MSU launches applied neuroscience minor this fall
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s newly launched applied neuroscience minor offers students across multiple disciplines a unique opportunity to explore the growing intersection of neuroscience, technology and healthcare.
Approved this spring by the University Committee on Courses and Curricula, the new minor is available for students beginning this fall and housed in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology. It’s a cross-college collaboration with the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering and the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College.
Structured to give students both a broad foundation and the ability to explore specialized areas within neuroscience, core courses focus on neurobiological and neuropsychological topics. Students then can tailor the minor to their interests through electives.
“Neuroscience is transforming the approach to healthcare, education and emerging technologies, and this minor will equip students with the core knowledge and applied skills needed to be leaders in these rapidly evolving areas. Designed to be intentionally interdisciplinary, students from a wide range of academic backgrounds—whether they’re interested in science, healthcare, engineering or technology—will explore how neuroscience connects with nearly every field,” said Adam Jones, the interim associate head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering who is serving as the program’s first director. “That’s why this program is a joint effort across three colleges and eight departments. It couldn’t exist within just one.”
John Bickle, professor of philosophy and nationally renowned neuroscientist, noted MSU’s success in preparing students for prestigious neuroscience doctoral programs at universities including Yale, Harvard and City University of New York, among others.
“With this new minor in place, the sky’s the limit for our undergraduate STEM students interested in the brain and behavior,” he said. “Being the state’s land-grant research flagship university, MSU is taking the lead in developing minors like this––in the science and engineering fields like neuroscience—that will define current and foreseeable scientific and technological developments.”
For more information about the minor, contact Jones at 662-325-2756 or jones@cse.msstate.edu.
For more information about MSU's College of Arts and Sciences and the Bagley College of Engineering, visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.bagley.msstate.edu.
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