Bachelor's in Neuroscience

Santa Clara University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs across various fields, including business, engineering, humanities, and sciences. The university's emphasis on a well-rounded education, which combines academic rigor with a commitment to social responsibility, sets it apart. Santa Clara's dedicated faculty and campus community foster an environment where students can excel both academically and as compassionate, socially aware individuals. The university's mission to educate the whole person and promote justice and ethical leadership prepares graduates to make a positive impact in their careers and communities, aligning with the values of the Jesuit tradition.

Neuroscience examines the bidirectional relations between the nervous system and behavior and includes perspectives from a variety of disciplines, including biology, psychology, chemistry, philosophy and engineering. As an interdisciplinary field, neuroscience applies various methodologies to study the molecular, cellular, developmental, evolutionary, structural, functional, and pathophysiological aspects of the nervous system and its relation to behavior and cognition. The neuroscience curriculum at Santa Clara is structured so that students learn the multiple levels of analysis needed to understand the complexities of human and non-human behavior. At the cellular and molecular level, students learn how individual neurons process and produce electrochemical signals to support inter-cell communication. At the systems level, students learn how neurons interact to form circuits through which sensory information from the environment is processed and motor behavior and other adaptive output is produced. At the cognitive level, students study human thought, emotion, and behavior by looking at the structure and function of human brains in normal and diseased states. Education in neuroscience will prepare students for a variety of fields that are well-positioned to help understand, treat, and possibly prevent many of global disorders from Alzheimer’s disease, autism and alcoholism to Zika virus-induced microencephalopathy.