The Neuroscience integrated learning major (ILM) complements multiple undergraduate majors in several Schools and Colleges at Syracuse University including the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Falk College, and the School of Education. Our students have matriculated from different majors including, but not limited to, biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, chemistry, communication sciences and disorders (CSD), computer sciences, linguistics, philosophy, political science, physics, psychology, public health, and public policy. We strive to be as inclusive as possible, and we will work with departments and colleges to facilitate student enrollment and completion of the ILM course of study.

This program of study requires coursework in at least three traditional academic departments. Elective coursework allows students to pursue their interests in a broad variety of departments, reflecting the diverse fields that constitute contemporary neural science. Areas of study include molecular, cellular, systems, and cognitive levels using research tools that vary from behavioral testing to electrophysiology to biomedical imaging to computational and theoretical work.

Finally, a capstone course examines how research in neuroscience touches on diverse problems beyond the laboratory.

The neuroscience ILM provides an excellent complement to undergraduate training in the base majors. Examples include:

• For Biology and Biochemistry students, neurobiology has long been a core area of research. The neuroscience major offers Biology and Biochemistry students an opportunity to receive focused training in neurobiology and make interdisciplinary connections to study the brain from other perspectives.
• Many of the disorders of interest to students studying Communication Sciences and Disorders, including aphasia, voice disorders, and hearing impairment, are directly caused by neural dysfunction. Consequently, tools from cognitive neuroscience are core techniques used to assess and study the auditory and linguistic systems.
• The neuroscience ILM provides Linguistics students training in techniques of cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology that will enable them to pursue graduate training or employment in the growing field of neurolinguistics.
• Philosophy students will learn about the biological substrates underlying consciousness and cognition.
• Physics students acquire training that prepare them for graduate work in theoretical and computational neuroscience, as well as cognitive neuroscience.
• Psychology students benefit from learning about the physical basis of cognition, behavior and, ultimately, the mind.
• The ILM enhances the ability of Engineering students to contribute to cutting-edge technologies such as neural prosthetics and to construct intelligent devices that mimic human abilities in perception and reasoning.