NSB Major
The Curriculum
The NSB curriculum requires the completion of 13 courses (5 core neuroscience courses; 3 introductory courses from cognate disciplines; 3 elective courses; a year-long research seminar counting as 2 courses) and a senior thesis. For detailed information about the required courses, click on "The NSB Curriculum" below.
An important note for pre-med students
Declaring a NSB Major
Students should first meet with their pre-major academic advisor to discuss their intention for declaring the NSB major and for reviewing the accuracy of their degree audit, including transfer credits. If a student has an NSB advisor in mind, it is recommended that she contacts this faculty member directly to discuss whether he or she is taking new advisees. Students should also make an appointment to meet with the Department Representative, Prof. Kara Pham, to discuss their plans for majoring in NSB. You can sign up for a one-on-one appointment at https://calendly.com/karapham. A student must initiate her major declaration form. Students must declare a major by March 1 of their sophomore year.
FAQ about the Major and NSB Courses
• Dr. Michele Miozzo (Department Administrator) mmiozzo@barnard.edu
- Can help you find the best faculty member or administrator when you are not sure how to get your questions answered or problem solved
• Prof. Rae Silver (Department Chair) rsilver@barnard.edu
- Questions about Major declaration
- Transfer students
• Prof. Kara Pham (Departmental Representative) kpham@barnard.edu
- Questions about NSB major requirements
- Questions about course labs
- Questions about transfer credits for the NSB major
- Questions about seminars
- Questions about Chemistry Department courses
• Prof. Peter Balsam pbalsam@barnard.edu
- Questions about Senior Thesis
• Prof. Maria Fernandez (SRI Department Representative) mfernand@barnard.edu
- Questions about Independent Study
• Prof. Liz Bauer ebauer@barnard.edu
- Questions about Biology Department courses
• Prof. Russell Romeo rromeo@barnard.edu
- Questions about Psychology Department courses
Students should first meet with their current academic advisor to discuss their intention for declaring the NSB major and for reviewing the accuracy of their degree audit, including transfer credits. If a student has an NSB advisor in mind, it is recommended that she contacts this faculty member directly to discuss whether he or she is taking new advisees. Students should also make an appointment to meet with the Department Representative, Prof. Kara Pham, to discuss their plans for majoring in NSB. You can sign up for a one-on-one appointment at https://calendly.com/karapham. A student must initiate her major declaration form.
Any faculty member in the NSB Department can serve as your advisor. You should pick somebody whose area of interest overlaps with yours and/or somebody with whom you feel comfortable. Make sure you confirm that she/he is accepting new advisees at this time. You should realize that selecting an advisor is an important decision, but not a momentous one. You can always change your advisor, and you are welcome to consult with other faculty members. If you do not have an advisor in mind, the department will assign you one.
Several courses in the Departments of Psychology and Biological Science at Columbia can be used to fulfill NSB major requirements. The list of Overlapping CU Courses can be found here.
• Q: How do I sign up for introductory Biology courses? A: There are several introductory courses offered by the Biology Department here at Barnard. Please visit the Department's website for course descriptions and information on signing up for lectures and labs.
• Q: How do I sign up for upper-level Biology courses? A: All upper-level Biology labs are limited to 16 students. When you register for one of these labs, you will automatically be put on the wait-list. Seniors will be taken off the wait-list first, followed by juniors. Please note that if you receive a seat in a lab, you must attend the first lab. If you are absent from this lab meeting, you will be dropped from the course and your seat will be filled by another student.
• Q: I didn't get into my preferred upper-level Biology lab? What do I do now? A: If you do not get into your first choice lab course you may sign-up for a spot on the wait-list. L courses now have a wait-list function as explained on the Registrar website.
- For questions about Biology Department courses please contact Prof. Liz Bauer ebauer@barnard.edu
The course Independent Study offers students the opportunity to earn credits while conducting a research project. You can learn more about this course here.
• Q: How do I sign up for introductory Biology courses? A: There are several introductory courses offered by the Biology Department here at Barnard. Please visit the Department's website for course descriptions and information on signing up for lectures and labs.
• Q: How do I sign up for upper-level Biology courses? A: All upper-level Biology labs are limited to 16 students. When you register for one of these labs, you will automatically be put on the wait-list. Seniors will be taken off the wait-list first, followed by juniors. Please note that if you receive a seat in a lab, you must attend the first lab. If you are absent from this lab meeting, you will be dropped from the course and your seat will be filled by another student.
• Q: I didn't get into my preferred upper-level Biology lab? What do I do now? A: If you do not get into your first choice lab course you may sign-up for a spot on the wait-list. L courses now have a wait-list function as explained on the Registrar website.
- For questions about Biology Department courses please contact Prof. Liz Bauer ebauer@barnard.edu
This is a question we receive a lot: "I am a sophomore following the new NSB major curriculum. Are PSYC BC1101 Statistics or Columbia’s STAT UN1101 Introduction to Statistics an acceptable swap for NSB Statistics & Research Design in the new curriculum, or is this only applicable for the old curriculum?"
Answer: Students have many options. Statistics & Research Design is offered by the NSB department. NSB Statistics & Research Design course emphasizes experimental design and places less emphasis on statistics than BC1101 or UN1101. NSB Statistics & Research Design is more relevant to thinking about how to understand brain and behavior and is the course introduced in the new NSB curriculum. Other courses that meet the NSB major requirement are PSYC BC1101 Statistics and three Columbia courses (STAT UN1101 Introduction to Statistics, STAT UN1201 Calculus-based Introduction to Statistics, and PSYC UN1610 Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences).
Question: What courses count for a major/minor or a double major?
Answer: Students are not permitted to double count a class for a major/minor or a double major. For example, NSB senior thesis may not be used to satisfy a requirement for any other major/minor.
The rule that prohibits double counting of major/minor classes means that a student who elects to add a major or minor in addition to NSB typically chooses a second discipline that has no overlap at all with the NSB major, i.e., majoring in NSB and minoring in English.