The behavioral neuroscience curriculum focuses on the biological bases underlying behavior under healthy and pathological states. The program combines the disciplines of biology and psychology with a strong background in basic physical sciences and mathematics to understand how the behavior of humans and animals is controlled by physiological systems. Students gain a solid foundation in the anatomical and functional specializations of the brain and neural mechanisms from neurons to circuits to networks. Students then choose from a range of advanced electives to delve deeply into diverse specializations and current topics in the field.
Note: Due to overlap in course content, double majoring in behavioral neuroscience with any of the following majors is not permitted: psychology, biology, cell and molecular biology, or biochemistry.
- Concentrations and course offerings may vary by campus and/or by program modality. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for the course availability each term at your campus or within your program modality.
- Certain options within the program may be required at certain campuses or for certain program modalities. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for requirements at your campus or for your program modality.
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.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Behavioral Neuroscience Foundation Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| BIOL 3405 | Neurobiology | 4 |
| BNSC 1000 | Behavioral Neuroscience at Northeastern | 1 |
| PSYC 1101 | Foundations of Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 3200 | Clinical Neuroanatomy | 4 |
| PSYC 3458 | Biological Psychology | 4 |
| Complete one of the following. Students who receive transfer credit for the Advanced Placement Statistics exam may complete the 1 SH PSYC 2315 course (requires department permission): | 4-5 | |
| Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 2500 | ||
| Statistics in Psychological Research | ||
Behavioral Neuroscience Advanced Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete four of the following (at least two must be numbered in the 4000–5999 range): | 16-17 | |
| Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience | ||
| Neural Systems and Behavior | ||
| Developmental Neurobiology | ||
| Neurobiology of Cognitive Decline | ||
| Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | ||
| Comparative Neurobiology | ||
| Cell and Molecular Neuroscience | ||
| Multidisciplinary Approaches in Motor Control | ||
| Neuropsychology of Fear | ||
| Behavioral Endocrinology | ||
| Brain, Behavior, and Immunity | ||
| Psychopharmacology | ||
| Neuropsychology | ||
| Clinical Neuroscience | ||
| Quantitative Topics in Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience | ||
| Behavioral Genetics | ||
| Functional Human Neuroanatomy and Lab for PT 5410 | ||
| One course may be an experiential course: | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
| Research | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
| Research | ||
| Internship | ||
| Undergraduate Teaching Experience | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
| Directed Study Research | ||
Behavioral Neuroscience Elective Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology Elective | ||
| An additional behavioral neuroscience core course may be used to fulfill this requirement. | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Developmental Psychology | ||
| Clinical Psychology and Mental Health | ||
| Learning and Motivation | ||
| Learning Principles and Behavior Analysis | ||
| Sensation and Perception | ||
| Psychology of Language | ||
| Cognition | ||
| Environmental Psychology | ||
| Cognitive Development | ||
| Biology Elective | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Current Topics in Biology | ||
| Current Topics in Cell and Molecular Biology | ||
| Microbiology and Lab for BIOL 3421 | ||
| Mammalian Systems Physiology | ||
| Biochemistry and Lab for BIOL 3611 | ||
| Cell and Molecular Biology | ||
| Stem Cells and Regeneration | ||
| Medical Microbiology | ||
| Biological Imaging | ||
| Advanced Genomics | ||
| Cell and Molecular Biology of Aging | ||
| Research Elective | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Biology Project Lab | ||
| Laboratory in Research Design | ||
| Laboratory in Learning and Motivation | ||
| Laboratory in Biological Psychology | ||
| Laboratory in Cognition | ||
| Laboratory in Sensation and Perception | ||
| Laboratory in Affective Science | ||
| Laboratory in Life-Span Emotional Development | ||
| Laboratory in Psychophysiology | ||
| Capstone Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Biology Capstone | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
| Research and Behavioral Neuroscience Capstone | ||
| Internship and Behavioral Neuroscience Capstone | ||
PSYC 4654 to PSYC 4678 | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
Behavioral Neuroscience Supporting Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 | General Chemistry for Science Majors and Lab for CHEM 1161 | 5 |
| CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab for CHEM 2311 | 5 |
| CHEM 2313 and CHEM 2314 | Organic Chemistry 2 and Lab for CHEM 2313 | 5 |
| MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | 4 |
| or MATH 1241 | Calculus 1 | |
| Complete one of the following: | 5 | |
| Programming with Data and Data Science Programming Practicum | ||
| Physics for Life Sciences 1 and Lab for PHYS 1145 | ||
| Physics for Engineering 1 and Lab for PHYS 1151 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1151 | ||
| Physics 1 and Lab for PHYS 1161 and Recitation for PHYS 1161 | ||
| Physics 1 for Bioscience and Bioengineering and Lab for PHYS 1171 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1171 | ||
Behavioral Neuroscience Major Credit/GPA Requirement
Complete 90 semester hours in the major with a minimum 2.000 GPA.
Due to overlap in course content, double majoring in behavioral neuroscience with any of the following majors is not permitted: psychology, biology, cell and molecular biology, or biochemistry.
Program Requirement
132 total semester hours required
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | 5 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | 5 | Vacation | 0 |
| BNSC 1000 | 1 | CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | 5 | Advanced PSYC elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | 5 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| PSYC 1101 | 4 | PSYC 3458 | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1341 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 3405 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | PSYC 2320 | 4 | Co-op | 0 |
| CHEM 2313 and CHEM 2314 | 5 | DS 2000 and DS 2001 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
| PSYC 3200 | 4 | EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | BNS advanced course 1 | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | 0 | Advanced BIOL elective | 5 | ENGW 3307 | 4 | Co-op | 0 |
| BNS advanced course 2 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| BNS advanced course 3 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | 0 | BNS advanced course 4 | 4 | ||||
| Elective (online) | 4 | Capstone | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 132 | |||||||
Five Years, Three Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | 5 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | Vacation | 0 | Vacation | 0 |
| BNSC 1000 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | 5 | PSYC 3458 | 4 | ||||
| PSYC 1101 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1341 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | 5 | Co-op | 0 | Co-op | 0 | CHEM 2313 and CHEM 2314 | 5 |
| CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | 5 | PSYC 2320 | 4 | ||||
| EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| PSYC 3200 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 2309 | 4 | Co-op | 0 | Co-op | 0 | Vacation | 0 |
| BIOL 3405 | 4 | ||||||
| Advancd PSYC elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| DS 2000 and DS 2001 | 4 | Co-op | 0 | Co-op | 0 | Elective | 4 |
| BNS advanced course 1 | 4 | ||||||
| BNS advanced course 2 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
| Year 5 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| ENGW 3307 | 4 | BNS advanced course 4 | 4 | ||||
| Advanced BIOL elective | 5 | Capstone course | 4 | ||||
| BNS advanced course 3 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 17 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 132 | |||||||