Neuroscience Major

Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.

NOTE: This Catalog describes Weinberg College BA requirements that pertain to students who matriculated at Northwestern after spring quarter 2023. Refer to the Archives if you are following BA requirements described in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 editions.

Neuroscience major requirements

  • 6 Neuroscience units (courses may not be double-counted with Allied Field courses or required Related Courses for the major)
  • 4 Allied Field units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above, chosen from one of the following areas. Courses may not be double-counted with the 6 Neuroscience units or required Related Courses for the Neuroscience major.  No more than 2 Allied Field courses may be double-counted with another major and none with a minor.
  • Related Courses (units depend on math and science sequences taken)
  • Laboratory Experience requirement
    • Courses that satisfy the laboratory experience requirement may also be used to satisfy another requirement for the major.
    • If two units of Undergraduate Research (398/399) are used for the Laboratory Experience requirement, they may also substitute for one course in an Allied Field.

Neuroscience Course Lists

Required Neuroscience core courses:

Course Title
NEUROSCI 202-0Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
NEUROSCI 206-0Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience

Neuroscience Group A Electives (students choose 2):

Course Title
COG_SCI 210-0Language and the Brain
CSD 303-0Brain and Cognition
or PSYCH 327-0 Brain and Cognition
CSD 310-0Biological Foundations of Speech and Music
PSYCH 110-0Introduction to Psychology
PSYCH 228-0Cognitive Psychology
PSYCH 244-0Developmental Psychology
PSYCH 248-0Health Psychology
PSYCH 324-0Perception
PSYCH 328-0Brain Damage and the Mind
PSYCH 330-0Special Topics in Cognition/Neuroscience
PSYCH 391-0Advanced Seminar in Cognition or Neuroscience (With approval of the director of undergraduate studies)
PSYCH 392-0Advanced Seminar in Psychology (With approval of the director of undergraduate studies)

Neuroscience Group B Electives (students choose 2):

Course Title
NEUROSCI 303-0Molecular Mechanisms of Neuropsychopharmacology
NEUROSCI 304-0Developmental Neurobiology
NEUROSCI 320-0Animal Behavior
NEUROSCI 324-0Neurobiology of Biological Clocks and Sleep
NEUROSCI 325-0Neurobiology of Stress, Adversity, and Resilience
NEUROSCI 326-0Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
NEUROSCI 350-0Advanced Neurophysiology Laboratory
NEUROSCI 355-0Neurogenetics of Behavior Laboratory
NEUROSCI 357-0Neuroanatomy Laboratory
NEUROSCI 360-0Neuroscience of Brain Disorders
NEUROSCI 365-0Neurobiology of Prediction
NEUROSCI 370-0Genetic and Circuit Analysis of Motivated Behavior
NEUROSCI 377-0Neurobiology of Sensation and Perception
NEUROSCI 390-0Topics in Neuroscience (With approval of the director of undergraduate studies)
BIOL_SCI 303-0Molecular Neurobiology
BIOL_SCI 307-0Brain Structure, Function, and Evolution
ES_APPM 370-1Introduction to Computational Neuroscience
NEUROSCI 311-0Biophysical Analysis of Neurons for ISP (With approval of the director of undergraduate studies, if not used in place of NEUROSCI 202-0)

Allied Field Course Lists

Biology (any 4 units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above)

