The Major
The neuroscience major is highly interdisciplinary, with students taking courses in biology, chemistry, psychology, mathematics, physics and more.
Learn MoreHow does the mind work? How can we explain animal and human behavior? What is different when someone is not neurotypical? Neuroscience is the modern attempt to answer these and other questions through the study of the brain.
Program Highlights
Seminars
In the Neuroscience Seminars & Comprehensives, students and faculty discuss current research and guest neuroscientists lecture on their work.
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Student Research
Our majors perform lab research at Amherst and around the country. Seniors have the option to complete an honors research project.
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History
Amherst was the first institution to offer an undergraduate major in neuroscience.
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Summer Programs
Our majors take great advantage of neuroscience research opportunities around the country and internationally.
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After Amherst
Amherst neuroscience majors conduct research at the National Institutes of Health, teach high school in Boston, practice medicine around the country and work in business.
Learn MoreNeuroscience Courses
Current Courses
NEUR 117
Pleasure and Addiction
Description
Why can some people be casual gamblers while others are hooked into a spiral of addiction after just one betting experience? This course will explore the brain mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors and the dysfunctions that can lead to addictive and compulsive behaviors.
NEUR 213
Neuroscience: Systems and Behavior
Description
This course will examine how brain function regulates a broad range of mental processes and behaviors, including how neurons work and how the brain obtains information about the environment.
NEUR 391
Quantitative Imaging with Lab
Description
This laboratory and lecture course will focus on advanced quantitative fluorescence microscopy techniques used for imaging a range of biological model systems and functions ranging from single molecules to cells to tissues.
Featured Article
Stacey Beganny, research technician, and Josef Trapani, associate professor
Beganny and Trapani Paper Named to JEB Shortlist
An article co-authored by the biology department’s Stacey Beganny and Josef Trapani was named to the Journal of Environmental Biology’s 2023 Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist, which celebrates the innovations of the “next group of outstanding early-career researchers.”
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