I have developed a love for neuroscience and would love to pursue it as a career, most likely in a lab. However, most of the colleges that I would be able to afford do not offer neuroscience as a major for undergraduates. That being said, what other majors would prepare me best to study neuro in graduate school? Biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and psychology have all been suggested to me.
While a career in neuroscience research is my main goal, I would also love for my major to open up doors to other career options as well.
As you noted, however, since your school doesn’t offer a specific neuroscience major, a number of different majors can provide a pathway to graduate study in neuroscience. A lot depends on what aspects of neuroscience most interest you. See this link for a discussion of recommended curricula for undergraduate neuroscience programs: http://www.funjournal.org/downloads/WiertelakRamirezJUNEs08.pdf
Some other career options besides research include physical therapy, clinical neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology, medicine (rehabilitation medicine, neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics, neurosurgery), special education (neurological disabilities), neurological nursing, human factors engineering/psychology, speech pathology, gerontological psychology, health psychology/behavioral medicine, rehabilitation counseling, etc. Some of these require at least a master’s degree; others will require a doctorate.