CAS: Neuroscience

CGS students pursuing the Neuroscience degree may contact Kaylyn Dorsey (kdorsey2@bu.edu), Undergraduate Academic Advisor, with any questions about the major.

Upon completion of the CGS program, students must have earned credit towards the following 10 courses:

• Humanities: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS HU 103, CGS HU 201, or CGS HU 202
  • CGS HU 104*
• Natural Sciences: 2 courses
  • CGS NE 101 and CAS NE 102**
• Rhetoric: 2 courses
  • CGS RH 103 and CGS RH 104*
• Social Sciences: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS SS 103, CGS SS 201, or CGS SS 202
  • CGS SS 104*

*Required course taken during the Summer term.
**Neuroscience majors in good standing are exempt from CGS NS 201 and NS 202 and are advised to take CAS NE 101 and CAS NE 102 to fulfill both their major requirements and the CGS Natural Science requirement. Please note that students who are exempt from CGS NS 202 must enroll in at least one CGS course in Term 2 of sophomore year.

17 courses are required for the neuroscience major. These requirements are distributed among seven basic science courses, five core neuroscience courses, and five upper-level electives. A grade of C or higher is required for major credit in all courses except for the required 2-course chemistry sequence of CAS CH 101 and 102 (or equivalent, such as CH 101 and 116, CH 109 and 110, or CH 111 and 112). A grade of C– or higher is required for major credit in these chemistry courses (only if completed at BU). A minimum grade of C is required for external courses to be eligible to transfer.

For required courses, please see the CAS Bulletin. Students may not receive credit for (1) both CAS NE 101 and PS 231, or (2) both CAS NE 212 and PS 211. Please also note that CAS PS 222 is no longer accepted as a neuroscience elective.

Students majoring in neuroscience must also fulfill the research requirement, which is satisfied through successful completion of CAS NE 102/116 and CAS NE 203/218. Students may alternatively fulfill the research requirement through an upper level elective with a lab component or through one research-for-credit course as a junior or senior at the NE 391 level or higher. For more information, please see the Neuroscience Department webpage.

Pre-medical students majoring in neuroscience are not required to take CAS BI 107 or CAS BI 108. Instead, students should first take CAS NE 102, which substitutes for CAS BI 108 as a pre-med requirement. Students should then take CAS BI 203 and CAS BI 315 (CAS NE 102 substitutes for CAS BI 108 as a prerequisite for these courses). CAS BI 203, CAS BI 315, and CAS CH 203 are part of the Neuroscience Restricted Electives list: students may count a maximum of 2 courses from this list towards their 5 required neuroscience electives. Additional courses (e.g. CAS CH 204 and courses in biochemistry, psychology, and sociology) are required for pre-med students but are not required for the neuroscience major, nor do they count as neuroscience electives. Students planning to attend medical school should consult advisors in the neuroscience program and in the pre-medical advising office (100 Bay State Road, room 428) for information on the selection and sequencing of courses.

• Completion of the CGS required courses and appropriate electives
• Cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00

Boston University students completing a degree in CAS must also complete the following requirements. 

• BU Hub requirements
• CAS requirements:
  • Second Language requirement 
• Neuroscience major requirements
• CAS requires a minimum of 128 credits, excluding PDP, ROTC, and CAS FY and SY courses.