Listen up, future neuroscience majors! The more you know about how you know things, the more you want to know…you know what I mean?
Sometimes students have difficulty trying to decide on a major. They can’t quite decide what they want to do for a career, so they end up foundering around throughout college until they end up settling down. On the other hand, some students know that they are ready to commit to a specific field—for instance, a neuroscience major. Read on to see if that might include you!
About Neuroscience Majors
Like most people, you probably want to understand more about how the mind works, how the most intricate parts of the human body work together to perform vital functions, and how and why we all tick. The study of neuroscience can give answers about these topics and so many others.
The field of neuroscience is set to grow significantly in the upcoming years. This means that it’s a great time to jump into the field if you find these questions intriguing. Colleges across the United States have fantastic programs to prepare future neuroscientists for the exciting field that awaits them.
This type of understanding about how and why we all tick makes a degree in neuroscience applicable to essentially any career path you would like to follow. Studying neuroscience takes critical thinking, well-honed memorization skills, a decent level of intellect, and perhaps most importantly, curiosity.
With dreams of becoming scientists, doctors, or researchers, students interested in pursuing a career in neuroscience knowingly take on an extremely difficult major. While the typical degree plan for neuroscience majors is filled with challenging, intensive classes, gaining this fascinating knowledge is rewarding.
Topics in Neuroscience
There are many different topics that fall within the scope of neuroscience. Let’s briefly get into a couple.
Sensory perception is essentially the way that the body processes information from the senses neurologically. That, along with so many other fascinating topics, is just one thing students hoping to study neurology can look forward to learning about.
Artificial intelligence, a field that is rapidly developing and becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives, also has a lot to do with neuroscience. To put it simply, artificial intelligence is the ability of a computer to understand commands and perform tasks.
Simply put, neuroscience is the study of the nervous system. This includes the composition, functions, and interaction of the spinal cord, the brain, and the nervous system as a whole. Neuroscientists don’t place a particular emphasis on any one branch of science. Rather, neuroscience requires the careful study of neurophysiology, chemistry, anatomy, molecular biology, physics, and so much more.
How to Start a Career in Neuroscience (and Beyond)
With a degree in neuroscience, one can pursue a career as a physician, research technician, research director, consultant, medical technician, veterinarian, engineer, or in biomedical science. In addition to some of the more obvious career choices, those who are wanting to earn a major in neuroscience open so many other doors for themselves.
Pretty much everyone involved in the field of neuroscience will tell you that one of the most important first stepping stones in developing a fulfilling career in the field is getting involved in research. There are so many ways to get involved in meaningful research. Often, there are research opportunities on college campuses. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to find a great school for neuroscience.
Like in many other fields, the application of neuroscience is quite different from classroom learning. Once many neuroscientists step into the field, though, they never want to leave. Many of the careers for neuroscientists are incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.
Best Colleges with Neuroscience Majors
There are several great options for colleges for those interested in pursuing neuroscience majors. Standing out among the best of these neurology schools is the University of Minnesota Neuroscience department/program. The University of Minnesota Neuroscience is by far one of the best neurology schools in the country. The University of Minnesota Neuroscience program is special because it places such a heavy emphasis on research. That, combined with unparalleled faculty support, makes the University of Minnesota Neuroscience program one that is hard to beat.
The graduate program in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota is nothing to sneeze at. With over 125 faculty members, this program is very heavily dedicated to learning through research starting at the molecular level.
Empowerly can help you navigate the college admissions process. Allow the best experts in the college admissions process to help guide you through what can be an incredibly stressful but exciting experience. If you are considering pursuing a career in neuroscience, or even if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that’s what you want to do with your life, allow Empowerly to help you in this journey. Empowerly helps students navigate their admissions journey to top colleges with a 94% success rate. Talk to an enrollment specialist today and get started.
Amazing colleges to consider across the country with a specific focus on neuroscience:
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Arizona State University
- University of Arizona
- Hendrix College
- California Institute of Technology
- Claremont McKenna College
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Pitzer College
- Pomona College
- University of California, Riverside
- University of San Diego
- Santa Clara University
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- Scripps College
- University of Southern California
- University of Colorado Boulder
- Colorado College
- Fairfield University
- Sacred Heart University
- Trinity College
- American University
- University of Delaware
- University of Miami
- Nova Southeastern University
- Agnes Scott College
- Emory University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Georgia State University
- Mercer University
- Augustana College
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- DePaul University
- Knox College
- Lake Forest College
- Northwestern University
- Indiana University Bloomington
- DePauw University
- Earlham College
- University of Notre Dame
- Indiana University
- University of Evansville
- Coe College
- Drake University
- University of Iowa
- Luther College
- University of Kentucky
- Transylvania University
- Xavier University of Louisiana
- Bates College
- Bowdoin College
- Colby College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Amherst College
- Assumption University
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Emmanuel College (MA)
- Harvard University
- College of the Holy Cross
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Mount Holyoke College
- Northeastern University
- Smith College
- Stonehill College
- Wellesley College
- Western New England University
- Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
- Central Michigan University
- Eastern Michigan University
- Grand Valley State University
- University of Michigan
- Michigan State University
- Carleton College
- Macalester College
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
- Millsaps College
- Saint Louis University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- University of Montana
- Creighton University
- University of Nebraska
- University of Nevada
- Dartmouth College
- University of New Hampshire
- St. Anselm College
- Drew University
- Princeton University
- Adelphi University
- Barnard College
- The State University of New York at Birmingham
- Colgate University
- Columbia University
- Fordham University
- The State University of New York at Geneseo
- Hamilton College
- Marymount Manhattan College
- New York University
- University of Rochester
- Skidmore College
- St. Lawrence University
- Syracuse University
- Union College (New York)
- Utica College
- Vassar College
- Duke University
- High Point University
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Bowling Green State University
- University of Cincinnati
- Kenyon College
- Miami University
- University of Mount Union
- Oberlin College
- Ohio University
- Ohio State University
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- College of Wooster
- Reed College
- Willamette University
- Allegheny College
- Bucknell University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Cedar Crest College
- Dickinson College
- Franklin and Marshall College
- Lafayette College
- Lehigh University
- Moravian University
- Muhlenberg College
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Scranton
- Swarthmore College
- Temple University
- Ursinus College
- Washington and Jefferson College
- Westminster College (Pennsylvania)
- Brown University
- Furman University
- Belmont University
- Rhodes College
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Texas at Austin
- Baylor University
- University of Texas at Dallas
- Rice University
- Texas Christian University
- Trinity University
- Brigham Young University
- Westminster College (Utah)
- St. Michael’s College
- Middlebury College
- Norwich University
- University of Vermont
- George Mason University
- Virginia Tech
- Washington and Lee University
- College of William and Mary
- University of Washington
- Washington State University
- Western Washington University
- Carthage College
- Edgewood College
- Lawrence University
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Reach out today for more information on how we empower high school students across the nation to get into the school of their dreams. From neuroscience majors to the best college for you, we can help you shine.
Gelyna Price
Sophia Minhas
Hanmei Wu