Neuroscience is the multidisciplinary study of nervous systems.
The sheer scope of neuroscience necessitates numerous scientific approaches to achieve understanding of sensation, perception, cognition and behavior. Consequently, students in the major are provided with access to a wealth of scientific variety including biology, psychology, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics and medicine. Neuroscience faculty at the University of Chicago have expertise in all of these areas and are distributed across the Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences Divisions.
The course of study in the undergraduate major in neuroscience provides students with the background and skills appropriate to pursue a diverse set of careers. These include established neuroscience career paths in academia, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry as well as new emerging careers in economics, machine learning and analytics, to name but a few.
Program of Study
Neuroscience is concerned with the function of nervous systems. The BA, BS, and BS Honors degrees in neuroscience provide a broad foundation in understanding neural function from the perspective of molecules, cells, circuits, systems, organisms and species.
The Neuroscience department splits the major between the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, with an Honors program available to BS students. The BA degree offers thorough study in the field of neuroscience and provides flexibility in elective choices. The BS degree offers a more intensive program of study that includes individual research.
Students who wish to incorporate neuroscientific literacy into their degree but have primary interest in other fields can choose to obtain a Minor in Neuroscience.
Program Requirements
Bachelor of arts
General Education – Allows students to choose from required BIOS, MATH and CHEM courses
Core Classes – Courses approved by the major and required courses
Electives – List of approved Neuroscience electives
Find more detailed information in the BA section in the College Catalog
Bachelor of science
The principal distinctions between the BA and BS programs are enrollment in faculty supervised research and additional required neuroscience courses.
Receiving the BS degree requires:
1. A total of 10 electives
2. Approval by the major of a proposed research project
3. Enrollment, as an elective, into 1-3 quarters of experimental or scholarly research with a Neuroscience faculty member
4. A passing written thesis and poster presentation
Find more detailed information on the Bachelor of Science page
Honors program
The principal distinctions between the BS and BS with honors programs are a GPA requirement and more extensive and immersive faculty supervised research.
Receiving the BS with honors degree requires:
1. Admittance to the honors program
2. A GPA of 3.5 in the major, 3.25 cumulative
3. Enrollment, as an elective, into 3 quarters of experimental or scholarly research with a Neuroscience faculty member. The program additionally requires full time research during the summer between third and fourth year
4. A passing written thesis and a public talk organized by the NSCI administration
Find more detailed information on the Bachelor of Science with Honors page
Visit the College Course Catalog for more detailed information on all programs.
Lunch with a Neuroscientist
Come learn about exciting research on campus!
Meet faculty members with diverse interests and get a chance to speak with them about their work. This is an opportunity to have a conversation about the big questions that keep these neuroscientists up at night. If you are interested in getting into neuroscience research, this is an excellent way to narrow down the type of approaches and topics that are particularly appealing.
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January 23rd: Sliman Bensmaia - The main objective of the lab is to discover how sensory information is encoded in the activity of neurons along the somatosensory neuraxis, spanning the senses of touch and proprioception. To this end, we record neuronal responses, measure the elicited percepts, and develop mathematical models to link the neuronal representations to behavior. We then leverage our basic scientific insights to develop approaches to convey somatosensory feedback through neuronal microstimulation for use in upper-limb neuroprostheses
