UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Eberly College of Science is launching a new major in neurobiology, a degree that will prepare students to tackle the cross-disciplinary questions and problems related to the brain, the nervous system and its interactions with the body and environment, and brain health. The Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology program will provide a comprehensive framework of training to fill an increasing student interest and need for wide-ranging skillsets in neuroscience research, preparation for medical and healthcare careers, and beyond.
“Our students are fascinated by the brain, including how little we understand about its workings and its roles in disease and behavior, and they are increasingly interested in obtaining specialized training in neurobiology,” said Elizabeth McGraw, professor and department head of biology. “Along with this increase in desire from undergraduate students to learn neuroscience, this new degree aligns with the societal need to prepare students for a growing field of research.”
Currently, the Penn State Department of Biology offers a biology major with a neuroscience option. The popularity of that option, as well as the number of students currently participating in undergraduate research in neuroscience laboratories, are also driving factors, according to McGraw, adding that “the department anticipates that about 25% of our biology majors will elect to switch to the neurobiology degree. We also predict the new named degree will be a significant draw for new students considering Penn State.”
In the Penn State Neuroscience Institute – University Park alone, more than 350 undergraduate students are working in neuroscience-focused research laboratories across campus. Most of these students are juniors and seniors, from a multitude of majors like biology, premedicine, biomedical engineering, health and human development, psychology, and forensic sciences, according to Nikki Crowley, director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute – University Park, associate professor of biology, and Huck Chair in Neural Engineering.
“This new degree in neurobiology provides a key steppingstone for our students toward becoming a neuroscience researcher or preparing for various careers in health and medicine,” Crowley said. “Our faculty in the neurobiology degree are doing ground-breaking research into the neurological basis of aging disorders, autism, addiction, sleep, learning and memory, providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to take their degree out of the classroom and into the lab, and the addition of this major will allow us to further offer competitive training in line with our Big Ten and regional Pennsylvania peers.”
The focus of the neurobiology degree is on the functional basis of the nervous system and its role in disease and behavior, Crowley said, adding that the curriculum for the major will provide students with access to research experiences in this fast-moving field alongside cutting-edge, interdisciplinary courses like “Molecular and Cellular Foundations of Sensory Biology,” a new course being offered by Associate Professor of Biology Tim Jegla starting in Spring 2026.
Tracy Langkilde, Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, shared that the new neurobiology degree is part of a University-wide initiative to advance highly interdisciplinary training in neuroscience, with multiple expanding options to study the field.
“The neurobiology degree pulls from expertise across Penn State, with core classes based in several colleges,” Langkilde said. “This approach will provide students with a comprehensive framework of training in a growing field that is becoming more critical to meeting the health needs and well-being of our society.
In Eberly, the addition of the major adds to a large cadre of resources for students in the college and across Penn State who are interested in entering health and medical careers.
“When we established the curriculum for this major, we came into it from the perspective of what students are looking for across the University and what are the jobs and skillsets employers are looking for in our graduates,” said Jennelle Malcos, associate dean for undergraduate education and teaching professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science. “Penn State’s unique interdisciplinary research and education approach, with Eberly serving as a core home, allows us to set our students up to competitively thrive in their careers and post-college lives."
Eberly also runs the Prehealth Advising program, which assists thousands of students and alumni from all colleges and campuses in preparing their candidacy for and applications to health professional schools. Each year, the program provides individual counseling meetings with more than 1,300 students, shares dedicated application tools for 500 students, and makes SharePoint resources available to more than 4,000 students. The new neurobiology degree was designed, in part, with insights from Eberly’s Prehealth Advising’s deep knowledge into successful medical school applications.
The Penn State Faculty Senate approved the new degree program this summer, with plans to enroll students starting the 2025-26 academic year. Explore the undergraduate neurobiology major on Eberly's website.