Neuroscience: Cellular & Molecular, B.S.

Learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience: Cellular and Molecular.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience: Cellular & Molecular is designed to provide rigorous preparation in scientific knowledge at the molecular and cellular level to those students interested in pursuing advanced studies and professional development in neuroscience, medicine or a related field in life sciences. In addition to neuroscience, graduates in the major will be well prepared for graduate or professional studies in cell or molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, biomedical sciences, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and many allied health fields. Neuroscience graduates who do not pursue graduate studies will be prepared to accept technical positions in industry (pharmaceutical, biotech) or government and university laboratories. Graduates will be ready to conduct research on a range of neuroscience and related topics at the level of cells or molecules, including nervous system function, development, disease or injury.

Undergraduate Contact Information:

Dr. Robert Sanders, Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 255
215-204-8851

Dr. Erik Cordes, Vice Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 315
215-204-8876

Dr. Eleni Anni, Faculty Advisor
Neuroscience: Cellular & Molecular Majors
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 352B
215-204-5764
eleni.anni@temple.edu

Bachelor of Science 

Summary of Requirements for the Degree

1. University Requirements (123 total s.h.)
   • Students must complete all University requirements including those listed below.
   • All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses at Temple as part of their major. The specific writing-intensive course options for this major are:

     Course List

     Code	Title	Credit Hours
     BIOL 2296	Genetics	4
     BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function	4
     BIOL 3396	Scientific Writing for Biology: The Art of Communicating	3

   • Students must complete the General Education (GenEd) requirements.
     • See the General Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for the GenEd curriculum.
     • Students who complete CST majors receive a waiver for 2 Science & Technology (GS) and 1 Quantitative Literacy (GQ) GenEd courses.
   • Students must satisfy general Temple University residency requirements.
2. College Requirements
   • 45 Upper Level (2000+) credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
   • 90 credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
   • All students in the College of Science and Technology are required to take a one credit first year seminar. SCTC 1001 CST First Year Seminar is the appropriate course option for every entering first year CST major. Transfer students should use SCTC 2001 CST Transfer Seminar to fulfill this requirement. Other courses that fulfill this requirement may be found on the CST College Requirements page.
3. Major Requirements for Bachelor of Science (75-82 s.h.)
   At least 9 courses required for the major must be completed at Temple. At least 4 Biology courses must be completed at Temple.

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   Biology
   BIOL 1111	Introduction to Organismal Biology	4
   or BIOL 1911	Honors Introduction to Organismal Biology
   BIOL 2112	Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology	4
   or BIOL 2912	Honors Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology
   BIOL 2296	Genetics (S)	4
   BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function (F)	4
   BIOL 3352	Systems Neuroscience	3
   BIOL 3358	Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (S)	3
   Chemistry
   CHEM 1031 & CHEM 1033	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I	4
   or CHEM 1951 & CHEM 1953	Honors General Chemical Science I and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory I
   CHEM 1032 & CHEM 1034	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Laboratory II	4
   or CHEM 1952 & CHEM 1954	Honors General Chemical Science II and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory II
   CHEM 2201 & CHEM 2203	Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I	4
   or CHEM 2211 & CHEM 2213	Organic Chemistry for Majors I and Organic Majors Laboratory I
   or CHEM 2921 & CHEM 2923	Organic Chemistry for Honors I and Organic Honors Laboratory I
   CHEM 2202 & CHEM 2204	Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II	4
   or CHEM 2212 & CHEM 2214	Organic Chemistry for Majors II and Organic Majors Laboratory II
   or CHEM 2922 & CHEM 2924	Organic Chemistry for Honors II and Organic Honors Laboratory II
   Mathematics
   Select one of the following:		4
   MATH 1041	Calculus I
   MATH 1941	Honors Calculus I
   Select one of the following:		4
   MATH 1044	Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences
   MATH 1042	Calculus II
   MATH 1942	Honors Calculus II
   Neuroscience
   Neuroscience electives - select five of the following: 1		15-20
   BIOL 3232	Behavioral Genetics (F)
   BIOL 3312	Biostatistics (F)
   BIOL 3324	Molecular Biology
   BIOL 3325	Research Techniques in Molecular Biology (S)
   BIOL 3333	Advanced Techniques in Microscopy (S)
   BIOL 3334	Mammalian Physiology (S)
   BIOL 3337	Comparative Biomechanics
   BIOL 3354	Neural Basis of Animal Behavior (F - odd years)
   BIOL 3356	Organization and Development of the Nervous System (F - even years)
   BIOL 3361	Molecular Neuropharmacology
   BIOL 3365	The New Neuroimmunology
   BIOL 4375	General Biochemistry I
   CIS 1166	Mathematical Concepts in Computing I 2
   or CIS 1966	Honors Mathematical Concepts in Computing I
   NSCI 3087	Techniques in Neuroscience (non-CST course)
   PSY 2501	Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience (non-CST course)
   PSY 2502	Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience (non-CST course)
   Neuroscience Research/Independent Study courses 3
   Take the following for a total of 6-8 credits:		6-8
   BIOL 4591	Research in Neuroscience (or Neuroscience Independent Study)
   BIOL 4591	Research in Neuroscience (or Neuroscience Independent Study)
   Physics
   PHYS 2021	General Physics I	4
   or PHYS 2921	Honors General Physics I
   PHYS 2022	General Physics II	4
   or PHYS 2922	Honors General Physics II
   Total Credit Hours		75-82