Course Title
300-level NEUROSCI courses listed under Neuroscience Group B Electives above are eligible if not being used as a Group B course.
BIOL_SCI 202-0Cell Biology
BIOL_SCI 203-0Genetics and Evolution
BIOL_SCI 232-0Molecular and Cellular Processes Laboratory (0.34 units)
BIOL_SCI 233-0Genetics and Molecular Processes Laboratory (0.34 units)
BIOL_SCI 234-0Investigative Laboratory (0.34 units)
BIOL_SCI 301-0Principles of Biochemistry
BIOL_SCI 303-0Molecular Neurobiology
BIOL_SCI 307-0Brain Structure, Function, and Evolution
BIOL_SCI 310-0Human Physiology
BIOL_SCI 315-0Advanced Cell Biology
BIOL_SCI 319-0Biology of Animal Viruses
BIOL_SCI 323-0Bioinformatics: Sequence and Structure Analysis
BIOL_SCI 325-0Animal Physiology
BIOL_SCI 328-0Microbiology
BIOL_SCI 341-0Population Genetics
BIOL_SCI 344-0Anatomy of Vertebrates
BIOL_SCI 353-0Molecular Biology Laboratory
BIOL_SCI 354-0Quantitative Analysis of Biology
BIOL_SCI 355-0Immunobiology
BIOL_SCI 356-0Endocrinology
BIOL_SCI 358-0Advanced Physiology Laboratory
BIOL_SCI 359-0Quantitative Experimentation in Biology
BIOL_SCI 360-0Principles of Cell Signaling
BIOL_SCI 361-0Protein Structure and Function
BIOL_SCI 378-0Functional Genomics
BIOL_SCI 380-0Biology of Cancer
BIOL_SCI 381-0Stem Cells and Regeneration
BIOL_SCI 390-0Molecular Biology of Genome Editing and Engineering
BIOL_SCI 391-0Developmental Biology
BIOL_SCI 393-0Human Genomics
BIOL_SCI 395-0Molecular Genetics
CHEM 215-1Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 215-2Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 215-3Organic Chemistry III
CHEM 235-1Organic Chemistry Lab I (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-2Organic Chemistry Lab II (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-3Organic Chemistry Lab III (0.34 units)
The six chemistry courses above have substantial overlap with the 217 and 237 series below. Consult with the Chemistry director of undergraduate studies for exact equivalencies.
CHEM 217-1Accelerated Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 217-2Accelerated Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 217-3Accelerated Organic Chemistry III
CHEM 237-1Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 237-2Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory II

Chemistry (any 4 units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above)

Course Title
CHEM 215-1Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 215-2Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 215-3Organic Chemistry III
CHEM 235-1Organic Chemistry Lab I (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-2Organic Chemistry Lab II (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-3Organic Chemistry Lab III (0.34 units)
The six courses above have substantial overlap with the 217 and 237 series below. Consult with the Chemistry director of undergraduate studies for exact equivalencies.
CHEM 217-1Accelerated Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 217-2Accelerated Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 217-3Accelerated Organic Chemistry III
CHEM 237-1Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 237-2Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
also
CHEM 220-0Introductory Instrumental Analysis
CHEM 305-0Chemistry of Life Processes
CHEM 307-0Supramolecular Design of Materials and Nanostructures
CHEM 308-0Design, Synthesis, and Applications of Nanomaterials
CHEM 316-0Medicinal Chemistry: the Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Action
CHEM 342-1Thermodynamics
CHEM 342-2Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy
CHEM 342-3Kinetics and Statistical Thermodynamics
CHEM 348-0Physical Chemistry for ISP
CHEM 350-1Advanced Laboratory 1

Computation and Systems Modeling (any 4 units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above)

Course Title
MATH 230-1Multivariable Differential Calculus
MATH 230-2Multivariable Integral Calculus
MATH 240-0Linear Algebra
MATH 250-0Elementary Differential Equations
The five courses above have substantial overlap with the 281, 285, 290, and 291 series below. Consult the Math director of undergraduate studies for exact equivalencies.
MATH 281-1Accelerated Mathematics for ISP: First Year
MATH 281-2Accelerated Mathematics for ISP: First Year
MATH 281-3Accelerated Mathematics for ISP: First Year
MATH 285-1Accelerated Mathematics for MMSS: First Year
MATH 285-2Accelerated Mathematics for MMSS: First Year
MATH 285-3Accelerated Mathematics for MMSS: First Year
MATH 290-1MENU: Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
MATH 290-2MENU: Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
MATH 290-3MENU: Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
MATH 291-1MENU: Intensive Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
MATH 291-2MENU: Intensive Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
MATH 291-3MENU: Intensive Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
also
MATH 310-1Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 310-2Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 310-3Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 311-1MENU: Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 311-2MENU: Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 311-3MENU: Probability and Stochastic Processes
MATH 325-0Complex Analysis
MATH 334-0Linear Algebra: Second Course
MATH 351-0Fourier Analysis and Boundary Value Problems
MATH 353-0Qualitative Theory of Differential Equations
MATH 354-0Chaotic Dynamical Systems
MATH 360-1MENU: Applied Analysis
MATH 360-2MENU: Applied Analysis
MATH 368-0Introduction to Optimization
MATH 381-0Fourier Analysis and Boundary Value Problems for ISP
MATH 382-0Complex Analysis for ISP
PHYSICS 330-1Classical Mech
PHYSICS 330-2Classical Mechanics
PHYSICS 337-0Physics of Condensed Matter
PHYSICS 339-1Quantum Mechanics
PHYSICS 339-2Quantum Mechanics
PHYSICS 339-3Particle and Nuclear Physics
PHYSICS 352-0Introduction to Computational Physics
PHYSICS 357-0Optics Laboratory
PHYSICS 360-0Advanced Physics Laboratory
PHYSICS 361-0Classical Optics and Special Relativity
PHYSICS 371-0Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos
STAT 210-0Introduction to Probability and Statistics
STAT 232-0Applied Statistics
STAT 301-1Data Science 1 with R
or STAT 303-1 Data Science 1 with Python
STAT 301-2Data Science 2 with R
or STAT 303-2 Data Science 2 with Python
STAT 301-3Data Science 3 with R
or STAT 303-3 Data Science 3 with Python
STAT 302-0Data Visualization
STAT 320-1Statistical Theory & Methods 1
STAT 320-2Statistical Theory & Methods 2
STAT 320-3Statistical Theory & Methods 3
STAT 328-0Causal Inference
STAT 342-0Statistical Data Mining
STAT 344-0Statistical Computing
STAT 348-0Applied Multivariate Analysis
STAT 350-0Regression Analysis
STAT 352-0Nonparametric Statistical Methods
STAT 354-0Time Series Modeling
STAT 356-0Hierarchical Linear Models
STAT 383-0Probability and Statistics for ISP

