A.B .Neuroscience Requirements

for students matriculating before summer 2018:

The specific requirements for this academic plan depend upon the year you started at Duke (year of matriculation). Please select one of the following options:

10 Neuroscience courses / 5 Co-requisites (see box on right for course list)

The A.B. major in neuroscience comprises 5 foundational classes plus 5 elective courses. You should plan to complete all 5 foundational classes before your senior year, and before any in-depth seminar or lecture course at the 400-level or above. While this counsel is not enforced, it is strongly recommended and will certainly facilitate getting the most learning and practical experience out of your academic and scholarly activities in the Neuroscience major.

Visit Open Office Hours (Tues 3-4pm & Wed 9-10am) in the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences for help with academic planning. 

Note: 5 Co-requisites-- same as detailed in B.S. major requirements, except only one term (or equivalent) of calculus is required, and there is no requirement for Computer Science.

Five Foundational Courses

One Gateway

ALL prospective majors or minors in Neuroscience should take the “gateway” course as their first Neuroscience class:

Three Core Courses

There are three core courses that reflect three levels of inquiry that should be experienced by all Majors in Neuroscience: the molecular and cellular level; the level of neural circuits within which cells are organized and interconnected; and the level of behavior. The courses listed below may be taken in any sequence; however, NEUROSCI 201 should be considered the most helpful course to take following the gateway.

one of the following:

One Statistics

All neuroscience majors should demonstrate proficiency in statistical sciences by completing one course at the 100-200 level Statistics Options 

Five Elective Courses

Electives

Neuroscience Majors are required to explore the breadth and depth of the field by fulfilling five elective requirements in Neuroscience. Seminar, lecture, methods/laboratory elective offerings are drawn from a dynamic list of approximately 50 courses that are offered by five Departments in Trinity College, as well as Departments in the School of Medicine and the Pratt School of Engineering (see Complete Course Listing)

  • One in-depth (350S or higher) seminar elective  
  • One methods or lab elective (above 300)
    • Completion of methods or laboratory courses will equip you with knowledge and skills that should facilitate productivity and success in Research Independent Study projects, so we recommend that you take this elective early in your program of study.
  • Three other electives drawn from the following, for example:
    • Lecture electives 
    • Research Independent study 493-496 (no more than two; recommend taking Methods/Laboratory first). Prior to registration in NEUROSCI 493, you must complete two NEUROSCI courses 
    • Independent Scholarship 391-392
    • Intersection elective courses (must take at least one)
    • Allied elective (may only count one) (see Complete Course Listing)

Note: no more than two of the ten courses required for the Major in Neuroscience (not including co-requisites) may be used to satisfy the requirements of another major or other academic program.

Please download the Majors/Minors Requirements Planning Worksheet in our Forms Section.

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