What careers can you pursue with a minor in Neuroscience?
By
Jaimar Tuarez
This short guide answers the question “ What careers can you pursue with a Neuroscience minor?” We will also tackle what a minor in neuroscience entails as well as what are the intended learning outcome for this program.
What careers can you pursue with a minor in Neuroscience?
A minor in Neuroscience can prepare you to make contributions in the following careers:
- Biomedicine
- Biopsychology
- Biotechnology
- Cognitive Rehabilitation
- Health Psychology
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Neurology
- Neuropsychology
- Neuroscience
- Pharmaceuticals
- Psychiatric Healthcare
- Public Health
- Veterinary Medicine
What is Neuroscience?
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary branch of biology that deals with the study of the structure, functions, development, and processes of the nervous system as well as its related parts such as the brain, eyes, ears, and spinal cord.
As an interdisciplinary, neuroscience also touches on other scientific studies such as chemistry, molecular biology, psychology, physiology, mathematics, engineering, philosophy, computer science, and medicine.
The field of Neuroscience is an important science because it contributes to a better understanding of different conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, Schizophrenia, and more.
The resulting findings in Neuroscience might help us develop new types of treatment and medication for diseases involving the nervous system and its related parts.
Neuroscience is a new and emerging study that touches on every aspect of being “alive” and more than 1 billion people are affected by neurological conditions and adding up each year.
Some of the major branches of Neuroscience are Affective neuroscience, Behavioral neuroscience, Clinical neuroscience, Cognitive neuroscience, Computational neuroscience, Cultural neuroscience, Developmental neuroscience, Molecular and cellular neuroscience, Neuroengineering, Neuroimaging, Neuroinformatics, Neurolinguistics, and Neurophysiology.
A degree in neuroscience can lead to careers in forensics, health education, pharmaceuticals, residential counseling, and other fields even without an advanced degree.
Neuroscience is an ever-growing field that is being recognized for its contributions not just to the study of the nervous system and the mind but also to how it affects the overall functions of living organisms, especially in the humans, and the developing conditions in the nervous system such as neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injuries and substance abuse in our society.
What is a minor in Neuroscience?
A minor in neuroscience is designed to provide students in science and non-science majors alike who want to have formal recognition and in-depth knowledge in the study of the nervous system or the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience.
A minor in Neuroscience is a deliberate program in which students can customize to any of the following majors:
- Biology
- Psychology
- Biochemistry
- Nutrition
- human development and family studies
- Genetics
- Biobehavioral health
- Kinesiology
- Animal and poultry science
- Veterinary science.
- Forensic
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical sciences
- Biology, pharmacology
- Toxicology
- Experimental psychology
- Biological psychology
- Clinical psychology
- Cognitive sciences
- Law
- Bioethics
- Philosophy
- Anthropology
- Public health
- Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
- Medicine
A minor in neuroscience can also help students in other related disciplines to have comprehensive knowledge and skills in research for technical and professional purposes.
An example program with a minor in neuroscience is a pairing with major studies in biology and psychology wherein the focus is on how the brain and the nervous system, their processes, and other intricacies affect and control behavior.
This pairing is particularly useful since it is interrelated and it will help them be aware of scientific progress that will prepare them for career opportunities and graduate programs in psychology or neuroscience.
As the demand for professionals trained in neuroscience is growing, many students in other fields find themselves having a good fit for a neuroscience minor, especially those who are interested in becoming a health care provider.
Students who took up a minor in neuroscience are expected to further their education in many areas such as medicine, therapy, biology, veterinary, pharmacology, toxicology, psychology, neuroscience, toxicology, forensic science, and many more.
But completing a minor in neuroscience can also open doors for students in many career areas as it is interdisciplinary and covers a lot of sciences as well as laboratory works and research skills for a broadly-based foundation in neuroscience.
As the demand for professionals trained in neuroscience is growing, many students in other fields find themselves having a good fit for a neuroscience minor, especially those who are interested in becoming a health care provider.
What are the learning outcomes of a Neuroscience minor?
The overall goals and objectives of the neuroscience major are the following:
- To prepare the students to apply neuroscience critically in different levels or organizations to both humans and animals
- To understand how dysfunctional processes in the nervous system can develop neurological and psychiatric conditions
- To combine information from different related fields of sciences to better understand the brain and its functions and processes
- To develop cognizance of how human behavior is controlled primarily by the brain
- To have a strong foundation in the field of neuroscience and how its advancements help in identifying current challenges in health and diseases.
- To be able to conduct and interpret neuroscience research in different statistical analyses
- To be able to show discernment on the different methods used in neuroscience research by doing research proposal studies and having discourse on methods employed in neuroscience studies
Conclusion:
Neuroscience is a broad field that covers fields of science such as psychology, biology, engineering, chemistry, physics, physiology, pharmacology, and mathematics to investigate the function, processes, structure, organization, and development of the nervous system.
It is one of the fastest-growing disciplines of science as advancements in this field through research, laboratory work, and other methods helped us better understand how the nervous system affects all human processes and what it really means to be alive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): What careers can you pursue with a minor in Neuroscience?
Is there a future in neuroscience?
Yes, there is a future in neuroscience, especially in the fields of Genome Engineering, Computational Neuroscience, Systems Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Cognitive Neuroscience.
Is a neuroscience minor hard?
Yes, neuroscience courses are difficult as they include a lot of terminology memorization in core classes in hard sciences like math, chemistry, and biology.
Is neuroscience related to mental health?
Yes, because neuroscience can help us focus on where and how to research and treat some of the underlying factors behind mental disorders. For example, we will understand how some people have more ability to successfully overcome a stressful challenge.
Reference
Akil, H., Balice-Gordon, R., Cardozo, D. L., Koroshetz, W., Norris, S. M. P., Sherer, T., … & Thiels, E. (2016). Neuroscience training for the 21st century. Neuron, 90(5), 917-926.
Bartfai, Tamas, Tom Insel, Gord Fishell, and Nancy Rothwell. “Choices in neuroscience careers.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, no. 5 (2008): 401-405.
Goswami, U. (2006). Neuroscience and education: from research to practice?. Nature reviews neuroscience, 7(5), 406-413.
NEUROSCIENCE, MINOR https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/intercollege/neuroscience-minor/
What can you do with a degree in neuroscience? https://pni.princeton.edu/undergraduate-concentration/careers-neuroscience
What is neuroscience? Written by Yvette Brazier on June 26, 2018
