Mission Statement
A Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience at SCU will provide students with the scientific foundation needed to understand the nervous system at many levels, from the molecular level to patient symptomatology. Students will examine the biological and psychological underpinnings of the nervous system, they will come to appreciate the role of the environment in contributing to disease, disorders and development, and they will be challenged to consider ethical issues of brain-behavior relationships in criminology, health care, diagnosis and treatment.
While progressing through the neuroscience curriculum at Santa Clara, students can expect to achieve the following learning goals:
- Demonstrate a solid understanding of basic neuroanatomy and nervous system function on a molecular, cellular, systems level.
- Describe major areas of neuroscience with a clear understanding of the main research approaches, techniques, and topics.
- Develop a high level of scientific literacy and quantitative, analytical skill so as to competently judge the scientific merit of original research and its representation by popular media.
- Apply critical thinking skills to formulate novel scientific questions and incorporate the appropriate analytical research methodologies to address them.
- Clearly present the results of a scientific study or a proposed experimental design in standard scientific written and oral formats.
- Communicate effectively about neuroscience in written and oral form to both specialized and broad audiences.
- Develop an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience.
- Develop professional direction for post-graduate life through experiences within the major.
- Evaluate the discipline of neuroscience critically within a larger cultural, socio-historical, and ethical framework