What Makes a College One of the Best Colleges for Neuroscience?
Neuroscience sits between biology, psychology, chemistry, and computer science, and colleges organize it in very different ways. NCES counted 9,288 bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience in 2021-22, plus about 1,200 more in neurobiology fields (NCES Digest of Education Statistics). Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, the field’s teaching organization, says graduates should have quantitative and coding skills and “facility in the application of scientific inquiry, with analytic and research skills” (Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience). Five things separate the strongest programs.
- Required research. Vanderbilt, Yale, Princeton, and Rice require independent research of every major, not only of honors students, and Brown requires a semester of independent work of every concentrator.
- A large pool of faculty labs. Neuroscience faculty often sit in several departments and the medical school. UCLA counts more than 200 faculty across nearly 30 departments, and Vanderbilt offers access to about 150 labs.
- Tracks that match the student. Cellular and molecular, systems, cognitive, and computational neuroscience require different courses. Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Rice, and Ohio State let students choose a track or concentration.
- Quantitative training. Statistics and programming are now core skills. Computational tracks at Johns Hopkins and Rice build them into the degree.
- A clear honors path. A thesis with a GPA requirement and an oral defense, as at Duke, Middlebury, and Rutgers, is the record graduate programs look for.
Which Colleges Are Best for Neuroscience?
The table below lists the best colleges for neuroscience with the degree each one offers, named the way the university names it, and one concrete feature taken from its own pages. Schools are grouped by type and selectivity, and each school name links to our analysis of its acceptance rate or admissions.
| University | Undergraduate neuroscience degree | What stands out for undergraduates | Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University | Neuroscience, BS, with four concentrations | Almost 500 majors in a department that spans the Krieger School and the School of Medicine | Most selective |
| Harvard University | Neuroscience concentration with three tracks | Honors requires a semester of independent research; Highest Honors requires a thesis | Most selective |
| Yale University | Neuroscience, BS or BA | Every major completes two terms of senior research; the BS requires empirical research | Most selective |
| Princeton University | Neuroscience, AB (Princeton Neuroscience Institute) | Juniors write a research proposal; seniors complete a two-semester research thesis | Most selective |
| Columbia University | Neuroscience and Behavior | Co-sponsored by Psychology and Biological Sciences: 11 courses (6 biology, 5 psychology) plus a year of chemistry | Most selective |
| University of Pennsylvania | Neuroscience, BA | The Honors Option requires a 3.5 GPA and two independent research courses | Most selective |
| Duke University | Neuroscience, BS or AB | Graduation with Distinction requires a thesis built on at least two semesters of independent study, a 3.5 GPA, and an oral defense | Most selective |
| Brown University | Neuroscience, ScB | Since the Class of 2023, every concentrator completes a semester of independent study, research, or design; faculty belong to the Carney Institute for Brain Science | Most selective |
| University of Chicago | Neuroscience: BA, BS, or BS with Honors | The BS requires one to three quarters of research; honors adds ten weeks of paid summer research and a thesis | Most selective |
| Vanderbilt University | Neuroscience major (BS) | Every major completes six credit hours of research and can choose among about 150 faculty labs | Most selective |
| Rice University | Neuroscience, BS (Computational; Molecular and Cellular) or BA | Project-based lab courses and independent research with faculty are required | Most selective |
| Emory University | Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, BS | More than 500 majors; about 140 graduate each year | Highly selective |
| UCLA | Neuroscience, BS (interdepartmental program) | More than 200 faculty in nearly 30 departments across five schools take part | Most selective |
| UC Berkeley | Neuroscience major (launched fall 2024) | A new Department of Neuroscience opened July 1, 2024 with 33 faculty; Stent Scholars receive a $7,500 stipend | Highly selective |
| UC San Diego | Neurobiology, BS | The three-quarter senior honors thesis is the only route to distinction in the School of Biological Sciences | Highly selective |
| University of Michigan | Neuroscience major (LSA) | Created in 2005; more than 500 declared students, more than 30 core faculty, and more than 100 affiliated research faculty | Highly selective |
| UNC Chapel Hill | Neuroscience, BS (since fall 2018) | A required research methods course; the honors thesis needs a 3.3 GPA and prior lab research | Highly selective |
| UT Austin | Neuroscience, BS, with three options | The Neuroscience Honors option requires a thesis and a public research presentation | Highly selective |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Neurobiology, BS (Integrative Biology) | Every major completes directed research, a neuroscience lab course, or a thesis; more than 90 faculty do neuroscience research | Selective |
| University of Maryland | Neuroscience major, offered jointly by Biology and Psychology | Two upper-level tracks and a required Neuroscience Laboratory course | Selective |
