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Major Requirements

Neuroscience Major

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 for the Major

​The courses underlined must be completed before beginning the Neuroscience core series or declaring the major.

Math Courses

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, 23L 

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 and 30B, must take Stats 13 or Life Sciences 40.

Note: For students who take Math 3ABC or Math 31AB, 32A series, 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.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PREPARATION FOR THE MAJOR

  • Any honors section of a course listed above is also acceptable.
  • All core curriculum courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Each course must be passed with a grade of C- or above.
  • The preparation coursework must be completed with an overall 2.0 grade point average or higher. 
  • Students receiving grades below C- in more than two preparation courses (listed above), either in separate courses or repetitions of the same course, 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. 
  • You are encouraged to fulfill the preparation requirements prior to enrollment in upper division courses for the major.

Required Major Coursework

The following ten (10) courses are required for the neuroscience major, for a total of 43 upper division units.

ALL UPPER DIVISION MAJOR COURSES MUST BE TAKEN FOR A LETTER GRADE.

IMPORTANT: No more than eight courses total may be from any one department (i.e. NEUROSC, PSYCH, PHYSCI, etc.).

Please enroll in electives from different departments to avoid going over the maximum of eight courses students can take in any one department.  

If the course is multiple-listed, the section of the course you are enrolled in (i.e. NEUROSC M176, PHYSCI M176) will be the department on your record. 

Required Core Courses (5 courses)

  • Neuroscience M101A: Fall Quarter Only 
    • Prerequisites: LIFESCI 7C, CHEM 14C/30A, PHYSICS 5C/1B
  • Neuroscience 102: Fall Quarter 
    • 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, 1 from each elective category)

A * next to an elective course number means the elective is cross-listed in another category, but only counts for one category.

Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience

  • Disability Studies M139
  • Music Industry M103
  • Neuroscience M119L, CM123*, 142, M161, M170, C172, M176*, C177*, 178, 179, M187*, 191A
  • Physiological Science M106*, CM123*, C130*, C144*, 175*, M176*, M181* 
  • Psychology 110, 112A, 112B*, 112C*, 112E, 118, 119A*, 119B*, 119C-F, 119I*, 119J*, M119L, 119M*, M119O, 119P, 119R, 119S*, 119U, M119X*, 120A, 120B*, 124A, 124B, 124C*, 124D (Consciousness: Current Debates), 124K, 127B, 137A* (previously PSYCH 188B – Neuroscience of Social Perception), M139, 161, 164*, M166*
  • Psychiatry 174, 176, M182

Systems and Integrative Neuroscience

  • Neuroscience M119N, CM123*, M135, M145*, M176*, C177*, M187*, 191B
  • Physics C186*
  • Physiological Science M106*, CM123*, C126*, C127*, C130*, M135, 138, C144*, M145*, 146*, 147*, 173, M176*, 177, M181*
  • Psychology 112B*, 112C*, M117J*, 119A*, 119B*, 119I*, 119J*, 119M*, M119N, 119Q, 119S*, M119X*, 120B*, 124C*, 137A*, 162*, 164*, M166*

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Neuroscience

  • Neuroscience M145*, 150, C177*, 180, 181, 182, 186, M187*, 191C
  • Physics C186*
  • Physiological Science  M106*, 121, C126*, C127*, M145*, 146*, 147*, 174, 175*, M181*
  • Psychology 119A*, 162*, M166*

PLEASE READ: If any of the electives listed below are not populating on your Degree Audit Report (DARS), please email a Neuroscience Academic Advisor (neurosci@ucla.edu) and the class will be manually substituted in your Degree Audit Report.

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

IMPORTANT NOTES

1. 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.

2. ​Please read the course notes when enrolling in electives – they include important information regarding enrollment.

3. For Psychology electives, Neuroscience majors and minors are not held to completing pre-reqs like PSYCH 10, 115, or 100A. Psychology electives will open during second pass to Neuroscience majors and minors, unless otherwise noted in the course notes. 

Capstone Research Options (2 courses)

Please see Capstone requirement options at this link.

PLEASE NOTE

  • Psychology 115 and Physiological Science 111A cannot be substituted for Neuroscience M101A.
  • A student will receive 0 credit units if Psych 115 is taken AFTER completing Neuroscience M101A.
  • A maximum of eight units of Neuroscience 198 or 199 may be applied toward the major.
  • All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade, and a 2.0 average must be maintained in all upper division courses taken for the major.
  • Students will still need about 17 additional upper division units in order to reach the 60 minimum required by the UCLA College of Letters and Science.