Human Behavior and Cognition (any 4 units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above)

Course Title
300-level NEUROSCI courses listed under Neuroscience Group A Electives above are eligible if not being used as a Group A course.
COG_SCI 207-0Introduction to Cognitive Modeling
COG_SCI 211-0Learning, Representation & Reasoning
PSYCH 205-0Research Methods in Psychology
PSYCH 303-0Psychopathology
PSYCH 336-0Consciousness
PSYCH 370-0Cognitive Development
PSYCH 372-0Language and Cognition
PSYCH 374-0Human Memory
PSYCH 378-0Images of Cognition
PSYCH 392-0Advanced Seminar in Psychology (With the approval of the director of undergraduate studies)

Language and Human Communication (any 4 units, at least 2 of which must be 300-level or above)

Course Title
CSD 301-0Anatomy and Physiology of the Vocal Mechanism
CSD 302-0Anatomy and Physiology of the Peripheral Hearing Mechanism
CSD 305-0Phonetics
CSD 306-0Psychoacoustics
LING 250-0Sound Patterns in Human Language
LING 260-0Formal Analysis of Words & Sentences
LING 270-0Meaning
LING 315-0Experimental Approaches to Word Form Processing
LING 316-0Experimental Syntax
LING 317-0Experimental Pragmatics
LING 321-0Bilingualism
LING 330-0Research Methods in Linguistics
LING 334-0Introduction to Computational Linguistics
LING 342-0Structure of Various Languages
LING 350-0Fundamentals of Laboratory Phonology
LING 360-0Fundamentals of Syntax
LING 370-0Fundamentals of Meaning
LING 371-0Reference
LING 372-0Pragmatics
LING 373-0Implicature

Laboratory Experience, choose one option below (units depend on option selected):

Two units of graded credit from 398 or 399 Undergraduate Research in a relevant field:

Course Title
NEUROSCI 399-0Independent Study in Neuroscience (multiple registrations)
NEUROSCI 398-0Senior Thesis Seminar (With approval of the director of undergraduate studies)
Two units of Undergraduate Research (typically numbered 398 or 399) in another relevant field may satisfy this requirement with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies.
Two units of approved 398 or 399 Undergraduate Research may be used in place of one unit of credit in an Allied Field.

One unit of 200-level or higher credit from laboratory or methods undergraduate coursework:

Course Title
Some courses on this list may double-count for an Allied Field or Neuroscience Elective.
NEUROSCI 350-0Advanced Neurophysiology Laboratory
NEUROSCI 355-0Neurogenetics of Behavior Laboratory
NEUROSCI 357-0Neuroanatomy Laboratory
PSYCH 205-0Research Methods in Psychology
BIOL_SCI 232-0Molecular and Cellular Processes Laboratory (0.34 units)
BIOL_SCI 233-0Genetics and Molecular Processes Laboratory (0.34 units)
BIOL_SCI 234-0Investigative Laboratory (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-1Organic Chemistry Lab I (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-2Organic Chemistry Lab II (0.34 units)
CHEM 235-3Organic Chemistry Lab III (0.34 units)
CHEM 237-1Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 237-2Accelerated Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
Other courses with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies.

