Neuroscience major
Neuroscience: courses, careers, and where to study
Neuroscience studies how the brain and nervous system work at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels, suiting students drawn to lab research and questions about the mind.
Neuroscience asks how nerve cells signal one another, how circuits in the brain give rise to perception, memory, movement, and emotion, and what goes wrong in conditions affecting the nervous system. Students work across several scales at once: the molecular and biochemical events inside a single neuron, the anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system, and the behavior that emerges when many cells act together. Coursework blends biology, chemistry, and psychology with quantitative methods, and students spend significant time in laboratories learning to record neural activity, image brain tissue, run behavioral experiments on model organisms, and analyze noisy data. Unlike psychology, which centers on behavior and mental processes, or biology, which surveys living systems broadly, neuroscience keeps the nervous system itself as the through-line, connecting wet-lab biology to cognition and clinical questions.
Most people enter the field through a bachelor's degree in neuroscience or a closely related science, and the research-focused careers commonly associated with the major are built on graduate training: independent investigators and many medical scientists typically hold a doctoral degree earned through years of mentored laboratory work and a dissertation. Undergraduate programs are heavy on hands-on labs and often expect a research project or thesis, and students aiming at health professions pair the degree with prerequisite coursework before separate professional school and licensure. A neuropsychologist, for example, completes graduate clinical training and a state license to practice. Graduates work in academic and hospital research labs, biotechnology and pharmaceutical settings, clinical research coordination, and data or technical roles supporting brain research; programs and any professional licensure requirements vary by state and should be verified directly.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of medical scientists, except epidemiologists, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $100,590 and projects employment to grow about 8.7% from 2024 to 2034; a doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Neuroscience maps to CIP 26.1501, Neuroscience, within the BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES family. The official definition:
A program that focuses on the interdisciplinary scientific study of the molecular, structural, physiologic, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the brain and nervous system. Includes instruction in molecular and cellular neuroscience, brain science, anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system, molecular and biochemical bases of information processing, behavioral neuroscience, biology of neuropsychiatric disorders, and applications to the clinical sciences and biomedical engineering.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Neuroscience is awarded as
Of the 11,504 Neuroscience credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate1%117
- Associate<1%4
- Bachelor's88%10,135
- Graduate11%1,248
This mix is fairly consistent nationally: across the 37 states reporting it, the certificate share moves by about 0 percentage points between the 10th and 90th percentile state, so the credential is more a property of the field than of where you study it. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Cellular and molecular neuroscience
- Anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system
- Neural signaling, synapses, and ion channels
- Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience
- Neuroanatomy lab dissection and brain imaging methods
- Electrophysiology and neural recording techniques
- Biology of neurological and psychiatric disorders
- Statistics and computational analysis of neural data
- Independent laboratory research and thesis work
Typical careers
- Neuroscientist
- Research Scientist
- Clinical Research Coordinator
- Neuropsychologist
- Medical Scientist
- Biotech Researcher
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 medical scientists, except epidemiologists median $100,590).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Neuroscience, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Technicians | $52,000 | 9,100 | +3.5% | Bachelor's degree |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $161,180 | 8,500 | +3.7% | Bachelor's degree |
| Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $83,460 | 5,400 | +7.3% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | $93,330 | 4,800 | +1.2% | Bachelor's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 4 of these 4 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Neuroscience does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Neuroscience major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Neuroscience program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Neuroscience department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Neuroscience program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Neuroscience credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- The University of Texas at AustinTX · 312
- The University of Texas at DallasTX · 295
- Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · 292
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonWI · 285
- Binghamton UniversityNY · 242
- Michigan State UniversityMI · 224
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVA · 222
- University of PennsylvaniaPA · 197
- University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNC · 196
- University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · 179
- Emory UniversityGA · 172
- University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPA · 172
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Neuroscience credentials were awarded
21 states have a distinct enough set of Neuroscience colleges to be worth its own page.
Related majors
Biology
Biology is the foundational pre-health major, covering molecular, cellular, organismal, and ecological levels of living systems.
Psychology
Psychology majors study human cognition, behavior, and emotion, preparing graduates for clinical, research, business, and human-services careers (and graduate school in clinical, counseling, and I/O psych).
Biochemistry
Biochemistry studies the chemistry of living systems, bridging biology and chemistry for students aiming at research, biotech, pharmaceutical, or medical and graduate pathways.
Microbiology
Microbiology studies microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, suiting students aiming for lab research, biotech, public health, and clinical or pharmaceutical work.
Genetics
Genetics studies how heritable information is stored, regulated, and passed between generations, suiting students drawn to lab science, molecular detail, and how traits arise.
Still deciding between Neuroscience and something else?
These guides put Neuroscienceside by side with the major it is most often confused with, using the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk to show where the two actually lead.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Neuroscience degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Science & Research careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Neuroscience degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Neuroscience path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.