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Major Requirements

The scientific study of the brain requires the skills of many different disciplines. Thus, this major is interdisciplinary and interdepartmental. The faculty are biologists, psychologists, biochemists, mathematicians, and engineers, all of whom share a fascination with the function of the brain. The brain is studied at many different levels, including the molecular and cellular levels, the level of systems of neurons, and the behavioral level.

On April 7, 2009, the Undergraduate Council of the Academic Senate, Curriculum Committee certified the Neuroscience, B.S. as a capstone major. The Neuroscience capstone is a project-based culmination to the Neuroscience curriculum. In the Neuroscience major, the capstone requirement is satisfied by participating in research, either under the guidance of an individual faculty member, through enrolling in a research methods class, NS 101L, and an extra elective, or DOPA Team. Completion of one of these three paths provides students with an in-depth exposure to neuroscience research and provides a culminating capstone experience for Neuroscience majors.

Preparation Coursework for the Major

​The courses in BOLD must be completed before beginning the Neuroscience M101/102 core series or declaring the major.

Mathematics

Choose one (1) Math series from the following:

Life Sciences 30A and 30B OR Mathematics 3A, 3B, 3C OR Mathematics 31A, 31B, 32A

Note: MATH 31AL is approved for the Neuroscience major and may be taken in place of MATH 3A or 31A. 

Chemistry

Choose one (1) Chemistry series from the following: 

Chemistry and Biochemistry 14A, 14B, 14BL, 14C, 14CL, 14D OR 20A, 20B, 20L, 30A, 30AL, 30B, 30BL

Note: The “enhanced” sections of Chemistry (i.e., CHEM 14AE, CHEM 14BE, etc.) have been approved for the Neuroscience major and may be taken in place of the regular sections.

Life Sciences

Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C, 7L

Physics

Choose one (1) Physics series from the following: 

Physics 5A, 5B, 5C OR 1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, 4BL

Statistics

Choose one (1) Statistics course from the following: 

Statistics 10 OR Statistics 13* OR Life Sciences 40*

*Students who take Life Sciences 30A/B, must take Stats 13 or Life Sciences 40.

Note: For students who take Math 3A/B/C or Math 31A/B/32A, you may substitute Stats 10 or 13 with Psychology 100A or Biostats 100A/110A. These classes will be automatically approved substitutions. Students must notify a Neuroscience Academic Advisor to have this substitution applied on their DARS.

Important Notes for Major Preparation Coursework:

  • Each course must be passed with a grade of C- or higher.
  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Students must complete the preparation coursework with an overall 2.0 grade point average or higher. 
  • All honors and enhanced sections of a course listed above are also acceptable.
  • Students who repeat more than two (2) preparation courses or any preparation course more than once are subject to dismissal from the major. 
  • Also, as stated in UCLA Letters and Science regulations (UCLA General Catalog Repetition of Courses), you are limited to repeating the same course once. 
  • Students are encouraged to fulfill the preparation coursework requirements prior to enrollment in upper division courses for the major.

Upper Division Major Requirements

The following ten (10) courses are required for the neuroscience major, totaling to approximately 43 upper division units.

Required Core Courses (5 courses)

  • Neuroscience M101A: Fall Quarter Only
    • Prerequisites: LIFESCI 7C, CHEM 14C/30A, PHYSICS 5C/1B
  • Neuroscience 102: Fall Quarter or Summer
    • Co-requisite: must be taken concurrently with NEUROSC M101A OR summer prior to taking NEUROSC M101A (when offered in summer)
    • Prerequisite: LIFESCI 7C
  • Neuroscience M101B: Winter Quarter Only
    • Prerequisites: NEUROSC M101A with a grade of C- or better
  • Neuroscience M101C: Spring Quarter Only
    • Prerequisites: NEUROSC M101A with a grade of C- or better
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry (CHEM) 153A
    • Prerequisites: CHEM 14D/30B

Note: Chemistry 153L was removed from the Neuroscience major requirements effective Fall 2017. If you are a student that entered prior to Fall 17 and the course is showing on your DARS as a requirement, please email neurosci@ucla.edu to remove the course manually. Thank you!

Major Electives (3 courses)

Complete one elective from each category.

Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience

Systems and Integrative Neuroscience

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Neuroscience

Important Notes for Major Electives:

  • Electives with an asterik (*) are cross-listed in more than one category, but can only satisfy one category.
  • If any of the electives listed above are not populating on your DARS, please email neurosci@ucla.edu so that the course can be manually substituted.
  • ​Please refer to the class notes when enrolling in any elective, as they will often include important information regarding enrollment.
  • Neurobio M169 can be taken as an elective provided that students will still complete one elective for each of the 3 elective options above. This class is a good option for students taking NEUROSC 101L + 1 Additional Elective.
  • For Psychology electives, Neuroscience majors/minors are not held to completing pre-reqs like PSYCH 10, 115, or 100A. Psychology electives will typically open for Neuroscience majors/minors to enroll during the second enrollment pass, unless otherwise noted in the class notes. 

This list of electives is the most current list of approved electives and is kept up-to-date.

Major Capstone (2 courses)

Please review the major capstone requirement options here.

Important Notes for Major Requirements:
  • PSYCH 115 and PHYSCI 111A cannot be substituted for NEUROSC M101A.
  • A student will receive 0 credit units if PSYCH 115 is taken AFTER completing NEUROSC M101A.
  • A maximum of eight units of NEUROSC 198 or 199 may be applied toward the major.
  • All upper division courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade, and a 2.0 GPA overall must be maintained.
  • No more than eight (8) courses total may be from any one department. Thus, it is typically recommended for students to take at least one elective outside of the department to avoid surpassing this limit.
  • If a course is multiple-listed, the section of the course you are enrolled in (i.e. NEUROSC M176, PHYSCI M176) will be the course listing on your record. 
  • Students will need about 17 additional upper division units in order to reach the 60 minimum required by the UCLA College of Letters and Science.

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