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CIP 26.1501 Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Neuroscience

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

12,238

2025 · 330 schools

International share

5.7%

696 international students

Bachelor's degrees

10,831

4.5% international

Master's degrees

554

13.9% international

Overview

Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that explores the structure and function of the nervous system, particularly the brain. It combines principles from biology, psychology, chemistry, and physics to understand how neural processes influence behavior, cognition, and emotions. This field is pivotal for unraveling the complexities of how neurons communicate, how networks of neurons operate, and how these processes can lead to various mental and neurological disorders.

Students pursuing a degree in neuroscience typically engage in rigorous study, starting with foundational courses in biology and chemistry before advancing to specialized topics such as neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neuropharmacology. The curriculum often includes hands-on laboratory experience where students can conduct experiments and utilize techniques such as electrophysiology and imaging to observe neural activity.

Neuroscience has significant implications for various sectors, including medicine, psychology, education, and artificial intelligence. Research in this field has paved the way for advancements in understanding conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and anxiety disorders. It also plays a critical role in developing therapeutic strategies and interventions.

Career opportunities for neuroscience graduates are diverse. They can pursue roles in academia, healthcare, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions. Additionally, the growing intersection of neuroscience with technology, such as brain-computer interfaces and neuroengineering, opens up new avenues for innovation and application. Overall, neuroscience is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field that addresses some of the most profound questions about human behavior and the underlying biological mechanisms.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2010 to 2025, graduates grew 290% and the international share went from 7.0% to 5.7%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
45.9%
Asian
20.8%
Hispanic
12.9%
Black
6.5%
Other
8.1%
Intl.
5.7%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 330 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts 17 2
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 59 6
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 127 10
#4 Yale University Connecticut 104 15
#5 California Institute of Technology California 17 5
#5 Stanford University California 12 1
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 128 5
#8 Duke University North Carolina 95 8
#9 University of Chicago Illinois 54 4
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 136 7
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 140 20
#12 Dartmouth College New Hampshire 61 17
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 122 20
#14 Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania 37 3
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 97 10
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 72 4
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 59 3
#16 Rice University Texas 40 0
#20 University of California-Berkeley California 16 3
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 220 15
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 143 5
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 36 3
#23 Emory University Georgia 203 8
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 226 9
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 10 1
#27 University of Southern California California 112 15
#27 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 202 10
#29 University of California-San Diego California 28 1
#29 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Georgia 107 3
#31 Boston College Massachusetts 108 3
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 6 1
#31 New York University New York 88 20
#34 University of California-Davis California 8 2
#34 University of California-Irvine California 11 3
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 11 0
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 146 17
#34 Wake Forest University North Carolina 7 0
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 284 7
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 233 8
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 223 5
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 2 0
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 5 1
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 93 5
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 227 3
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 31 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 117 7
#49 University of Rochester New York 19 3
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 6 0
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 3 0
#52 College of William and Mary Virginia 76 0
#52 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia 178 1
#55 Santa Clara University California 24 2
#55 University of Miami Florida 69 3
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 8 1
#59 George Washington University D.C. 46 2
#59 Florida State University Florida 166 8
#59 Tulane University of Louisiana Louisiana 145 6
#59 Brandeis University Massachusetts 71 11
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 10 0
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 111 5
#59 Stony Brook University New York 14 3
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 210 8
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 98 0
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 191 9
#69 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York 17 2
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 135 4
#73 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts 5 0
#73 Rutgers University-Newark New Jersey 43 7
#73 Binghamton University New York 221 4
#80 University of California-Riverside California 145 3
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 15 2
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 62 3
#85 Fordham University New York 32 2
#85 University at Buffalo New York 65 7
#90 Baylor University Texas 86 3
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 18 3
#90 Marquette University Wisconsin 1 0
#95 American University D.C. 19 1
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 98 5
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 5 2
#100 Auburn University Alabama 20 0
#100 University of San Diego California 78 0
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 50 0
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 49 2
#100 Creighton University Nebraska 15 0
#109 University of California-Santa Cruz California 41 0
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 100 3
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 12 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 36 1
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 82 3
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 138 3
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 4 2
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 2 0
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 51 1
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 111 3
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 117 7
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 109 2
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 2 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 60 1
#121 The University of Texas at Dallas Texas 296 22
#121 George Mason University Virginia 68 2
#133 Thomas Jefferson University Pennsylvania 6 0
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 56 0
#137 University of Alabama at Birmingham Alabama 105 1
#137 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Maryland 4 0
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 4 1
#137 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Pennsylvania 4 0
#137 University of Scranton Pennsylvania 26 1
