A bachelor’s in neuroscience is a laboratory science degree about the nervous system. It exists as a standalone BS or BA in Neuroscience or Neurobiology, and it is also widely offered as a concentration inside biology, psychology, or cognitive science. All of those routes are legitimate. What separates them is how much chemistry and laboratory work the sequence contains, and that difference decides what you can do next.
One thing to settle early: fully online neuroscience bachelor’s degrees are uncommon, and the ones marketed as online are usually hybrid. The reason is not academic snobbery. The major requires wet-lab courses in biology, chemistry, and often anatomy and physiology, and those have to happen somewhere physical. Programs solve it in different ways, and the way a program solves it should be one of your first three questions.
Quick answers
Can I get a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience online?
You can complete much of it online, and some schools award the degree through a hybrid format, but a fully online neuroscience bachelor’s with no in-person component is rare. Expect online lectures, discussions, statistics, and problem sets, with laboratory work completed in short on-campus intensives, at an approved laboratory near you, or through supervised at-home kits for introductory courses. Confirm the arrangement in writing before you enroll.
What is the difference between a BS and a BA in neuroscience?
The BS usually carries more chemistry, more mathematics, and more laboratory credits, and it is the better fit for graduate research, medicine, or pharmacy. The BA usually substitutes some of that with cognitive, behavioral, or humanities coursework and leaves more room for a second field. Compare the required course lists rather than the letters.
How is neuroscience different from psychology?
Psychology studies behavior and mental processes across the full range of methods, including social, developmental, and clinical approaches. Neuroscience studies the nervous system as a biological system, and explains behavior in terms of cells, circuits, and chemistry. The two overlap in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience. The workload differs: neuroscience requires the chemistry and laboratory sequence, psychology usually does not.
How many credits is a bachelor’s in neuroscience?
Approximately 120 semester hours at most institutions, typically four years full-time. Neuroscience majors often feel longer than that because the science prerequisites stack: general chemistry before organic chemistry, general biology before cell biology, and both before upper-division neuroscience. A missed term can push graduation by a year.
What can I do with just the bachelor’s degree?
Laboratory and clinical-research support work, most commonly as a research or laboratory technician, clinical research coordinator, or research assistant, plus roles in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Biological technicians had a median annual wage of $57,510 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). The bachelor’s is also the standard preparation for medical, pharmacy, physician assistant, and doctoral programs.
Do I need a PhD to call myself a neuroscientist?
In practice, yes, for research roles. Independent researchers fall in the Bureau of Labor Statistics category medical scientists, except epidemiologists, which normally requires a doctoral or professional degree. The bachelor’s makes you eligible to work in a laboratory and to apply to those doctoral programs.
At a Glance
- Common degree titles: BS or BA in Neuroscience, BS in Neurobiology, Behavioral Neuroscience, or a neuroscience concentration in biology, psychology, or cognitive science
- Typical duration: 4 years full-time
- Credits: Approximately 120 semester hours
- Format reality: Usually hybrid; laboratory courses require an in-person or proctored solution
- Accreditation: No programmatic accreditor for neuroscience; verify institutional accreditation
For a full map of this program area, start here: Neuroscience Program Guide
Schools to compare
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$109,601
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$101,028
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$88,420
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
98%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$110,066
Avg net price
$6,128/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 47
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$79,652
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$128,566
Avg net price
$16,075/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 30
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
7%
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$82,735
Avg net price
$14,398/yr
TuitionIn‑state$67,832
Out‑of‑state$67,832
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 40
Source:Accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$143,372
Avg net price
$20,111/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 99%
- Programs offered: 53
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
The main undergraduate pathways
Standalone neuroscience or neurobiology major
The most direct route. A BS in Neuroscience devotes the major credits to cellular and molecular neuroscience, neuroanatomy, systems neuroscience, and a research methods sequence, on top of the general science foundation. This is the sequence doctoral admissions committees recognize immediately. The thing to verify is whether the upper-division courses run often enough online for you to finish on schedule, since small majors sometimes offer a required course once a year.
Biology major with a neuroscience concentration
Common at schools that did not build a separate department. You take the biology core – cell biology, genetics, physiology, evolution – plus a block of neuroscience electives. This is a strong option if you want breadth in the life sciences or if medicine is the goal, because the biology core already covers most premedical requirements. The tradeoff is fewer neuroscience credits.
