Neuroscience Major

Requirements for the Major in Neuroscience

1. Neuroscience majors are required to take the following basic science courses.
   
   1. BIOL 040 PO  and BIOL 041C PO 
   2. CHEM 001A PO , CHEM 001B PO  or CHEM 051 PO 
   3. MATH 030 PO  or any one higher-level course depending upon placement
   4. MATH 058 PO  or BIOL 153 HM 
   5. PSYC 051 PO 
2. Majors are required to take NEUR 101 PO - Introduction to Neuroscience with Laboratory . This is ordinarily taken in the sophomore year.
3. Majors must select two additional basic science courses from the list below in consultation with a faculty advisor in the Neuroscience Department. No more than one course can be from the same department (with the exception of chemistry) without approval from the chair of the Neuroscience Department.
   
   1. BIOL 041E PO - Intro Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with Lab ; BIOL 109 PO - Molecular Evolution: The Tree of Life ; BIOL 140 PO - Animal Physiology with Laboratory ; BIOL 144 PO - Comparative Endocrinology ; BIOL 163 PO - Advanced Cell Biology with Lab ; BIOL 169 PO - Developmental Biology with Laboratory .
   2. CHEM 110A PO , CHEM 110B PO - Organic Chemistry with Laboratory ; CHEM 115 PO - Biochemistry with Laboratory ; CHEM 174 PO - Bio-Organic Chemistry  and CHEM 175 PO - Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry 
   3. CSCI 030 PO - Computation and Cognition with Lab ; CSCI 051 PO - Intro to Computer Science with Lab ; CSCI 052 PO - Fundamentals of Computer Science .
   4. MATH 031 PO - Calculus II ; MATH 032 PO - Calculus III .
   5. PHYS 041 PO - General Physics with Laboratory , PHYS 042 PO - General Physics with Laboratory .  
   6. PSYC 108 PO - Child Development ; PSYC 131 PO - Abnormal Psychology ; PSYC 154 PO - Social Psychology ; PSYC 160 PO - Cognitive Psychology with Lab ; PSYC 162 PO - Memory and Language with Lab ; PSYC 180J PO - Seminar: Language, Memory, Brain .
4. Majors must take a core course from each of the following three areas of neuroscience.
   
   1. Cell and Molecular Neuroscience
      
      1. NEUR 178 PO - Neurobiology with Laboratory 
      2. NEUR 110 PO - Developmental Neurobiology with Laboratory 
   2. Comparative Systems Neuroscience
      
      1. NEUR 102 PO - Neuroethology: Mechanisms of Behavior with Laboratory 
      2. NEUR 130 PO - Vertebrate Sensory Systems with Laboratory 
   3. Human Neuroscience
      
      1. NEUR 143 PO - The Human Brain: From Cells to Behavior with Laboratory 
5. Majors must select one additional course from the following list of neuroscience electives. (Neuroscience core courses can also be used to satisfy the neuroscience elective requirement.)
   
   1. BIOL 039L JS - Analyses of Human Motor Skills 
   2. CSCI 152 HM - Neural Networks 
   3. NEUR 103 PO - Neuropharmacology 
   4. PSYC 180W PO - Biological Basis of Psychopathology 
   5. PSYC 180C PO - Seminar in Cultural Neuroscience 
   6. BIOL 133L JS - Intro to Mathematical Physiology 
   7. PSYC 140 PO - The Social Brain 
   8. NEUR 105 PO - Neuroimmunology: Molecular and Cellular Interactions Between the Nervous and Immune Systems 
6. Majors are required to complete the following senior activities.
   
   1. NEUR 190 PO , Senior seminar in the fall of their senior year
   2. NEUR 191 PO  (a one-semester library thesis completed in the fall or spring semester), or NEUR 192 PO  (s a project-based senior exercise) or NEUR 194A PO , NEUR 194B PO  (a two-semester experimental thesis taken in both semesters).

All courses counting toward the major must be taken for a letter grade. With prior approval from the department chair, students may receive credit toward their major for coursework completed at neighboring Claremont Colleges. Students planning on attending graduate school in neuroscience should consult with an advisor in neuroscience regarding course selection. Pomona College offers a specialized study abroad program in neuroscience at University College London. In consultation with a neuroscience faculty member at Pomona, neuroscience majors can choose a curriculum at the UCL Study Abroad Program in which they receive up to two credits toward the major, including one for a core course.

Please refer to the Study Abroad Website (www.pomona.edu/administration/study-abroad) for the program description and information on eligibility.