a LAC in terms of class sizes. Even in cases where the community is large, cogsci has such a variety of niche areas that the classes that focus on such areas tend to be small. This is also where some of the elite schools have an advantage, because despite their size, they often allow undergrads to take grad-level classes, which are usually seminar-style. Thus, you get the breadth of course offerings with small classes.</p>
<p>Here are some of the best schools for cogsci: Stanford, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Brown, UPenn, Berkeley, U Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, UC San Diego, UCLA, Columbia, WashU, Indiana U. I can’t think of a LAC that comes even close to any of these in cogsci. Most of these are urban, and all are liberal. Brown sounds like the perfect choice for you, given that it’s one of the best for cogsci, has small classes, is known to be very liberal, is urban, has an intellectual environment, offers undergrads lots of research opportunities, and has an open curriculum. I don’t believe any of the others have an open curriculum, or even close to it, but they’re all pretty flexible, with the exception of Columbia (which is flexible, but not nearly as much as the others, given its core curriculum).</p>
<p>Since you mention AI and neuroscience specifically, you might keep an eye out for buzzwords like “biomimetic,” “neuromorphic,” and “computational neuroscience.” You might also explore universities that partner with tech companies like IBM and HP on projects like [SyNAPSE[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2011/apr-jun/memristors.html]memristors[/url”>http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2011/apr-jun/memristors.html]memristors[/url</a>]. For example, Stanford has a [url=<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/group/brainsinsilicon/neurogrid.html]Brains”>http://www.stanford.edu/group/brainsinsilicon/neurogrid.html]Brains</a> in Silicon](<a href=“IBM - United States”>IBM - United States) group that might be of interest to you. I’ve also heard Northeastern U is good in this area.</p>
<p>Wow thank you so much!! That was incredibly helpful. With cogsci, do you also study molecular biology as it pertains to neuroscience? I’m sure a course or two would quench my interest as I think I enjoy talking about the bigger picture more…but that could change</p>
<p>No problem. 
You definitely can study molecular biology in relation to the other cognitive science areas, esp. neuroscience. Many universities offer courses to cater to that interest specifically. For example, Berkeley offers a [url=<a href=“http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs182/sp07/]course[/url”>Comp Sci 182 / Cog Sci 110 / Ling 109: The Neural Basis of Thought and Language]course[/url</a>] titled “the Neural Basis of Thought and Language.” That’s the sort of course you would find at a university, and it’d be hard to find at a LAC.</p>
<p>Yea those are the exact types of courses I would love to explore. Now what about LACs that are working with universities to allow students to take courses there (such as the consortium) Do you still believe it would be better just to go to the university and not have the hassle of taking the bus everyday?</p>
<p>Yes UMich–Ann Arbor does have top ranked Neuroscience major (i want to major on that). It’s my first in-state choice :)</p>
<p>doctarini, to what undergraduate program ranking are you referring?</p>
<p>There’s this:
[Best</a> Neuroscience Undergraduate Programs: List of Top Schools](<a href=“http://education-portal.com/articles/Best_Neuroscience_Undergraduate_Programs_List_of_Top_Schools.html]Best”>Best Neuroscience Undergraduate Programs: List of Top Schools)</p>
<p>This includes a bunch of LACs, but not Michigan. Since it does not seem to describe any criteria, I would not trust it too much (although I assume the listed schools must at least have a fairly comprehensive set of courses in neuroscience or related areas).</p>
<p>Then there’s this:
<a href=“http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/neurosciences-rankings[/url]”>http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/neurosciences-rankings</a>
(which is yet another graduate program ranking).</p>
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<p>I personally think so, but it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth the extra hassle. Some definitely find it worthwhile. You might check out Swarthmore, which is strong in CS, linguistics, and perhaps also psychology/philosophy; it’s right near Penn, which is very strong in cognitive science. Haverford and Bryn Mawr are also part of this consortium. If you’re looking for a LAC that’s part of a consortium with a university that’s strong in cogsci (and all the constituent areas - Penn is one of the best for CS, linguistics, neuroscience, AI, etc.), I can’t think of a better consortium than this one.</p>