group of six female students doing research in lab.
Students review data and research results in Associate Professor Gunnar Kwakye’s neuroscience lab in Oberlin’s Science Center. Photo credit: Nora Rodriguez
Program Overview

Neuroscience

Program Type: Major
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department: Neuroscience

Our interdisciplinary science focus makes for a unique academic experience for students interested in studying neuroscience. We easily integrate this program with other sciences—chemistry, biology, physics, and more—to help students understand brain function, behavior, and consciousness.

Program Director

Tracie Paine Associate Professor of Neuroscience

Contact

Kristi Gibson Administrative Assistant 440-775-8768

Why Study Neuroscience at Oberlin?

10
Department Faculty
52
Variety of Courses
1
Science Library
professor observes three students woking in his lab.
During a winter term session, Assistant Professor Chris Howard works with four students investigating the role of dopamine inputs and Striosome in habit formation. Photo credit: Mike Crupi

Winter Term

Oberlin’s four-week winter term in January encourages students to discover the value of self-directed education. You may pursue individual or group projects that are directly linked to your field of study or explore opportunities unrelated to your major. Complete your project on or off campus.

Browse On-Campus Projects

Office of Winter Term

Gone Greek: Nu Rho Psi

While Oberlin doesn’t have fraternities and sororities, it does have several honorary societies. A local chapter of Nu Rho Psi, the National Honor Society in Neuroscience, is open to third- and fourth-year students who’ve achieved excellence in scholarship in neuroscience. Nu Rho Psi encourages neuroscience research, brain awareness, and professional interest in the field.

Neuroscience Majors Committee

Neuroscience majors do more than study and prepare research projects. They also know how to have fun. Through the Neuroscience Majors Committee, students organize events for students to get to know each other and faculty. The committee brings in guest speakers, sponsors panel discussions on timely subjects, and hosts potluck dinners, neuro game nights, study breaks, and more.

Sample Courses

  • NSCI 175 - Ecological Impacts and Invertebrate Neurobiology 4 credits
  • NSCI 201 - The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience 4 credits
  • NSCI 327 - Neuropharmacology Laboratory 2 credits
  • NSCI 360 - Cognitive Neuroscience 4 credits
Curriculum and requirements

Neuroscience Faculty

Our faculty are both scholars and teachers who devote their careers to making important contributions to their disciplines through writing and research. They are committed to undergraduate education and teach everything from first-year seminars to advanced courses.

Explore Faculty within Neuroscience

“I like teaching all of my courses for different reasons. I like to teach lab-based courses the most because you get to work closely with students. It is a very hands-on type of learning. Because of the structure of the labs, there is also time to get to know the students as individuals in a way that is difficult in lecture classes.”

Tracie Paine, Associate Professor of Neuroscience
See Profile

Neuroscience Faculty

Neuroscience News

A girl wearing a surgical mask stands with arms folded in a hallway.

A Lesson in Computational Modeling

October 29, 2020
“Computational modeling is the future of neuroscience!” raves Rochelle van der Merwe ’21. So when she had the chance to participate in a Carney Center for Computational Brain Science computational modeling workshop at Brown University, she took full advantage of the opportunity.
A student injects fluid into EEG electrodes

Pandemic Impact Award Helps Zoe Swann ’19 Continue Research on StartReact Effect

September 9, 2020
After graduating from Oberlin College with high honors in neuroscience and a concentration in linguistics, Zoe Swann ’19 immediately embarked on a PhD program at Arizona State University (ASU), where she began writing a literature review, and started developing a dissertation proposal. Then COVID-19 struck. It brought her research to a screeching halt until her lab was granted a $1,500 Pandemic Impact Award to support research expenses.
View all Neuroscience news