Neuroscience (First Year and Transfer)

• Information for Transfer Students

Neuroscience
Academic Bulletin

Area of Study: Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Program: Major
Major/Minor Exclusions: A student majoring in Neuroscience may not minor in Psychology.

When advising a student interested in Neuroscience, please note:

The Major in Neuroscience has four principle components:

• Core Courses: BIO 220, 221, CHEM 120, 122, 231, NEURO 110, 120, and research methods/statistics (either BIO 385 or PSYCH 206 and 207).
  • BIO 220 and 221 no longer have a prerequisite (previously CHEM 120) and can be taken in either order.
• Electives: complete three 4-credit courses selected from three areas, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, and Neuroscience Connections. These courses must include at least one from the Cellular and Molecular list and one from the Behavioral and Cognitive list. At least two of these 4 credit classes must be numbered 300 or above. (See Academic Bulletin for specific courses).
• Academic Advisors: Students can approach any NEURO faculty member about being their academic advisor. If a student does not know whom they should approach, or if the person they do ask is not accepting additional advisees, the student should discuss options with the chair of the neuro program.
• Junior Seminar from a list of BIO and PSYCH Junior Seminars (See Academic Bulletin for specific courses). The Junior Seminar can be taken either semester of the Junior year. Students complete online preference forms for PSCH or BIO Junior Seminars that count for Neuroscience during the spring semester of sophomore year and are matched to sections based upon interests and availability of seats.
• Two-semester, six credit Senior Project (NEURO 600 and 610). Determination of Senior Project first readers is similar to that of Junior Seminar sections as students complete online preference forms for PSYCH or Bio faculty readers during spring semester of their junior years and matched up based on interests and availablility.

Major/Minor Advising Considerations:

• There is no Minor in Neuroscience.
• Students majoring in Neuroscience may not minor in Psychology.
• If a student decides to double major in Neuroscience and Psychology there must be a minimum of 20 credits completed in Psychology that are not counted in any way toward the Neuroscience Major.

Prerequisites to note:

• NEURO 110 does not have any formal prerequisites. Success in this course does, however, require an openness to, if not an understanding of, quantitative approaches and chemical and biological perspectives. A student’s placement into MATH 151 or score of 4 or 5 in AP BIO are particularly good indicators that they would be prepared for NEURO 110 upon arrival at Allegheny.
• Students who place into MATH 151 may take CHEM 120
• Students who place into MATH 140 should consider enrolling in CHEM 119 in the 1st year Fall semester. Upon successful completion of either Math 140 or CHEM 119 (C or better), the student may register for CHEM 120 in Spring semester.
•  BIO 220 or BIO 221 prerequisite for some of the advanced Bio courses in the Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Area.
• PSYCH 150, 152, 154, or 172 may serve as a prerequisite for the advanced PSYCH courses in the Behavioral and Cognitive Area.
• Mathematics is not required for a Neuroscience Major, but calculus is a pre- or corequisite for some Biology and Chemistry courses required for the Neuroscience Major. Also note that calculus is required for students interested in the Health Professions.
• PSYCH 150, 152, 154/5, and 172 are Neuroscience Electives that have no prerequisites.

Additional Advising Notes:

• CHEM 232, 234, and Physics 101, 102 (or 110 and 120), are recommended for some Graduate Programs in Neuroscience and are on the required list for the Health Professions.
• Please note PHYS 110, CHEM 231, and PHYS 101 are offered only in Fall semesters while PHYS 102 and Physics PHYS 120 are offered only in Spring semesters.

Potential Schedules for Neuroscience Majors (Note from the current chair: each of the two potential schedules provided can be, and have been, substantially modified by successful Neuroscience Majors):

Potential schedule for those starting in MATH 151:

Potential schedule for those starting in MATH 140:

Information for Transfer Students

For all students majoring in Neuroscience:

• There are no prerequisites for starting the required Foundations of Neuroscience course sequence (Neuro 110 and Neuro 120), although it should be noted that Neuro 110 is not recommended for first semester, first year students who are uncomfortable with the natural sciences.
• There are specific prerequisites for required core courses in Chemistry and attention must be paid to these in schedule planning.  
  • Placement into Math 151, transfer or AP credit for Math 151, completion of Math 140 with a C or better, or completion of Chem 119 with a C or better is required to enroll in Chem 120.
  • Chem 120 is a prerequisite for Chem 122.
  • Chem 122 is a prerequisite for Chem 231 (which is only offered in fall semesters).
  • Bio 220, Bio 221, and FSBio201 are requirements for upper level Bio classes in the Neuroscience curriculum.
• Several Psychology courses that serve as electives in the Neuroscience major do not have prerequisites (Psych 150, Psych 152, Psych 154/5, and Psych 172).
• For the Statistics requirement for the major
  • Math 141 or 151 is a prerequisite for the Bio 385 option.
  • There is no prerequisite for starting the alternative Psych 206-Psych 207 sequence.
• Neuroscience majors complete at least 3 electives selected from three areas. At least two of these 3 classes must be numbered 300 or above and thus most have some prerequisite in Psych, Bio, or Neuro.

Two potential Four Year pathways for Neuroscience Majors are presented below.

Transfer students could fit into these based on their completion of prerequisites via transfer credits, with the place in the sequence of Chem and Bio classes perhaps the most important variable. (It takes four semesters to complete the Bio and Chem courses if no additional work is required to start Chem 120, five if a prerequisite for Chem 120 remains.)

Potential four year pathway for those meeting CHEM 120 prerequisites

Potential four year pathway for those needing MATH 140 to take CHEM 120:
 

(Note from the current chair: each of the two potential pathways shown here can be, and have been, substantially modified by successful Neuroscience Majors):

Additional Major/Minor Advising Considerations:

• There is no minor in Neuroscience.
• Students majoring in Neuroscience may not minor in Psychology.
• If a student decides to double major in Neuroscience and Psychology there must be a minimum of 20 credits completed in Psychology that are not counted in any way toward the Neuroscience Major.