Goucher College launches neuroscience major

This semester, Goucher College launched its new neuroscience major, which provides students with an interdisciplinary path to explore the nervous system and its role in cognition, behavior, and physiological processes. Through the lens of mind-brain-behavior relationships, students will explore questions about human nature, fostering insights into consciousness, perception, and interaction with the world. This new major is in addition to the more than 30 other majors Goucher offers in a range of disciplines.   

“As our innovative Commons Curriculum forefronts solving complex problems, our new neuroscience major builds on that ethos, combining core classes and research in psychology, biological science, and data science,” said Elaine Meyer-Lee, Goucher College provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “Many of our students go on to pursue graduate education, and Goucher’s small classes and hands-on faculty mentors support student success as they pursue their career goals and explore important scientific topics, which are globally, and social justice focused.”

At Goucher, students will have the opportunity to participate in mentored research experiences, internships, and engagement with real-world issues while applying their classroom learning to practical situations and learning firsthand how neuroscience can be used to solve complex problems.

For the neuroscience major capstone, students will either join a lab, where they will be closely mentored by a faculty member in neuroscience research techniques, or they will collaborate with a faculty mentor to conduct an independent research project. Students may also complete supervised internships at various placements around the Baltimore area, including The John Hopkins University, Kennedy Krieger Institute, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and others.

“The neuroscience program integrates experiential learning opportunities to allow students to learn firsthand how neuroscience can be used as a tool for understanding human behavior and solving complex problems,” said Gillian S. Starkey, associate professor of human neuroscience.

Earlier this year, Goucher also launched a new public health major that will explore the multidisciplinary field and the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. That program also offers a path to a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University.

Goucher is currently developing a new science innovation center that will feature interdisciplinary learning environments and state-of-the-art labs, which will expand faculty and student hands-on research opportunities like Goucher’s Summer Science Research program.