Major in Systems Neuroscience

Explore how the brain affects human health

Systems Neuroscience at Penn State is designed for students who want to understand how neurological processes give rise to complex behaviors and cognitive functions, and how these processes relate to human health and disease.

This unique approach to neuroscience teaches the foundational tenets of the field—how neurons and neural circuits work together to produce complex functions—as well as how these tenets make up the biological basis of neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Why study Systems Neuroscience?

Systems Neuroscience provides an interdisciplinary and integrative foundation in the study of the nervous system. You will learn how neural systems work together to shape and regulate functions ranging from basic sensory and motor control to complex behaviors such as learning, decision-making, and emotion. You will also learn how these processes are altered in mental illness and neurological disorders.

Career opportunities

With tremendous opportunities for careers in healthcare and research, Systems Neurosciences will prepare you to enter the field right away as well as position you for further advanced study.

• Career pathways in Systems Neuroscience 

Courses and experiences

Through coursework and laboratory experiences, you will learn how disruptions in neural systems influence human health, including how these disruptions contribute to neurological and psychiatric disorders like addiction, Alzheimer's disease, depression, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia, to name a few.

• Systems Neuroscience academic program