Neuroscience

Students pursuing a slash in Neuroscience will explore how the mind’s diverse sensory, motor, and cognitive phenomena are encoded by neural function at the cellular and systems level.

Neuroscience Area of Concentration

Students pursuing a slash in Neuroscience will explore how the mind’s diverse sensory, motor, and cognitive phenomena are encoded by neural function at the cellular and systems level. They will develop skills for critical inquiry in neuroscience through engagement with current principles, techniques, findings, and debates and ethical considerations within the field. As Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary area, students pursuing the Neuroscience slash should expect to approach their study of the brain with both breadth and depth, which will allow them to understand how the brain works from multiple perspectives. In doing so, students pursuing the Neuroscience slash will be prepared for a number of paths post-graduation, which may include graduate and professional work in related fields.

Welcome to Neuroscience

We are happy to announce a new joint-disciplinary AOC in Neuroscience in the fall of 2019, which may be combined with any primary AOC (“X/Neuroscience”).

This joint-disciplinary concentration will be added to the 2019-2020 catalog; current students can choose to pursue it and/or programs under their catalog year.

Faculty

Elizabeth Leininger, Assistant Professor of Biology
Peter Cook, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Kathleen Casto, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Frequently asked questions

What are the requirements for the Neuroscience Joint-disciplinary AOC?
Please see the Neuroscience Curriculum page.

If I entered New College prior to Fall 2019, can I add /Neuroscience to my AOC?
Yes, students entering New College prior to Fall 2019 may either add /Neuroscience to their primary AOC or concentrate in an existing AOC in their catalog year that focuses on the brain, such as Neurobiology or Biopsychology. If you are on track to complete at least six intermediate/advanced units of Neuroscience coursework across two disciplines including at least one Neuroscience laboratory (but missed the gateway course offering, for example), it will be possible to add a joint-disciplinary concentration in Neuroscience to your primary AOC. A neuroscience faculty member would need to sit on your baccalaureate committee to certify your joint AOC.

What will happen to the Neurobiology AOC in future years?
After Fall 2019, students interested in the biological mechanisms of brains and behavior are better served by a Biology/Neuroscience AOC (instead of the Neurobiology AOC), because Biology/Neuroscience is the best aligned to our current program goals and course offerings.

What will happen to the Biopsychology AOC in future years?
The Biopsychology AOC serves a range of interests related to animal and human behavior and their mechanisms, and is continuing. Students interested in the brain from a primarily psychological perspective could pursue Psychology/Neuroscience or Biopsychology/Neuroscience AOCs.

Is it possible do a full AOC in Neuroscience?
We are not formally offering a full AOC in Neuroscience at this time; we believe that the joint-disciplinary AOC will suit most students’ interests. Students with a very strong interest in this discipline could design their own AOC in close consultation with Neuroscience faculty. Be aware that this plan would involve a lot more coursework than a joint-disciplinary AOC, and would require ISP and thesis work related to Neuroscience.

How can I see which neuroscience courses are offered next semester?
The online course schedule now allows searching for a “Neuroscience” attribute. Neuro-focused tutorials may also count by agreement with Neuroscience faculty.

More information

Neuroscience Curriculum

Neuroscience is a joint-disciplinary AOC that pairs with ANY primary AOC (AOC/Neuroscience); six units of Neuroscience work; can double-count two units towards primary AOC.

Heiser Natural Sciences Complex

The 34,000-square-foot Heiser Natural Sciences Complex includes teaching and research labs for chemistry, biochemistry, biology, bioinformatics, computational science, mathematics and physics.

Undergraduate Program

New College of Florida offers more than 35 different majors in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as a number of interdisciplinary concentrations.