#148 Mercer University Georgia 25 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 6 0
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 83 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 14 1
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 6 0
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 16 1
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 7 0
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 42 1
#169 DePaul University Illinois 41 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 4 0
#179 Gallaudet University D.C. 1 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 40 0
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 5 0
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 37 2
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 84 4
#191 Samford University Alabama 9 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 108 6
#191 Drake University Iowa 10 3
#191 Adelphi University New York 19 2
#191 Hofstra University New York 12 1
#191 Washington State University Washington 50 1
#202 Sacred Heart University Connecticut 12 0
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 1 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 18 0
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 42 4
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 75 1
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 57 0
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 36 1
#236 University of Colorado Denver Colorado 11 1
#236 Bethel University Minnesota 8 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 8 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 23 3
#236 Chatham University Pennsylvania 5 1
#250 Nova Southeastern University Florida 73 0
#250 Pace University-New York New York 13 0
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 2 0
#262 University of New England Maine 10 0
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 17 1
#262 DeSales University Pennsylvania 1 0
#262 University of South Dakota South Dakota 8 1
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 37 5
#276 Regis University Colorado 16 0
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 7 0
#276 Marymount University Virginia 1 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 2 0
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 18 1
#299 University of Nebraska--Omaha Nebraska 24 2
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 4 1
#308 Wilkes University Pennsylvania 7 1
#317 Xavier University of Louisiana Louisiana 15 0
#317 Morgan State University Maryland 3 1
#365 Northern Kentucky University Kentucky 9 2
#365 The University of Montana Montana 17 0
#382 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Puerto Rico 5 0
LAC #2 Amherst College Massachusetts 18 3
LAC #3 Claremont McKenna College California 9 1
LAC #3 Pomona College California 26 4
LAC #3 Bowdoin College Maine 37 7
LAC #3 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 15 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 19 2
LAC #12 Vassar College New York 33 1
LAC #12 Washington and Lee University Virginia 20 3
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 24 1
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 66 3
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 52 5
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 37 3
LAC #22 College of the Holy Cross Massachusetts 21 1
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 26 4
LAC #22 Colgate University New York 42 1
LAC #26 Bates College Maine 21 1
LAC #26 Haverford College Pennsylvania 15 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 21 3
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 12 0
LAC #30 Lafayette College Pennsylvania 40 0
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 34 2
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 17 2
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 27 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 25 2
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 13 1
LAC #38 Scripps College California 15 0
LAC #38 Trinity University Texas 32 3
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 21 2
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 20 1
LAC #44 Pitzer College California 16 0
LAC #44 Union College New York 24 0
LAC #47 Connecticut College Connecticut 26 2
LAC #49 DePauw University Indiana 12 3
LAC #49 St. Lawrence University New York 9 1
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 36 1
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 20 1
LAC #54 Dickinson College Pennsylvania 20 4
LAC #57 Wheaton College (IL) Illinois 3 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 21 1
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 21 1
LAC #60 Reed College Oregon 23 2
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 11 0
LAC #62 Lake Forest College Illinois 19 7
LAC #62 Muhlenberg College Pennsylvania 12 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 13 3
LAC #72 Saint Anselm College New Hampshire 5 0
LAC #78 Saint Mary's College Indiana 8 0
LAC #78 Hope College Michigan 9 0
LAC #78 Whitman College Washington 13 1
LAC #81 Wheaton College (MA) Massachusetts 10 1
LAC #83 Earlham College Indiana 7 2
LAC #85 Knox College Illinois 3 2
LAC #85 Stonehill College Massachusetts 9 1
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 6 0
LAC #85 Allegheny College Pennsylvania 10 1
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 8 0
LAC #85 Randolph-Macon College Virginia 5 0
LAC #91 Augustana College Illinois 8 2
LAC #91 College of Wooster Ohio 26 5
LAC #91 Juniata College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #91 Ursinus College Pennsylvania 12 0
LAC #91 Washington and Jefferson College Pennsylvania 8 0
LAC #97 Washington College Maryland 4 0
LAC #97 Austin College Texas 6 0
LAC #100 SUNY College at Geneseo New York 15 0
LAC #100 Lycoming College Pennsylvania 1 1
LAC #106 Transylvania University Kentucky 6 0
LAC #106 St. Mary's College of Maryland Maryland 12 0
LAC #111 Luther College Iowa 8 5
LAC #116 Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio 7 0
LAC #116 Saint Michael's College Vermont 4 0
LAC #119 Coe College Iowa 2 0
LAC #119 Christopher Newport University Virginia 24 0
LAC #119 Ripon College Wisconsin 1 0
LAC #125 Emmanuel College Massachusetts 18 1
LAC #132 Centenary College of Louisiana Louisiana 6 0
LAC #138 Millsaps College Mississippi 8 1
LAC #142 Houghton University New York 1 0
LAC #160 Wittenberg University Ohio 2 0
LAC #184 Indiana University-Southeast Indiana 14 0
— Parker University Texas 79 0
— Arizona State University Digital Immersion Arizona 72 0
— University of California-San Francisco California 32 3
— Western Washington University Washington 31 1
— CUNY Queens College New York 25 0
— Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York 19 3
— Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York 19 4
— High Point University North Carolina 18 0
— Carthage College Wisconsin 17 0
— Dominican University Illinois 16 0
— Hamline University Minnesota 15 0
— Providence College Rhode Island 15 0
— Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois 14 0
— Baldwin Wallace University Ohio 14 0
— Eastern Michigan University Michigan 13 2
— Oregon Health & Science University Oregon 13 0
— University of Maryland, Baltimore Maryland 12 0
— Baylor College of Medicine Texas 11 1
— University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Wisconsin 11 1
— Medical University of South Carolina South Carolina 10 0
— University of Evansville Indiana 9 1
— Wartburg College Iowa 9 0
— Lebanon Valley College Pennsylvania 9 0
— University of Wisconsin-River Falls Wisconsin 9 0
— Bellarmine University Kentucky 8 0
— Saginaw Valley State University Michigan 8 0
— University of New Hampshire at Manchester New Hampshire 8 0
— Moravian University Pennsylvania 8 0
— University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Texas 8 1
— North Central College Illinois 7 0

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Natural Sciences Managers 108,690 $86.66 $180,250
Biological Technicians 69,620 $29.51 $61,380
Biological Scientists, All Other 55,850 $51.12 $106,330
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 50,190 — $102,840

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2010–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.