Undergraduate Program
Abstract image of three pink and white vertical neurons over blue background with nervous cells. Concept of science and medicine. 3d rendering
Explore the brain!
Shape the future!
Neuroscience is the science of what makes us human. How do we learn, remember, feel, and decide? What changes take place in the brain with addiction, injury, and disease? At Virginia Tech, you can dive into these questions from day one, learning across molecular, cellular, systems, cognitive and computational neuroscience.
You will take courses that connect big ideas to real problems, grounded in the molecular mechanisms and core principles that drive brain function. Our curriculum is designed to be challenging and concept-driven: you will learn how to synthesize information, not just memorize it. That training builds the habits of a lifelong learner and helps you thrive in a world rapidly changing with AI.
Our curriculum was developed with input from several medical schools, helping students build a strong foundation for health-related careers while staying deeply rooted in discovery and research. Many of our courses are taught by experts who work at the intersection of neuroscience and real-world care, including neurosurgeons who bring the operating room perspective into the classroom. We are one of the only neuroscience programs in the nation to offer a classroom experience where students enter a real operating room to observe brain surgery on humans, connecting what you learn to the realities of the field.
Hands-on learning is central here. Our introductory laboratory experiences are distinctive and intentionally realistic. You will build basic research and surgical skills through labs that simulate authentic conditions, including mock stereotaxic surgeries. Because real science rarely goes perfectly, our labs include built-in sources of error and unexpected outcomes, so you learn how to troubleshoot, think critically, and adapt.
If you are excited by the tools shaping the future of neuroscience, you will find them here too. We offer neuroscience-specific coding courses and a Computational Neuroscience major that prepares students to be competitive in AI-associated fields. In our hands-on cell and molecular neuroscience laboratory, you will learn current techniques used in modern neuroscience research.
