Program Overview

Program Overview

The Clinical Neuroscience Major is a comprehensive program offered by the School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech. This program is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the principles of neuroscience, including the structure and function of the nervous system, the biological basis of behavior, and the application of neuroscience principles to clinical problems.

Program Curriculum

The program curriculum is divided into several components, including:

• Degree Core Requirements
  • CHEM 1035: General Chemistry 1
  • CHEM 1036: General Chemistry 1
  • NEUR 1004: Neuroscience Orientation Seminar 1
  • NEUR 2025: Introduction to Neuroscience 1
  • NEUR 2026: Introduction to Neuroscience 1
  • NEUR 2035: Neuroscience Laboratory 1
  • NEUR 2036: Neuroscience Laboratory 1
  • NEUR 3044: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • NEUR 3084: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • NEUR 4044: Neuroscience Senior Seminar 1
• Major Requirements
  • BIOL 1115: Principles of Biology Laboratory
  • BIOL 1116: Principles of Biology Laboratory
  • CHEM 1045: General Chemistry Laboratory
  • CHEM 1046: General Chemistry Laboratory
  • CHEM 2535: Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 2536: Organic Chemistry
  • CHEM 2545: Organic Chemistry Laboratory
  • CHEM 2546: Organic Chemistry Laboratory
  • NEUR 3594: Neurobiology of Psychiatric Disorders
  • NEUR 3604: Neurobiochemistry
  • NEUR 3704: Human Anatomy and Physiology with Neuroendocrine Focus
  • NEUR 3914: Neuroscience of Drug Addiction
  • NEUR 4034: Diseases of the Nervous System
  • PHYS 2205: General Physics
  • PHYS 2206: General Physics
  • PHYS 2215: General Physics Laboratory
  • PHYS 2216: General Physics Laboratory
  • STAT 3616: Biological Statistics
• Restricted Electives
  • Select one of the following for three credits total:
    • CHEM 4615: Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences
    • CHEM 4616: Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences
    • NEUR 3054: Brain-Body Interactions in Health and Disease
    • NEUR 3774: Neuroendocrinology
    • NEUR 3944: War and the Brain
    • NEUR 4054: Developmental Neuroscience
    • NEUR 4064: Neuropharmacology
    • NEUR 4314: Genetics in Neuroscience
    • NEUR 4514: Neuroimmunology in Health and Disease
    • NEUR 4594: Clinical Neuroscience in Practice
    • NEUR 4814: Nutritional Neuroscience
    • NEUR 4914: Drug Development in Neuroscience
    • NEUR 4994: Undergraduate Research (may only be taken after one term of NEUR 2994)
    • PHYS 4714: Introduction to Biophysics
• Free Electives
  • Select 8 credits of free electives
• Pathways to General Education
  • Pathways Concept 1 - Discourse
    • Select six credits in Pathway 1f
    • Select three credits in Pathway 1a
  • Pathways Concept 2 - Critical Thinking in the Humanities
    • Select six credits in Pathway 2
  • Pathways Concept 3 - Reasoning in the Social Sciences
    • PSYC 1004: Introductory Psychology 1
    • Select three additional credits in Pathway 3
  • Pathways Concept 4 - Reasoning in the Natural Sciences
    • BIOL 1105: Principles of Biology 1
    • BIOL 1106: Principles of Biology 1
  • Pathways Concept 5 - Quantitative and Computational Thinking
    • MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus (5F) 1
    • MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus (5F) 1
    • STAT 3615: Biological Statistics (5A)
  • Pathways Concept 6 - Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts
    • Select three credits in Pathway 6a
    • Select three credits in Pathway 6d
  • Pathways Concept 7 - Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States
    • Select three credits in Pathway 7

Grade Requirements

Students must earn a grade of “C-“ or better in the following core neuroscience coursework:

• CHEM 1035: General Chemistry
• CHEM 1036: General Chemistry
• NEUR 1004: Neuroscience Orientation Seminar
• NEUR 2025: Introduction to Neuroscience
• NEUR 2026: Introduction to Neuroscience
• NEUR 2035: Neuroscience Laboratory
• NEUR 2036: Neuroscience Laboratory
• NEUR 4044: Neuroscience Senior Seminar
• BIOL 1105: Principles of Biology
• BIOL 1106: Principles of Biology
• MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus
• MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus
• PSYC 1004: Introductory Psychology Only three attempts, including course withdrawals with a grade of “W,” are allowed for each core neuroscience course.

