Neuroscience Major

How does the brain marshall its millions of individual nerve cells to produce behaviour, and how are these cells influenced by the environment...? The last frontier of the biological sciences – their ultimate challenge – is to understand the biological basis of consciousness and the mental processes by which we perceive, act, learn, and remember.

- Eric Kandel (Nobel Laureate)

The Neuroscience Program at East Carolina University is unique to eastern North Carolina. It includes a major and minor that are not offered anywhere else east of I-95 in North Carolina!

The Major
The Neuroscience major is a concentration within Multidisciplinary Studies at ECU. It is standing concentration that offers either a BA or BS degree. The major complements a variety of other minors or majors such as Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, and even those in the humanities and fine arts! You will learn about the field of Neuroscience, ultimately allowing you to apply your knowledge of the nervous system directly to a specific area of specialization, whether it is within a traditional STEM discipline, humanities, or fine arts. Thus, becoming a Neuroscience major will give you a competitive edge within your future career by empowering you to relate brain function to behavior and cognition.

The program strategically focuses on integrating Neuroscience with the arts and sciences: Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Philosophy, and Medicine.

The curriculum allows you to prepare for advanced study in graduate school, medical school, dentistry, optometry, STEM fields, and many related health disciplines. It covers the bases for graduate school (in Neuroscience or Psychology areas) and medical school (*with the exception of Calculus I/II if certain medical schools require it).

You further acquire actual research experience through mentored research with participating faculty across 12 departments spanning the main campus, Allied Health Sciences, and Brody School of Medicine. This hands-on approach allows personal development of technical, analytical, and communication skills that are warranted in professional environments (higher education, primary education, health/medicine, government, and business).

The research experience that is acquired is translated into a senior thesis project that helps your professional development and enhances your resume.

Majoring in Neuroscience often leads to career paths in:

Academia (research scientist, professor) with specialization in

Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience

Behavioral Neuroscience

Neurotoxicology

Neuropsychopharmacology

Neurobiology

Neuroanatomy

Neurophysiology

Nutritional Neuroscience

Embryology

Cognitive Neuroscience

Neuropsychology

Medicine

General Medicine

Neurology

Neurosurgery

Pediatrics

Psychiatry

Trauma

Dentistry

Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals

Government (research and development, consultation, clinical)

Entrepreneurship (hardware, software, service, bioengineering)

Research Technician (at universities, hospitals, government, business)

Having a background in Neuroscience may enhance your career path in many other areas of employment:

Artificial Intelligence

Agriculture

Forensic Science

Psychology: Clinical, Counseling, Industrial/Organizational, Health, School

School Counseling

Law and Law Enforcement

Pharmacy

Nursing

Speech Communications / Speech Pathology

Public Policy and Government

Occupational Health and Physical Therapy

East Carolina University’s unique Neuroscience major exists to help you learn foundational neuroscience concepts, acquire research skills, professional development, and apply them in your career path. Let us know your goals and objectives – we are here to facilitate and steer you in the right direction!

Neuroscience Major Curriculum

The Multidisciplinary Studies, BA/BS offers a structured concentration in neuroscience. Students fulfilling the BA degree requirements are awarded a Multidisciplinary, BA, while students fulfilling the BS degree requirements are awarded a Multidisciplinary, BS.

In order to declare a major in neuroscience undergraduate students must have at least 30 s.h. of completed coursework, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.3, and at least a grade of “C” in PSYC 1000 or PSYC 1060.

For a complete listing of courses in this major, please refer to the current undergraduate catalog for either the BS or BA degree options. You can also download a PDF version of these options (BS or BA).