Related Courses Required for the Major in Neuroscience:

1 Biology course:

Course Title
BIOL_SCI 201-0Molecular Biology

Calculus sequence chosen from:

Course Title
MATH 220-1Single-Variable Differential Calculus
MATH 220-2Single-Variable Integral Calculus
or
MATH 218-1Single-Variable Calculus with Precalculus
MATH 218-2Single-Variable Calculus with Precalculus
MATH 218-3Single-Variable Calculus with Precalculus
Other with approval of the director of undergraduate studies

Chemistry sequence chosen from:

Course Title
CHEM 110-0Quantitative Problem Solving in Chemistry
CHEM 131-0Fundamentals of Chemistry I
CHEM 141-0Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory I (0.34 units)
CHEM 132-0Fundamentals of Chemistry II
CHEM 142-0Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory II (0.34 units)
or
CHEM 151-0General Chemistry I
CHEM 161-0General Chemistry Laboratory I (0.34 units)
CHEM 152-0General Chemistry II
CHEM 162-0General Chemistry Laboratory II (0.34 units)
or
CHEM 171-0Advanced General Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 181-0Advanced General Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory (0.34 units)
CHEM 172-0Advanced General Physical Chemistry
CHEM 182-0Advanced General Physical Chemistry Laboratory (0.34 units)

1 Computer Programming course chosen from:

Course Title
COMP_SCI 110-0Introduction to Computer Programming
COMP_SCI 111-0Fundamentals of Computer Programming
ES_APPM 375-1Quantitative Biology I: Experiments, Data, Models, and Analysis
ES_APPM 375-1 may be used to fulfill either the Statistics or the Computer Programming requirement, but not both.
With approval of the director of undergraduate studies, either BIOL_SCI 323-0 or ES_APPM 370-1 may count in place of a Computer Programming related course for the Neuroscience major, instead of as a Neuroscience Elective or Allied Field course. Other courses with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies.

Physics sequence chosen from:

Course Title
PHYSICS 130-1College Physics
PHYSICS 136-1General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 130-2College Physics
PHYSICS 136-2General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 130-3College Physics
PHYSICS 136-3General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
or
PHYSICS 135-1General Physics
PHYSICS 136-1General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 135-2General Physics
PHYSICS 136-2General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 135-3General Physics
PHYSICS 136-3General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
or
PHYSICS 140-1Fundamentals of Physics
PHYSICS 136-1General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 140-2Fundamentals of Physics
PHYSICS 136-2General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 140-3Fundamentals of Physics
PHYSICS 136-3General Physics Laboratory (0.34 units)
or for ISP students
PHYSICS 125-1General Physics ISP
PHYSICS 126-1Physics Laboratory for ISP (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 125-2General Physics for ISP
PHYSICS 126-2Physics Laboratory for ISP (0.34 units)
PHYSICS 125-3General Physics for ISP
PHYSICS 126-3Physics Laboratory for ISP (0.34 units)

1 Statistics course chosen from:

Course Title
CSD 304-0Statistics in Communication Sciences and Disorders
IEMS 201-0Introduction to Statistics
PSYCH 201-0Statistical Methods in Psychology
STAT 202-0Introduction to Statistics and Data Science
STAT 210-0Introduction to Probability and Statistics
STAT 383-0Probability and Statistics for ISP
ES_APPM 375-1Quantitative Biology I: Experiments, Data, Models, and Analysis
ES_APPM 375-1 may be used to fulfill either the Statistics or the Computer Programming requirement, but not both.
Other courses with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies.

Honors in Neuroscience

Majors with strong academic records and significant research accomplishments may pursue honors in neuroscience. Interested students should contact the director of undergraduate studies by email no later than the beginning of fall quarter senior year. Considerations for honors include GPA and the quality of a written thesis based on the student’s research. Students also must complete at least 1 quarter of NEUROSCI 399-0 Independent Study in Neuroscience and NEUROSCI 398-0 Senior Thesis Seminar in winter of senior year. Students meeting department requirements may be recommended to the college for graduation with honors. For more information consult the department website and see Honors in the Major.