   1	Three of the five electives must be within the College of Science & Technology.
   2	CIS 1166 or CIS 1966 may be replaced with CIS 1053.
   3	Neuroscience Research/Independent Study courses should be determined in consultation with the Neuroscience faculty advisor. Students are required to have BOTH a B- or above in BIOL 3352 AND a Science GPA of 3.2 to take Neuroscience Research, BIOL 4591. Students are required to have BOTH a B- or above in BIOL 3352 AND a Science GPA of 3.0 to take Independent Study in Neuroscience. The Science GPA consists of all required courses in Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics.

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   (F) - Fall course only
   (S) - Spring only course

Calculation of Major GPA

Courses listed under the major requirements for the degree will be included in the calculation of the major GPA. Courses that could not apply toward the major as an elective or required course would not be counted in the calculation of the major GPA. This would include BIOL 1011, for example.

A total of up to 3 s.h. of Biology research courses numbered lower than 4000 from the list below may be taken for a letter grade. Any additional credits in research courses in this category can be taken only on a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) basis. No research courses numbered lower than 4000 may be used for Biology elective credit. 

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
BIOL 2082	Independent Research I (not repeatable)	1 to 4
BIOL 3082	Independent Research II	1 to 4
BIOL 3181	Cooperative Research in Biochemistry	3
BIOL 3281	Cooperative Research in Biochemistry	3
BIOL 3681	Cooperative Studies	2 to 4

Distinction in the Major

Distinction in Neuroscience is awarded based upon the completion of two semesters of BIOL 4591, submission of a paper, a poster presentation, AND maintaining a GPA of 3.2.

Suggested Academic Plan

Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience: Cellular & Molecular

Requirements for New Students starting in the 2022-2023 Academic Year

Year 1
Fall		Credit Hours
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 1031 & CHEM 1033	General Chemistry I
CHEM 1951 & CHEM 1953	Honors General Chemical Science I (F)
MATH 1041 or 1941	Calculus I	4
SCTC 1001	CST First Year Seminar	1
ENG 0802, 0812, or 0902	Analytical Reading and Writing [GW]	4
Elective		2
	Term Credit Hours	15
Spring
BIOL 1111 or 1911	Introduction to Organismal Biology	4
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 1032 & CHEM 1034	General Chemistry II
CHEM 1952 & CHEM 1954	Honors General Chemical Science II (S)
Select one of the following:		4
MATH 1044	Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences
MATH 1042	Calculus II
MATH 1942	Honors Calculus II
IH 0851 or 0951	Intellectual Heritage I: The Good Life [GY]	3
	Term Credit Hours	15
Year 2
Fall
BIOL 2112 or 2912	Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology	4
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 2201 & CHEM 2203	Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 2211 & CHEM 2213	Organic Chemistry for Majors I
CHEM 2921 & CHEM 2923	Organic Chemistry for Honors I (F)
IH 0852 or 0952	Intellectual Heritage II: The Common Good [GZ]	3
Elective		5
	Term Credit Hours	16
Spring
BIOL 2296	Genetics [WI] (S)	4
BIOL 3352	Systems Neuroscience	3
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 2202 & CHEM 2204	Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 2212 & CHEM 2214	Organic Chemistry for Majors II
CHEM 2922 & CHEM 2924	Organic Chemistry for Honors II (S)
GenEd Breadth Course		3-4
Elective		1-0
	Term Credit Hours	15
Year 3
Fall
BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function [WI] (F)	4
Neuroscience Elective1		3-4
PHYS 2021 or 2921	General Physics I	4
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		1-0
	Term Credit Hours	15
Spring
BIOL 3358	Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (S)	3
Neuroscience Elective1		3-4
PHYS 2022 or 2922	General Physics II	4
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		2-1
	Term Credit Hours	15
Year 4
Fall
BIOL 4591	Research in Neuroscience (or Neuroscience Independent Study)2	3-4
Neuroscience Elective1		3-4
Neuroscience Elective1		3-4
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		4-1
	Term Credit Hours	16
Spring
BIOL 4591	Research in Neuroscience (or Neuroscience Independent Study)2	3-4
Neuroscience Elective1		3-4
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		7-5
	Term Credit Hours	16
	Total Credit Hours:	123

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
(F) - Fall only course
(S) - Spring only course

1

Select from the Neuroscience Electives list under Requirements.

2

Neuroscience Research/Independent Study courses should be determined in consultation with the neuroscience faculty advisor. Students are required to have BOTH a B- or above in BIOL 3352 AND a Science GPA of 3.2 to take Neuroscience Research, BIOL 4591. Students are required to have BOTH a B- or above in BIOL 3352 AND a Science GPA of 3.0 to take Independent Study in Neuroscience. The Science GPA consists of all required courses in Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics.