The behavioral neuroscience and design combined major engages students in an interdisciplinary study across the biology, psychology, and Art + Design departments to integrate fundamental design courses with a strong foundation in the physiological brain mechanisms that give rise to behavioral functions. The latest research in neuroscience and psychology enables designers to maximize the impact of their designs and, conversely, complex neuroscientific concepts can be made intelligible to a wider public through creative visual works. Students in this major have the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the brain and how its various structures interact to enhance their approach to design methodologies. Students can then apply these principles to biomimetic medical devices as well as data and network visualization.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
University-Wide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the University-Wide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Behavioral Neuroscience Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Neuroscience Overview | ||
| BNSC 1000 | Behavioral Neuroscience at Northeastern 1 | 1 |
| EESC 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op 2 | 1 |
| COS Foundations | ||
| PSYC 1101 | Foundations of Psychology | 4 |
| BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | Foundations of Biology and Lab for BIOL 1107 | 5 |
| BIOL 2299 | Inquiries in Biological Sciences | 4 |
| BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | Genetics and Molecular Biology and Lab for BIOL 2301 | 5 |
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | General Chemistry for Science Majors and Lab for CHEM 1161 and Recitation for CHEM 1161 | 5 |
| CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab for CHEM 2311 | 5 |
| Mathematics Foundation | ||
| MATH 1251 | Calculus and Differential Equations for Biology 1 | 4 |
| or MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | |
| Statistics Foundation | ||
| Complete one of the following: | ||
| ENVR 2500 and ENVR 2501 | Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 2500 | 4-5 |
| or PSYC 2320 | Statistics in Psychological Research | |
| Behavioral Neuroscience Foundations | ||
| PSYC 3200 | Clinical Neuroanatomy | 4 |
| PSYC 3452 | Sensation and Perception | 4 |
| PSYC 3458 | Biological Psychology | 4 |
| Behavioral Neuroscience Core Courses | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Animal Behavior | ||
| Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience | ||
| Neural Systems and Behavior | ||
| Developmental Neurobiology | ||
| Neurobiology of Cognitive Decline | ||
| Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | ||
| Cell and Molecular Neuroscience | ||
| Multidisciplinary Approaches in Motor Control | ||
| Neuropsychology of Fear | ||
| Behavioral Endocrinology | ||
| Brain, Behavior, and Immunity | ||
| Psychopharmacology | ||
| Neuropsychology | ||
| Clinical Neuroscience | ||
| Behavioral Genetics | ||
| 1 | Students entering through CAMD may take Art and Design at Northeastern (ARTF 1000). |
| 2 | Students entering through CAMD may take Professional Development for Co-op (EEAM 2000). |
Design Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | ||
| ARTF 1122 | Color and Composition (with optional ARTF 1123) | 4 |
| Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Conceptual Drawing | ||
| Form and Structure and Form and Structure Tools | ||
| Movement and Time (with optional ARTF 2221) | ||
| Experience and Interaction (with optional ARTF 2224) | ||
| Design Courses | ||
| ARTG 1250 | Design Process Context and Systems | 4 |
| ARTG 2250 | Typography 1 (with optional ARTG 2251) | 4 |
| ARTG 3350 | Typography 2 | 4 |
| ARTG 3451 | Information Design 1 | 4 |
| or ARTG 5330 | Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals | |
| Art + Design History | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| The Science of Art, the Art of Science | ||
| Modern Art and Design History | ||
| Contemporary Art and Design History | ||
| Nineteenth-Century Art | ||
| Degree Capstone Project | ||
| ARTG 4550 | Design Degree Project 1 | 4 |
Design Options
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following options: | 8 | |
| Interaction Design Option | ||
| Interaction Design 1: Responsive (with optional ARTG 2401) | ||
| Interaction Design 2: Mobile | ||
| Graphic and Information Design Option | ||
| Graphic Design 1 | ||
| Graphic Design 2 | ||
| Experience Design Option | ||
| Experience Design 1 | ||
| Experience Design 2 | ||
Integrative Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Integrative Courses | ||
| BIOL 5587 | Comparative Neurobiology | 4 |
| ARTG 5310 | Visual Cognition | 4 |
| Upper-Division Elective | ||
| Complete one course that is not already taken as long as prerequisites have been met: | 4 | |
| Any 2000-level or higher ARTG, ARTE, ARTD, ARTH, or ARTS course | ||
| BNSC 4970 or higher | ||
| BIOL 3403 or higher | ||
| PSYC 3404 or higher | ||
Writing Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College Writing | ||
| ENGW 1111 | First-Year Writing | 4 |
| or ENGW 1102 | First-Year Writing for Multilingual Writers | |
| Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | ||
| ENGW 3307 | Advanced Writing in the Sciences | 4 |
| or ENGW 3314 | Advanced Writing in the Arts, Media, and Design | |
| or ENGW 3315 | Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | |
Required General Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 16 credits of general electives. | 16 | |
Major Credit Hour Requirement
104 semester hours in the major.
Program Requirements
133 total semester hours required
Sample Patterns:
Four Years, Two Co-ops
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BNSC 1000 or ARTF 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | ARTG 2250 | 4 | PSYC 3452 | 4 |
| BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | 5 | MATH 1251 | 4 | PSYC 2320 | 4 | General elective | 4 |
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | 5 | ARTG 1250 | 4 | ||||
| PSYC 1101 | 4 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| ARTF 1122 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 16 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| PSYC 3458 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | ARTG 3350 | 4 | ||
| BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | 5 | General elective | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | 5 | ||||||
| A+D foundations 2 | 4 | ||||||
| EESC 2000 or EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| PSYC 3200 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | ENGW 3315 | 4 | ||
| ARTG 3451 or 5330 | 4 | General elective | 4 | ||||
| Design option level 1 | 4 | ||||||
| BNS core course | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| BIOL 5587 | 4 | ARTG 4550 | 4 | ||||
| ARTG 5310 | 4 | BNS core course | 4 | ||||
| Design option level 2 | 4 | Upper-division elective | 4 | ||||
| A+D history course | 4 | General elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 134 | |||||||
Five Years, Three Co-ops
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BNSC 1000 or ARTF 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | Vacation | Vacation | ||
| PSYC 1101 | 4 | MATH 1251 | 4 | ||||
| BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | 5 | ARTG 1250 | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | 5 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| ARTF 1122 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| PSYC 3452 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | PSYC 2320 | 4 | ||
| CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | 5 | ARTG 3350 | 4 | ||||
| ARTG 2250 | 4 | ||||||
| A+D foundations 2 | 4 | ||||||
| EESC 2000 or EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| PSYC 3200 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Vacation | |||
| PSYC 3458 | 4 | ||||||
| BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | 5 | ||||||
| Design option level 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ARTG 3451 or 5330 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | ENGW 3315 | 4 | ||
| Design option level 2 | 4 | General elective | 4 | ||||
| BNS core course | 4 | ||||||
| General elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 5 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| BIOL 5587 | 4 | ARTG 4550 | 4 | ||||
| ARTG 5310 | 4 | BNS core course | 4 | ||||
| A+D history course | 4 | Upper-division elective | 4 | ||||
| General elective | 4 | General elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 134 | |||||||