Program Overview

The neuroscience program is nested under the direction of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, while maintaining strong interdisciplinary connections. The program is designed to represent the psychological and biological foundations of this growing field.

Undergraduates preparing for careers in neuroscience or related fields must have a strong scientific foundation in the natural sciences. Students studying neuroscience at Drake University will be exposed to an interdisciplinary environment through coursework in physical and life sciences, close interactions with faculty and the opportunity to participate in research projects. The interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience can be appealing to students in allied fields such as psychology and biology, thus making earning a double major or minor an attractive option.

There are many career paths available to students interested in neuroscience or related fields. Some are interested in attending graduate school to pursue a career in basic or applied research and teaching. Others may want a neuroscience background as a foundation for further training in a health care field, such as medicine, physical therapy, optometry and nursing. Still others may want exposure to neuroscience topics because of an interest in professional writing (newspaper, magazine) about the field or working in a related field such as the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry. In all cases, students should work with their academic advisor to determine what path is best for them.

The neuroscience program at Drake University contains a major (B.S.) and a minor. The B.S. degree in neuroscience requires at least 64 credit hours to complete. Students must obtain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the major (computed across all major courses) to graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience. The minor requires 24 credits hours.

B.S. Degree Requirements

The curriculum for a B.S. in neuroscience at Drake University is described below. Completion of the program requires completion of the course requirements listed below. Students will work with their advisor to make appropriate course selections when options are available, thus the precise number of credit hours for the major will vary slightly. Core requirements may be transferred by petition.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
General Requirements
NSCI 001	INTRODUCTION TO NEUROSCIENCE	3
NSCI 010	RESEARCH METHODS IN NEUROSCIENCE	3
BIO 176 & 176L	NEUROPHYSIOLOGY and NEUROPHYSIOLOGY LAB	4
BIO 012 & 012L	GENERAL/PRE-PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGY I and GENERAL/PRE-PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGY I LAB	4
BIO 013 & 013L	GENERAL/PRE-PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGY II and GENERAL/PRE-PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGY II LAB	4
CHEM 001 & CHEM 003	GENERAL CHEMISTRY I and GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LAB	4
CHEM 002 & CHEM 004	GENERAL CHEMISTRY II and GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LAB	4
CHEM 097 & CHEM 098	ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I LAB	4
CHEM 108 & CHEM 110	ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II LAB	4
PSY 011	INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS 1	3
Quantitative analysis
Select one of the following:		3
MATH 050	CALCULUS I
PHY 011	GENERAL PHYSICS I
PSY 111	ADVANCED STATISTICS (with lab)
CS 065	INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I
Behavioral Labs
Select one of the following:		4
PSY 123	BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR
PSY 125	COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 126	COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 120 & PSY 121	CONDITIONING AND LEARNING LAB and CONDITIONING AND LEARNING
PSY 133	PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
Basic Biology
Select one of the following:		3
BIO 105	INTRODUCTION TO GENETICS
BIO 129 & 129L	MAMMALIAN PHYSIOLOGY and MAMMALIAN PHYSIOLOGY LAB
BIO 165	CELL BIOLOGY
CHEM 130 & CHEM 131	BIOCHEMISTRY I: FUNDAMENTALS and BIOCHEMISTRY I: FUNDAMENTALS LAB
Behavioral Neuroscience
Select one of the following:		3
BIO 107/NSCI 127/PSY 127	BEHAVIOR GENETICS
NSCI 126	NEUROCHEMISTRY
PHAR 119	TOPICS IN NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
Systems Neuroscience
Select one of the following:		3
PHIL 130	MINDS, BRAINS, AND COMPUTERS
NSCI 150	FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY
NSCI 152	NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING & MEMORY
Related Elective Courses
Select two of the following, at least one upper-division:		6
BIO 101	COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF VERTEBRATES
BIO 114 & 114L	EVOLUTION and EVOLUTION LAB
BIO/CS 116	BIOINFORMATICS
BIO 127 & 127L	HISTOLOGY and HISTOLOGY LAB
BIO/PHY 132	MEDICAL BIOPHYSICS
CS 167	MACHINE LEARNING
PSY 028	DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR 2
PSY 060	PRINCIPLES OF BEHAVIOR
PSY 076	ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 122	SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
PSY 128	HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
PSY 148	PSYCHOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
PSY 176	ADVANCED PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
NSCI 090/91/190/191	INDEPENDENT STUDY
NSCI 151	HISTORY OF NEUROSCIENCE
NSCI 195	SPECIAL TOPICS SEMINAR
NSCI 198	RESEARCH SEMINAR
PHIL 140	NEUROSCIENCE AND THE LAW
Capstone
Select one of the following with the prior approval of both the advisor and instructor:		3
NSCI 190C	INDEPENDENT STUDY CAPSTONE
or NSCI 191C	INDEPENDENT STUDY CAPSTONE
NSCI 192C	INTERNSHIP CAPSTONE
NSCI 151	HISTORY OF NEUROSCIENCE
NSCI 198	RESEARCH SEMINAR
Total Hours		62

¹

BIO 140 BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL METHODS , HSCI 060 STATISTICS IN HEALTH SCIENCES, or both STAT 071 STATISTICS I and STAT 072 STATISTICS II may substitute for PSY 011 INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS.

²

This course cannot substitute for PHAR 119 TOPICS IN NEUROPHARMACOLOGY

Note: Students must pass NSCI 001 INTRODUCTION TO NEUROSCIENCE, NSCI 010 RESEARCH METHODS IN NEUROSCIENCE, and PSY 011 INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS (or its substitutes) with a “C” or better (not a C-) to major in Neuroscience and to enroll in any upper level courses for which these are prerequisites

Internships, research or independent study courses will be awarded CR/NC grade, and still count towards the program requirements.

In addition to programmatic requirements, students are responsible for satisfying all requirements of the Drake Curriculum, including Areas of Inquiry (AOI)

Student must also satisfy university graduation requirements for all undergraduate students..