Graduation Requirements

Student must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours with an overall GPA of 2.0 and a minimum in-major GPA of 2.0. For purposes of GPA computation, courses in-major will include Core requirements, Major requirements, Restricted Electives, BIOL 1105: Principles of Biology, BIOL 1106: Principles of Biology, BIOL 1115: Principles of Biology Laboratory, BIOL 1116: Principles of Biology Laboratory, MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus, MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus, and PSYC 1004: Introductory Psychology.

Double Majors/Minors

The School of Neuroscience offers majors in Clinical Neuroscience, Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Computational and Systems Neuroscience, and general Neuroscience. Courses for these majors overlap slightly. Therefore, students may not pursue multiple majors within the School.

Terminology

• Pathways Requirements: Pathways to General Education is defined by the university as “A vibrant, flexible, and innovative general education program that provides a coherent and meaningful learning experience and allows students to integrate the learning for use throughout their lifetimes.”
• Core Neuroscience Requirements: Core neuroscience requirements are those requirements that must be fulfilled by all students in the School of Neuroscience, regardless of major.
• Major Requirements: Major requirements are those requirements that are unique to the CNEU major and do not apply across all School of Neuroscience majors.
• Restricted Elective: Restricted elective courses provide students the autonomy to select 3 credits of coursework within an approved list to count towards the students’ degree requirements. These courses expand on the depth and breadth of the CNEU major.
• Free Elective: Free elective credits may consist of any credit-bearing Virginia Tech coursework to ensure that students reach the 120 credits required by the university to earn a bachelor’s degree. Coursework that does not apply elsewhere towards the degree will apply here (this includes non-duplicative coursework for double majors, minors, or AP coursework that does not count elsewhere towards the degree).

Acceptable Substitutions

• CHEM 1035: General Chemistry - CHEM 1036: General Chemistry: CHEM 1055: General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors - CHEM 1056: General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors
• CHEM 1045: General Chemistry Laboratory - CHEM 1046: General Chemistry Laboratory: CHEM 1065: General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors Lab - CHEM 1066: General Chemistry for Chemistry Majors Lab
• CHEM 2535: Organic Chemistry - CHEM 2536: Organic Chemistry: CHEM 2565: Principles of Organic Chemistry - CHEM 2566: Principles of Organic Chemistry
• CHEM 2545: Organic Chemistry Laboratory - CHEM 2546: Organic Chemistry Laboratory: CHEM 2555: Organic Synthesis and Techniques Lab - CHEM 2556: Organic Synthesis and Techniques Lab
• MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus - MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus: MATH 1225: Calculus of a Single Variable - MATH 1226: Calculus of a Single Variable
• MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus - MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus: MATH 1225: Calculus of a Single Variable - MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus
• NEUR 1004: Neuroscience Orientation Seminar: Any approved FYE course
• NEUR 3604: Neurobiochemistry: BCHM 2024: Concepts of Biochemistry or BCHM 3114: Biochemistry for Biotechnology and the Life Sciences
• NEUR 3704: Human Anatomy and Physiology with Neuroendocrine Focus: BMSP 2135: Human Anatomy & Physiology + BMSP 2136: Human Anatomy and Physiology + BMSP 2145: Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory + BMSP 2146: Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory
• PHYS 2205: General Physics, PHYS 2215: General Physics Laboratory: PHYS 2305: Foundations of Physics
• PHYS 2206: General Physics, PHYS 2216: General Physics Laboratory: PHYS 2306: Foundations of Physics
• STAT 3615: Biological Statistics - STAT 3616: Biological Statistics: STAT 3005: Statistical Methods - STAT 3006: Statistical Methods

Foreign Language Requirement

Students who did not successfully complete at least two years of a single foreign, classical, or sign language during high school must successfully complete six semester hours of a single foreign, classical, or sign language at the college level. Courses taken to meet this requirement do not count toward the hours required for graduation. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for details.