Best Neuroscience Undergraduate Programs
Neuroscience programs can train you in the rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries or in the analysis of the biochemical basis of behavior. Read on for information on three top undergraduate neuroscience programs.
What Makes a Top Neuroscience Undergraduate Program?
Students in top neuroscience undergraduate programs perform research on the brain and nervous system, usually in conjunction with research institutes and teaching hospitals. These facilities offer extensive opportunities to conduct research with faculty.
If you're interested in a specific area, such as behavioral science or biochemistry, you'll want to identify schools that offer program concentrations, fellowships or internships in these sub-fields. If you're bound for graduate school, look for opportunities to conduct independent research projects. You might also consider graduate school program rankings.
<h2 id="section---WhatAreThreeOfTheBestNeuroscienceSchoolsForUndergraduates">What Are Three of the Best Neuroscience Schools for Undergraduates?</h2><h3 id="section---ColumbiaUniversityInNewYorkNY">Columbia University in New York, NY</h3><p>Columbia University offers a bachelor's degree in neuroscience. The undergraduate program is jointly sponsored by the Department of Psychology and the Department of Biological Sciences. You can take an upper-level course with faculty from the Columbia University Medical Center's College of Physicians and Surgeons. You'll have research opportunities ranging from volunteer work on the Health Sciences Campus to competitive summer fellowships like the Amgen Scholars Program. The SURF and NYSTEM programs are available to students interested in stem cell research. You might work at the Mahoney-Keck Center for Brain and Behavior Research, the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology or medical labs.
</p><ul><li>BA in Neuroscience and Behavior
</li></ul><h3 id="section---JohnsHopkinsUniversityInBaltimoreMD">Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD</h3><p>In 2019, JHU was tied for 10th place in <i>U.S. News & World Report's</i> rankings for national universities in 2019.
</p><p>The JHU neuroscience undergraduate program prepares you for advanced graduate research through fellowships, internships, work-study positions and recognitions such as the Provost's Undergraduate Research Awards. You could also conduct cross-disciplinary neuroscience research in the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute's laboratories and the JHU School of Medicine.
</p><p>Specializations within the bachelor's degree program include cellular and molecular, cognitive or systems neuroscience. Top students can apply for a joint BA/MS neuroscience degree program in their senior year. The extended program permits a full fifth year of laboratory research experience. The following programs are offered to undergraduates:
</p><ul><li>BS in Neuroscience
</li><li>BS in Neuroscience/MS in Neuroscience
</li></ul><h3 id="section---UniversityOfCaliforniaLosAngelesInLosAngelesCA">University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA</h3><p>The undergraduate neuroscience program at UCLA is a collaboration of faculty representing many scientific disciplines. The program offers research training throughout, beginning with freshman courses teaching laboratory and scientific communication skills. You'll produce a culminating research paper in order to graduate. You may work under research sponsors who are doctoral program faculty or members of UCLA's research institutes.
</p><p>You can also participate in lectures or symposiums sponsored by the Neuroscience Undergraduate Society. Neuroscience research at UCLA is conducted through the Brain Research Institute and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
</p><ul><li>BS in Neuroscience
</li></ul><h2 id="section---TenMoreUniversitiesForNeuroscienceUndergraduatePrograms">Ten More Universities for Neuroscience Undergraduate Programs</h2><p></p><table border="1"><tr><th>College/University</th><th>Institution Type</th><th>Location</th><th>Estimated Undergrad In-State Tuition*</th></tr>
<tr><td>Harvard University</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>Cambridge, MA</td><td>$50,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Stanford University</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>Stanford, CA</td><td>$51,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>University of Michigan</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>Ann Arbor, MI</td><td>$15,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>Cambridge, MA</td><td>$52,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>University of California, San Diego</td><td>4-year, Public</td><td>La Jolla, CA</td><td>$14,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>University of Pennsylvania</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>Philadelphia, PA</td><td>$55,500</td></tr>
<tr><td>Yale University</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>New Haven, CT</td><td>$53,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Washington University in St. Louis</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>St. Louis, MO</td><td>$53,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>New York University</td><td>4-year, Private</td><td>New York, NY</td><td>$52,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>University of California, Berkeley</td><td>4-year, Public</td><td>Berkeley, CA</td><td>$14,000</td></tr>
</table><p><i>*Source: NCES, U.S. Department of Education</i></p>