In article <5k377h$q69 at nnrp1.farm.idt.net>,
Carolyn Fredericks <phi at IDT.NET> wrote:
>>What about undergraduate programs in neuroscience? I'm a junior in high
>school and I've begun to realize that a neuroscience major is not
>exactly a common offering in most colleges. Of those schools which do have
>a neuroscience or cognitive science major, which would you recommend in
>terms of overall quality, technology, range of course offerings, etc.?
>I'm also interested in summer undergraduate research programs.
>Thanks.
>--Carolyn Fredericks
Brown University has a very good neuroscience major for undergraduates.
Professor Mark Bear has really done a great job in establishing the major
and I think he's also written a textbook.
Franklin and Marshall College has something called the "Biological
Basis of Behavior" program, which is administered through the biology and
psychology departments, and students are doing some good neuroscience
research in this program.
Caltech has a great summer undergraduate research program, called SURF
(summer undergraduate research fellowship). You can get to a SURF web
page via the Caltech web page (www.caltech.edu).
Just a word of warning. I would encourage you strongly to do summer
undergraduate research. However, as far as a major is concerned,
you might want to think twice before getting so specialized as an
undergraduate. After you graduate from college or university, there will
be a lot less of an opportunity to learn creative writing, or art
history, or soviet politics (just to name a few examples off the top of
my head), than there was at the undergraduate school. Whereas if you
decide to go on to graduate school, you will have plenty of opportunity
to learn all the neuroscience you can stand.
Maybe this is inappropriate for this newsgroup, but there really is more
to life than neuroscience :).
Karen