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What are the best colleges for studying Neuroscience?
I'm a rising senior in high school and really interested in majoring in Neuroscience for college. Any schools strong in this subject? Preferably on the west coast? Thanks!
#college #neuroscience #JULY20 #biology
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Zhiwei’s Answer
Hi, I'm a neuroscience phd candidate in New York University and we definitely have good neuro undergrad programs! University of good rankings can be seen here: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/neuroscience-behavior. Schools like UCSF, UCSD, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, Stanford are all pretty well known in the research world.
Note these rankings are heavily weighing on research labs, not undergrad education quality. So do consult students who actually have experienced campus life in those universities to know more details like how much attention you can get, class size, richness of student-initiated activities, etc.
It is important to know that neuroscience is a very wide discipline with sub-topics including genetics, cellular study, animal experiments, human behavioral experiments (perception, cognition, etc), cognitive science and computational modelling. So if you have any specific preference, I would strongly suggest you to check if the university offers some related classes in that sub-topic.
check out university rankings of neuroscience major, get a wide list
contact university admission office to find college students in universities you are interested in, talk to them
look into sub-topics of neuroscience, see if you are interested in any specific topics
Note these rankings are heavily weighing on research labs, not undergrad education quality. So do consult students who actually have experienced campus life in those universities to know more details like how much attention you can get, class size, richness of student-initiated activities, etc.
It is important to know that neuroscience is a very wide discipline with sub-topics including genetics, cellular study, animal experiments, human behavioral experiments (perception, cognition, etc), cognitive science and computational modelling. So if you have any specific preference, I would strongly suggest you to check if the university offers some related classes in that sub-topic.
Zhiwei recommends the following next steps:
Hi Zhiwei! Thanks so much for your answer back. I really appreciate it and never thought about how the undergrad program could be different than the research aspect of the school. Take care!
Olivia
Those were the same schools I found and location. It really will depend what else this student wishes to do when not studying.
University of Southern Calif…
University of California, Lo…
Stanford University
California Institute of Te…
University of California, Ber…
University of California, Riv…
Melody Tharpe
Updated
Ken’s Answer
Olivia,
Both my stepdaughter and daughter started as neuroscience majors (George Mason, St Lawrence) and soon realized that they were more interested in studying human behavior as relates to the brain, and that the science course requirements in college were too significant for them. Both either majored in Psychology, (George Mason) or are majoring in Psychology now ( St Lawrence) - and are happy with their decision.
All the ivy League schools and MIT have amazing neuro programs as Zhiwei states, but other lesser schools with good programs include Wentworth in Boston and UNH in Durham NH.
Both my stepdaughter and daughter started as neuroscience majors (George Mason, St Lawrence) and soon realized that they were more interested in studying human behavior as relates to the brain, and that the science course requirements in college were too significant for them. Both either majored in Psychology, (George Mason) or are majoring in Psychology now ( St Lawrence) - and are happy with their decision.
All the ivy League schools and MIT have amazing neuro programs as Zhiwei states, but other lesser schools with good programs include Wentworth in Boston and UNH in Durham NH.
Thanks so much for your answer back Mr. Cooperman! I'm interested in more of the science aspect of neuroscience, but the experience you share from your stepdaughter and daughter is helpful! Thanks again
Olivia