Minor in Neuroscience

Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Neuroscience

Upon completing the minor in Neuroscience, students will be able to: 

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the key issues, questions, and perspectives that define contemporary neuroscience.
  2. Understand neuroscience as an interdisciplinary field and demonstrate the ability to draw on, and synthesize, key findings and concepts in the sciences, humanities and/or engineering in both the evaluation of existing theories and in the formulation and solution of new problems in neuroscience.

Requirements for the Minor in Neuroscience

Students pursuing the minor in Neuroscience must complete:

  • A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
  • A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
  • A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional program guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab. 
  • A minimum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) of the Elective Requirements should be completed for the minor only (not shared or double-counted with another major).
  • The requirements for one area of specialization (see below for areas of specialization). The Neuroscience minor offers two areas of specialization:

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in Neuroscience18

Minor Requirements

Core Requirement
NEUR 380 / PSYC 380FUNDAMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE SYSTEMS3
Area of Specialization
Select 1 from the following Areas of Specialization (see Areas of Specialization below):15
Humanities and Social Science
Natural Sciences and Engineering
Total Credit Hours18

Areas of Specialization

Area of Specialization: Humanities and Social Science

Students must complete a total of 5 courses (15 credit hours total) as listed below to satisfy the requirements for the Humanities and Social Sciences area of specialization.  

Required Course
NEUR 362 / PSYC 362COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE: EXPLORING THE LIVING BRAIN3
Elective Requirements 1, 2
Select a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) from the Humanities and Social Science area of specialization (see below for course lists)9
Select at least 1 course (3 credit hours) from the Natural Science and Engineering area of specialization to provide breadth in the field of Neuroscience (see below for course lists) 33
Total Credit Hours15
Footnotes and Additional Information
Area of Specialization: Natural Sciences and Engineering

Students must complete 5 courses (15 credit hours) as listed below to satisfy the requirements for the Natural Sciences and Engineering area of specialization.  

Required Course
BIOS 385CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THE NEURON3
Elective Requirements 1, 2
Select a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) from the Natural Science and Engineering area of specialization (see below for course lists)9
Select at least 1 course (3 credit hours) from the Humanities and Social Science area of specialization to provide breadth in the field of Neuroscience (see below for course lists) 33
Total Credit Hours15
Footnotes and Additional Information 

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements

Humanities and Social Science

All students must complete at least 1 course (such that at least 3 credit hours are completed) from the Humanities and Social Science Electives. Students pursuing the Humanities and Social Sciences area of specialization must take 2 additional courses (6 credit hours) from the following list, for a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours must be reached with a combination of all courses).

Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the following:
BIOS 128BRAINSTEM - TEACHING STEM THROUGH NEUROSCIENCE 11
HIST 353HISTORY OF SENSATION3
NEUR 411 / LING 411NEUROLINGUISTICS3
PHIL 130THE SCIENCES OF THE MIND3
PHIL 231ANIMAL MINDS3
PHIL 330PHILOSOPHY OF MIND3
PHIL 345THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE3
PHIL 431ADVANCED TOPICS IN THE SCIENCES OF THE MIND3
PSYC 308MEMORY3
PSYC 310PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING3
PSYC 354INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE3
PSYC 366METHODS IN SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE3
PSYC 375NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE AND MEMORY3
PSYC 432BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR3

Footnotes and Additional Information

Natural Sciences and Engineering

All students must complete at least 1 course (such that at least 3 credit hours are completed) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Electives. Students pursuing the Natural Sciences and Engineering area of specialization must take 2 additional courses (6 credit hours) from the following list, for a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours must be reached with a combination of all courses).

Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the following:
BIOS 315EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY1
BIOS 321ANIMAL BEHAVIOR3
BIOS 417EXPERIMENTAL CELL AND MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE1
BIOS 443DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY3
BIOE 492SENSORY NEUROENGINEERING3
COMP 440 / ELEC 440ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE4
ELEC 475LEARNING FROM SENSOR DATA3
NEUR 310INDEPENDENT RESEARCH FOR NEUROSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES 11-4
NEUR 382 / ELEC 382INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE3
NEUR 383 / BIOE 380 / ELEC 380INTRODUCTION TO NEUROENGINEERING: MEASURING AND MANIPULATING NEURAL ACTIVITY3
NEUR 415 / CMOR 415 / ELEC 488THEORETICAL NEUROSCIENCE: FROM CELLS TO LEARNING SYSTEMS3
NEUR 416 / CMOR 416 / ELEC 489NEURAL COMPUTATION3
 Footnotes and Additional Information

Policies for the Minor in Neuroscience 

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing minor in Neuroscience should be aware of the following program restrictions:

  • As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.
  • Students pursuing the BA Degree or the BS Degree with a major in Neuroscience may not additionally declare the minor in Neuroscience. 

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the minor in Neuroscience should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:

  • No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the minor. 
  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis. 

Additional Information

For additional information, please see the Neuroscience website: https://neuroscience.rice.edu/

Opportunities for the Minor in Neuroscience  

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Research in Neuroscience

Research is highly encouraged for all neuroscience programs, and many opportunities are available for independent research at Rice and other institutions of the Texas Medical Center. Students can receive course credit for independent research through the course NEUR 310.

Please Note: Students pursuing the minor in Neuroscience have a 3 credit hour limit for applying research courses to the NEUR minor requirements. 

Additional Information

For additional information, please see the Neuroscience website: https://neuroscience.rice.edu/