Neuroscience Minor

Co-Directors: Melissa Hughes & Michael Ruscio

The mission of the Neuroscience Minor at the College of Charleston is to provide an environment of academic excellence in the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. We will promote the integration of interdisciplinary academic pursuits that foster intellectual independence and student-faculty collaborative research in neuroscience. Our course offerings, research programs and faculty composition are centered on the needs of students. We maintain a strong emphasis on undergraduate research as a major component of a science education, consisting of a combination of experimental and theoretical/computational neuroscience in various specialized subfields of classical and contemporary neuroscience. Our faculty maintain strong ties to professional organizations and journals in the discipline. We strive to serve the greater Charleston community through activities including outreach to pre-college students and to the general public.

Minor Requirements

Credit Hours: 35+

In addition to completing the requirements for this minor, students must also complete the minor requirements specified in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.

Foundation (11 hours):

Notes:

Honors students can take the alternative sequence of HONS 151 /HONS 151L in lieu of BIOL 111 /BIOL 111L .
Honors students can take the alternative sequence of HONS 152 /HONS 152L in lieu of BIOL 112 /BIOL 112L .
Honors students can take the alternative course of HONS 163 in lieu of PSYC 103 .

Neuroscience Core (9 hours):

Complete at least 3 credit hours from the following specialized neuroscience electives:

BIOL 354 /PSYC 354 , BIOL 396 /PHYS 396 , and PSYC 464 cannot fulfill both the specialized elective requirement and the research requirement.

BIOL 353 Hormones and Behavior (3)
BIOL 354 Techniques in Neuroscience (4)
BIOL 359 Study Abroad in Neuroscience (4)
BIOL 396 Cellular Biophysics (3)
BIOL 446 Special Topics in Neuroscience (3)
PHYS 396 Cellular Biophysics (3)
PSYC 353 Hormones and Behavior (3)
PSYC 354 Techniques in Neuroscience (4)
PSYC 359 Study Abroad in Neuroscience (4)
PSYC 385 Cognitive Neuroscience (3)
PSYC 386 Behavioral Pharmacology (3)
PSYC 387 Neuropsychology (3)
PSYC 446 Special Topics in Neuroscience (3)
PSYC 464 Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience with Lab (3)
PSYC 410 Special Topics II (1-4)
Note: PSYC 410 will only count when the content covers neuroscience; before taking the course, contact the program director for approval.

Complete at least 6 credit hours from the following general electives:

Note: The two electives must be taken outside the declared major in order to fulfill the interdisciplinary nature of the minor. This restriction does not apply to students pursuing double majors in the areas below (e.g. BIOL and PSYC).

Anthropology

Notes:

Honors students can take the alternative course of HONS 169 in lieu of ANTH 205 .

Biology

Note:

Honors students can take the alternative course of HONS 312 in lieu of BIOL 312 .

Chemistry

Computer Science

Data Science

DATA 101 Introduction to Data Science (3)

Philosophy

Physics

Psychology

Senior Seminar (3 hours):

Capstone Research Experience (at least 3 hours):

BIOL 354 /PSYC 354 , BIOL 396 /PHYS 396 , and PSYC 464 cannot fulfill both the specialized elective requirement and the research requirement. Other Bachelor’s Essay courses may count towards this requirement with prior approval of the Program Director.