Psychology major with a behavioral neuroscience concentration
Housed in psychology, this route emphasizes learning and memory, sensation and perception, psychopharmacology, and behavioral methods, with lighter chemistry. It fits students headed toward clinical psychology, behavioral health science, or research on behavior rather than molecules. It is the weakest of the three preparations for a molecular neuroscience doctorate or for pharmacy school, precisely because of the missing chemistry.
Typical coursework in a bachelor’s program
| Course Topic |
What You Learn |
| General Biology with laboratory |
Cells, genetics, metabolism, and the laboratory practices the rest of the major assumes |
| General and Organic Chemistry with laboratory |
Reaction mechanisms and molecular structure underlying neurotransmitters and drug action |
| Anatomy and Physiology |
Organ systems, with the nervous system in its physiological context |
| Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience |
Membrane potentials, ion channels, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter systems |
| Neuroanatomy |
Structures, pathways, and how lesion and imaging evidence maps function to location |
| Systems and Sensory Neuroscience |
Vision, hearing, somatosensation, motor control, and homeostatic regulation |
| Cognitive Neuroscience |
Attention, memory, language, and decision making, and the methods used to study them |
| Psychopharmacology |
How drugs act at receptors, and why dose, route, and tolerance change the effect |
| Biostatistics and Research Methods |
Experimental design, statistical inference, and reading primary literature critically |
| Capstone or independent research |
A thesis, literature review, or mentored laboratory project |
Skills you may build
- Reading a primary research paper and judging whether its design supports its claim
- Working accurately at the bench, including protocol adherence and documentation
- Analyzing experimental data with statistics, and increasingly with Python or R
- Explaining a mechanism at more than one scale, from receptor to behavior
- Writing in scientific format, which is a specific and teachable skill
- Handling the ethical requirements of human and animal research
Prerequisites and course sequencing
Neuroscience is one of the more tightly sequenced undergraduate majors. Before you enroll, confirm:
- Which mathematics course the program requires, calculus or biostatistics, and whether you place into it
- How chemistry is sequenced online, and where the organic chemistry laboratory happens
- How often each upper-division neuroscience course runs, and in which terms
- Whether the capstone or research requirement has prerequisites you can finish on your timeline
- Whether any residency, laboratory intensive, or proctored practical is required, and on what dates
If you are moving faster than a standard four-year plan, compare accelerated neuroscience programs. Compression works better on lecture courses than on laboratory sequences, and prerequisite chains put a floor under how fast the major can go.
Transfer credits and degree planning
Transfer credit can shorten a bachelor’s substantially, particularly for general education, introductory biology, and general chemistry. Rules vary by institution, so confirm:
- The maximum number of transfer credits accepted
- The minimum grade required for a science course to transfer, which is often higher than for other subjects
- Whether laboratory sections transfer separately from lectures, a common trap in science majors
- Whether credits apply to the major core or only to general electives
- Residency requirements, meaning a minimum number of credits completed at the institution
- Whether older science credit expires, since some programs will not accept biology or chemistry beyond a certain age
See Affordable Online Neuroscience Degrees for more on managing total program cost.
Accreditation and program quality checks
There is no programmatic accreditor for neuroscience degrees or concentrations. Verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database.
Professional societies in neuroscience run conferences, journals, and student chapters, and they are genuinely useful for finding research opportunities. They do not accredit degree programs. Institutional accreditation is the check that matters, and it is also what receiving institutions look at when you apply to graduate or professional school.
Building research experience while you study
Research experience is the strongest input to doctoral and medical school admissions, and it is the hardest thing to arrange as a remote student. Practical approaches:
- Ask the program directly whether distance students can join a faculty laboratory, remotely or during intensives
- Look for computational, data analysis, or literature-based projects, which travel well and still count as research
- Arrange a placement at a hospital, university, or company laboratory near you, and ask whether the program will award credit for it
- Take on data analysis for a faculty member even if you cannot be at the bench
- Start early enough that a recommendation letter can describe more than one semester of work
Bachelor’s vs graduate study in neuroscience
A bachelor’s is a complete undergraduate science credential and the entry point to laboratory work. It does not make you a research neuroscientist. That role sits behind a doctorate, and doctoral programs in neuroscience are laboratory-based and generally residential. A master’s in neuroscience can be a bridge for applicants who need stronger research credentials, or a terminal degree for industry and teaching roles, but it is not the standard route into independent research.
Compare degree options:
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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