| University of Pittsburgh | Neuroscience, BS (Department of Neuroscience) | A stand-alone major since 1983, now with more than 500 majors | Selective |
| Amherst College | Neuroscience | Amherst says it was the first college to offer an undergraduate neuroscience major | Most selective |
| Bowdoin College | Neuroscience | Honors requires at least two semesters of independent study, a written thesis, and an oral presentation | Most selective |
| Pomona College | Neuroscience | Every major completes a two-part senior exercise: a seminar plus an experimental thesis or a grant proposal | Most selective |
| Middlebury College | Neuroscience | The honors thesis requires two semesters of research, a 3.3 GPA in the major, a public presentation, and an oral defense | Highly selective |
| Wellesley College | Neuroscience major | The only route to honors is a thesis based on laboratory research | Highly selective |
| Colgate University | Neuroscience major | Every major writes a one-semester senior thesis; honors requires a two-semester research project | Highly selective |
| Ohio State University | Neuroscience, BS, with three specializations | The university is home to more than 150 neuroscientists | Selective |
| Baylor University | Neuroscience, BS | Students begin as pre-neuroscience majors and must finish core courses before admission to the major | Selective |
| Rutgers University | Cell Biology and Neuroscience | Honors research is two semesters in a faculty lab with a thesis and oral defense, at a 3.4 major GPA | Less selective |
| University of Arizona | Neuroscience, BS, with four emphases | Every emphasis includes a lab, research, internship, or research-based course | Less selective |
Which Highly Selective Universities Have the Strongest Neuroscience Programs?
Johns Hopkins has one of the largest programs, with almost 500 majors in a department that spans the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine, and four concentrations from cellular and molecular to computational. Yale and Princeton require senior research of every major: Yale through two terms of senior research, with empirical work required for the BS, and Princeton through a junior research proposal and a two-semester senior thesis. Harvard’s concentration, which began in 2006, offers three tracks and asks honors candidates for a semester of independent research.
Vanderbilt requires six credit hours of research of every major and gives students access to about 150 faculty labs (Vanderbilt Neuroscience). Brown has required a semester of independent study, research, or design of every concentrator since the Class of 2023. Chicago offers a BA, a BS, and a BS with Honors that adds ten weeks of paid full-time summer research and a thesis written in the style of the Journal of Neuroscience (University of Chicago Neuroscience). Duke awards Graduation with Distinction for a thesis built on two semesters of independent study and an oral defense, Columbia’s Neuroscience and Behavior major splits its courses between biology and psychology, and Emory’s Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology program graduates about 140 students a year.
Which Public Universities Are Best for Neuroscience?
Large public universities offer neuroscience majors with hundreds of students and an unusual depth of faculty. UCLA’s interdepartmental program draws on more than 200 faculty across nearly 30 departments in five schools. Michigan’s major, created in 2005, has more than 500 declared students, more than 30 core faculty, and more than 100 affiliated research faculty. Pitt has run a stand-alone neuroscience major since 1983 and now counts more than 500 majors, and Wisconsin lists more than 90 faculty doing neuroscience research.
Berkeley opened a Department of Neuroscience on July 1, 2024 with 33 faculty and launched its major that fall; its Stent Scholars program pairs students with faculty and pays a $7,500 stipend (UC Berkeley Neuroscience). UC San Diego’s three-quarter senior honors thesis is the only route to distinction in its School of Biological Sciences. UT Austin’s Neuroscience Honors option requires a thesis and a public research presentation, UNC requires a research methods course of every major, and Maryland’s jointly offered major requires a neuroscience laboratory course.
Which Liberal Arts Colleges Are Best for Neuroscience?
Liberal arts colleges were early to the field. Amherst says it was the first institution to offer an undergraduate major in neuroscience (Amherst College). Pomona requires every major to complete a senior exercise that pairs a seminar with an experimental thesis or a grant proposal, and Colgate requires a senior thesis of every major. Bowdoin and Middlebury build honors around two semesters of independent research, and at Wellesley the only route to honors is a thesis based on laboratory research. At these colleges a student is likely to run their own project with a professor, often starting in the sophomore or junior year.
Is Neuroscience Its Own Department or an Interdisciplinary Program?
It depends on the college, and the structure shapes the degree. Some universities have a neuroscience department, as at Johns Hopkins, Pitt, Berkeley, and Arizona. Many run an interdisciplinary program drawing on biology and psychology faculty, as at UCLA, Columbia, Maryland, and Emory. Others house it in biology, as at Rice, UC San Diego, and Wisconsin. Biology-based programs lean toward cellular and molecular work and require more chemistry. Psychology-based programs lean toward behavior and cognition and require more statistics.
