Neuroscience

About this opportunity

Neuroscientists seeks to understand how the brain and nervous system function to control bodily function, behavior and our internal mental states. The field of neuroscience is truly interdisciplinary, spanning all levels of biological analysis and encompassing many other disciplines such as computation, psychology, philosophy, medicine, law and engineering.

Barrett Honors students in the Neuroscience BS program will receive rigorous, in-depth training in the interdisciplinary foundations of neuroscience (biology, chemistry and psychology) along with a breadth of training across four main areas: Behavioral, Cellular & molecular, Cognitive; and Systems Neuroscience. Supervised research opportunities are available within all these areas.

Thesis

A Neuroscience thesis for the Barrett Honors College generally involves research in an area of interest to the student that overlaps with research on campus. The Thesis Director may closely guide the research or, more occasionally, they may primarily provide general guidelines for the independent research of the student. Empirical projects may involve the collection of new data or the use existing data sets to answer to new research questions. Ideally the thesis will yield publishable results that will greatly benefit a student in their future career in graduate school, and beyond.

The first thing to consider as you embark on your project is to find an ASU faculty member with Neuroscience expertise to serve as your Thesis Director. Our list of Neuroscience research labs will help you find a range of faculty members whose interests are relevant to your own. Neuroscience faculty who are not yet included in this list may also be appropriate Thesis Directors, but you should first confirm their eligibility with the Faculty Honors Advisor. Prior to approaching specific faculty, we strongly encourage you to spend some time familiarizing yourself with their research so that you can convey in your communication with them why their research is of specific interest to you. Your second committee member can be faculty or anyone with sufficient expertise in the thesis topic, as approved by your Thesis Director. Inclusion of a third committee member is highly recommended, but not mandated by our program. Completing your thesis successfully and on-time will require careful planning, preparation, and time management. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to have begun planning your thesis by the fall of your junior year.

Neuroscience Honors Thesis Seminar Sequence Opportunity 

A structured academic-year experience that supports students as they design and prepare to co plete original, research-based work under the guidance of neuroscience faculty. The sequence follows the academic year (fall through spring). Students work closely with a thesis committee whose expertise aligns with the project. Projects may involve collecting new data or analyzing existing data sets and reflect the interdisciplinary foundations of neuroscience.

Students will apply in the Spring of their 2nd year for the program and start the fall of their third year. Coursework includes: 

• NEU 494: Research in Neuroscience (3 credits, spring; 3 credits, fall)
• NEU 499: Individualized Instruction (up to 6 credits)- Submit Thesis Prospectus 

Final year: 

• NEU 492: Directed Independent Honors Study (3 credits)
• NEU 493: Neuroscience Honors Thesis (3 credits) - Defense and submit final thesis  

Academic Preparation

To be prepared for research on Neuroscience, students should have completed foundational coursework in the major, including the NEU 290 course in Data Science.  Specific research domains will require more advanced knowledge, for example in computation or molecular/cellular neuroscience. This is another reason to plan ahead: Some faculty will consider such advanced academic preparation as a prerequisite for conducting research in their labs.

Before applying to the Neuroscience Honors Thesis Seminar Sequence, students are expected to have completed the following coursework with a minimum 3.5 GPA: 

• NEU 101: Introduction to Neuroscience (3 credits)
• NEU 290: Research Methods and Techniques in Neuroscience (3 credits) or STP 231: Statistics for Life Science (3 credits)
• Three credit hours of either MAT 251, MAT 265 or MAT 270

Depending on the research area, additional advanced preparation may be required (for example, in computation or cellular and molecular neuroscience). Some faculty may consider this coursework a prerequisite for conducting research in their labs, making early planning especially important.

Recommended Timeline

Students are encouraged to begin planning their honors thesis as early as possible, once foundational coursework is complete, and no later than the first semester of the junior year. 

The thesis prospectus is the final product of the Neuroscience Honors Seminar Sequence. Students are expected to defend their final thesis with their research supervisor by the spring Barrett thesis deadline of their senior year. 

Transfer students and students who declare neuroscience at the upper-division level may still be eligible to apply for the Neuroscience Honors Thesis Seminar Sequence, but should plan carefully with academic advisors. Additional coursework or research experience may be required before applying.

Other Honors Opportunities

Students are encouraged to explore neuroscience research labs and identify faculty whose work aligns with their interests.

We also have several opportunities for students (especially ASU Online students) to participate in Neuroscience research through the Online Undergraduate Research Scholars (OURS) program.