Neuroscience: An Undergraduate Major for the B.S. degree
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system (i.e., brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves), the mechanisms of behavior, and the nature of mind and consciousness. B.S. degree students in the College of Arts and Sciences can choose Neuroscience as a major. There are two tracks within the neuroscience major, psychobiology and neurobiology. While the home of the major will be the College of Arts and Sciences, the teaching faculty and Steering Committee come from several schools, including the medical school and the biology and psychology departments in Arts and Sciences.
In the neuroscience major, students have the option to choose between the psychobiology track, which emphasizes behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, and the neurobiology track, which emphasizes cellular and molecular neuroscience. Those who complete the major will have excellent preparation for graduate work, medical school, or other health professional careers.
The neuroscience major builds on the strength of our Ph.D. program in neuroscience -- we have a large and strong group of faculty who do research in neuroscience at the University, and the laboratories of these scientists will offer special opportunities for research experiences for qualified students. There also is an undergraduate student organization, The Undergraduate Neuroscience Society (TUNS).
The University of Miami has taken advantage of its strength in neuroscience research and graduate training to develop an outstanding undergraduate neuroscience major. A key component of this program is the integration of neuroscience faculty at the Medical School with those on the Coral Gables campus. Faculty members cross campuses to share their expertise with undergraduates, and students may gain research experience in neuroscience faculty laboratories. Another component is the development of several new undergraduate courses, including a comprehensive neuroscience laboratory course, a course in the mechanisms of neural diseases, and a developmental biology class. These courses add to an already extensive set of existing neuroscience courses in the biology and psychology departments that are available to neuroscience majors.
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field draws from a number of scientific disciplines including medicine, the biological sciences, psychology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, and beyond, with the nervous system serving as the common focus. Neuroscience is one of the most rapidly advancing fields of research and training. Currently, at the University of Miami, over 50 faculty members from 13 departments on three campuses participate in undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training. They engage in neuroscience research that accounts for more than 20% of the University's federally sponsored research dollars.
Our undergraduate
program has the goal of attracting highly qualified students. Students are encouraged
to be active participants in the local neuroscience community. Graduates with
a major in neuroscience will be highly qualified candidates for health professional
schools or for graduate programs in the biomedical/mental health fields. Pre-medical
students will be able to fulfill all academic requirements for admission to
medical school and gain the possibility of working with medical school faculty
during their undergraduate career. The standards for admission to this program
are 1300 SAT or a GPA of 3.5 after 24 credits of work at the University. Transfer
students need a 3.8 GPA to enter the program.
For More Information
For more information about the undergraduate neuroscience major, please contact:
Dr. Philip McCabe by email at: pmccabe@miami.edu or by phone at 305-284-5507
or
Dr. Victoria Noriega by email at: vnoriega@miami.edu or by phone at 305-284-1756