Students drawn to the mind more than to cells should also look at cognitive science and psychology, which overlap with the cognitive tracks in many neuroscience majors. Our guide to intended major strategy explains how the declared major interacts with admission at different kinds of schools.
How Do You Judge a Neuroscience Program Beyond the Rankings?
- Read the research requirement. Is independent research required of every major, or only of honors students? Vanderbilt, Yale, Princeton, and Rice require it of everyone.
- Count the labs that take undergraduates. A program that lists participating faculty across departments and the medical school offers more choice than one housed in a single department.
- Check the quantitative core. Statistics and programming should be required, not optional, for a student considering research.
- Look at the tracks. A student interested in computational neuroscience needs a different course list from one interested in behavior.
- Ask where graduates go. Programs that publish outcomes for PhD programs, research jobs, and medical school show what the degree leads to.
What Do Admissions Officers Look for in a Neuroscience Applicant?
At most universities neuroscience is housed in a college of arts and sciences, and students are not admitted to the major itself, so the application is read for science generally. Some programs, such as Baylor’s, admit students to the major only after core courses. What stands out is evidence that the interest is scientific, not only fascination with the brain.
- Coursework. AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology or AP Statistics, and calculus. Neuroscience majors need all of them in the first two years.
- Research. A summer in a university lab, a cognitive or behavioral study with real data, or a long-term independent project. Our guides to research opportunities for high school students and how to do research in high school cover how students find them.
- Programming. A course or project in Python or data analysis signals readiness for computational and quantitative neuroscience.
- Sustained work with people. Volunteering with patients, peers with disabilities, or older adults shows where the interest comes from. Selective pre-college summer programs in science add academic evidence.
Oriel Admissions plans this record with students who start in 9th or 10th grade: chemistry and statistics by junior year, one research experience with a written result, and one long-term commitment that connects the science to people.
What Can You Do With a Neuroscience Degree?
A bachelor’s degree in neuroscience leads to laboratory research jobs and is a common first step toward a PhD, medical school, or other health professions. Biological technicians, a common entry-level research role, earned a median of $57,510 in May 2025, with 7% projected growth from 2025 to 2035, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Research careers in neuroscience usually require a PhD, which is why the undergraduate research record matters so much when choosing among the best colleges for neuroscience.
Many neuroscience majors consider medicine. Our guides to the best colleges for pre-med and the best pre-med majors cover that path, including how medical schools view neuroscience compared with other majors.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Colleges for Neuroscience
There is no single answer, because the best colleges for neuroscience depend on whether a student wants cellular, cognitive, or computational work. Among the most selective universities, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Princeton, Vanderbilt, and Chicago build research into the degree. Among public universities, UCLA, Michigan, Berkeley, UC San Diego, and Pitt combine large majors with deep faculty. Among liberal arts colleges, Amherst, Pomona, and Bowdoin give students their own projects early.
The National Center for Education Statistics counted 9,288 undergraduate degrees in neuroscience in 2021-22, plus about 1,200 in neurobiology fields. Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience counted 223 undergraduate neuroscience programs at 221 institutions in 2019.
Neuroscience studies the nervous system at every level, from molecules to behavior, and usually requires biology and chemistry. Psychology studies behavior and the mind and usually requires more statistics. Cognitive science combines psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and computer science. Many neuroscience majors include a cognitive track that overlaps with both.
Where both exist, as at Yale, Duke, Rice, and Chicago, the BS usually adds research and more laboratory science. A student aiming at a PhD or medical school should lean toward the BS. The BA leaves more room for a second major.
Very. Vanderbilt requires six credit hours of research of every major, Brown requires a semester of independent study, research, or design of every concentrator, and Yale and Princeton require senior research. Graduate programs and research employers read that record closely.
Amherst College says it was the first institution to offer an undergraduate major in neuroscience. Pitt has run a stand-alone neuroscience major since 1983.
Graduates work as research technicians and lab staff, go on to PhD programs, or apply to medical and other health professional schools. Biological technicians earned a median of 57,510 dollars in May 2025, with 7 percent projected growth through 2035, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Take AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and statistics or calculus, learn some programming, and complete one research project with real data. Oriel Admissions plans this sequence with students starting in 9th or 10th grade.
Sources: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 318.30, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience: Growth in Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience: The New Blueprints, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Biological Technicians, Vanderbilt University Neuroscience, University of Chicago Neuroscience Honors Program, Amherst College Neuroscience, UC Berkeley Department of Neuroscience, NCES College Navigator
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