A Welcome Letter to NEURds

Note: This is written in third person because it is often distributed as a flyer, and not just because I’m a narcissist.

 

Howdy y’all,

Welcome to neuroscience at Rice. If you’re reading this, then you’re probably interested in the nervous system – and what’s not to like? In a completely literal sense, the brain is central to who we are; every thought and feeling that we have emerges from a roughly three-pound ball of grey matter. It is the most complicated structure that we are aware of in the universe, and the study of neuroscience requires that we pull knowledge from every field imaginable. It is a complex area of study, but we have a strong community at Rice that will help you learn what you need to know. The following information will help you get integrated into this community and started on your path as a student of neuroscience. Below is a guide to what this welcome letter will cover:

Neuroscience Opportunities Listserv

Essentially all of the major neuroscience events at Rice University are organized via the Neuroscience Opportunities Listserv, or NEUR-OPPS. This is an email newsletter, and includes information on general advising sessions, special guest lecturers, opportunities for outreach, advertisements for labs seeking students, scholarships and grants, neuroscience related events outside of Rice, and anything else that may be useful to you. You can sign up for it by following this link. NOTE: IF YOU ARE FINDING A 404 ERROR WITH THE LINK, YOU MIGHT TRY RESTARTING YOUR BROWSER OR SIGNING UP USING INCOGNITO MODE. There is currently a bug with browser cookies that we are trying to fix.

Rice Neuroscience Society

Rice Neuroscience Society is the primary organization that provides supports for undergraduates in neuroscience. They create on-campus events to help students progress in their college careers. This includes peer advising on topics such as how to get involved with a lab and what courses to take. Further, they host a multitude of neuroscience related events to raise awareness of the field/major and act as a hub for the other, more specialized neuroscience organizations on campus (listed below).

RNS works closely with the faculty advisors for the neuroscience major and minor. If you have any ideas for how the curriculum can be improved, RNS is the primary mechanism for students to voice their opinions. Because of this, it is suggested that every neuroscience major and minor join RNS (even as a periphery member) so their voices are head.

Neuroscience Organizations

There are an ever growing number of neuroscience related organizations at Rice. Some of the more active groups are listed below.

BrainSTEM

BrainSTEM is one of the more active organizations on campus, and is primarily organized under the course BIOS 128 BrainSTEM. Undergraduates (as well as graduate students from the UTHealth and Baylor) go to teach neuroscience to K12 students once a week in various under served communities in the Houston area. In the course, students both serve their community and learn how to communicate science effectively. BIOS 128 is one credit hour course run by Dr. Flynn, and counts as a single elective for the neuroscience major if taken for 3 semesters. This is a great option for students who wish to dedicate themselves to science outreach and communication.

Neurotransmitter

There is a lot going on with neuroscience in Houston. To keep track of it all, Rice undergraduates have organized a newsletter called Neurotransmitter. This report will come out at least once per semester and includes the latest information on the neuroscience major, interviews with researchers in the medical center, and student written articles on careers, science, philosophy and anything else that may be interesting to neuroscience undergraduates at Rice.

Pancakes for Parkinson’s

Pancakes for Parkinson’s (or P4P) is the Houston chapter of a national fundraiser to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. They team up with the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (as well as other local organizations) to run events that raise money for research as well as raising awareness for the disease. You can contact them at ricep4pchairs@gmail.com.

Alzheimer’s Buddies

Alzheimer’s Buddies is another active outreach group at Rice – students volunteer to spend one hour a week with an Ahzeheimer’s patient (their titular buddy). This helps to build social ties and reduce loneliness, which has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes. The group is part of a national organization, and  is a great club for future MDs who wish to build relationships with the Alzheimer’s community in the Houston area.

Speculative Neuroscience Club

Many of those who pursue neuroscience are interested in the deeper philosophical problems that the field touches on.  How does meditation effect the brain? Does it make sense to extend the concept of mind to include the body? What is this whole consciousness thing, anyway? The Speculative Neuroscience Club is a group that meets to discuss ideas like these while keeping them grounded in science. You can contact them through their faculty advisor (flynn@rice.edu).

Best Buddies

Best Buddies is the Rice chapter of an international nonprofit organization that promotes the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships. We are dedicated to our part in the movement to end the social, economic, and physical isolation of people with IDDs. Our chapter on campus works in partnership with the HEART Program located in Houston. In addition to monthly group parties (bowling, scavenger hunts, picnics), each Buddy pair is encouraged to meet on their own time and keep close contact through letters, phone calls, and emails. You can find out more at their Facebook page.

Rice NeuroTech

Rice Neurotech is focused on developing the skills and careers of students who are interested in neuroengineering. They participate in competitions to develop hardware and software, run panel events to discuss career paths, and lead workshops for anyone interested in neurotechnology. Basically, if you like both neuroscience and building things, you should check them out. You can find out more at their website.

Stroke Research Assistants
Stroke Research Assistants (SRA) is a club founded by Rice undergraduates to assist neurologists at Memorial Hermann with clinical research. Working under Dr. Sunil Sheth, SRA members interview stroke patients at local hospitals to determine their eligibility for clinical trials. Members also shadow neurologists in the ICU, ER, and Angiography Suite. For questions, contact: strokeresearchassistants@gmail.com

Undergraduate Research

Rice emphasizes experiential learning; in the sciences, this means interning at various labs at Rice, Baylor, and UTHealth. Generally, students start looking into doing scientific research in their sophomore or junior year, although this is not a hard and fast rule. You can find more information about doing research at www.neur310.rice.edu.

Degree Selection and Requirements

To register for the major, please download the Major Registration Form from ESTHER (instructions on how to do this can be found here). Fill out the form, and then send it electronically to your primary major advisor (either flynn@rice.edu or lefeldt@rice.edu) with an unofficial copy of your transcript. Your advisor will sign off on the form and forward it to the registrar, which should result in you being officially declared for the neuroscience major within 48 hours.

Official requirements for either the major or the minor can be found on the general announcement websites here.  As of Fall 2023, there is now an opportunity to declare as either a BA or a BS. To be very clear, one is not better than the other – they simply emphasize different things. The BA degree provides a general overview of all facets of neuroscience, while providing more flexibility in terms of lab requirements and electives. In contrast, the BS program provides a more focused course of study by introducing specific tracks for students to specialize in.

The first track is in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, which gives students a deep dive into the biological mechanics of how the nervous system works. The second track  is in Computational Neuroscience, which focuses on how the brain works as an information processing system, as well as how computational techniques can be applied to understanding neurological processes.  Sample 4-year Plans-Of-Study and curricular maps (i.e., diagrams of how the courses within the curriculum interrelate) can be found below.

If you are trying to find when classes are going to be available (to make your 4-year plan), you can check out the Predicted Course Offerings. Keep in mind that this is compiled by the advisors as a “best guess” and is not an official document. However, it’s fairly accurate overall and should help guide your studies. If your 4-year plan requires that you absolutely need to take a class during a particular semester, you should 1) re-evaluate your 4 year plan to avoid this situation, and 2) email the professor of the course to confirm that it takes place when you believe it will.

AP and Transfers Credits

Bringing in AP credit is relatively straightforward. Once you have your AP records sent to Rice, the registrar should automatically give you credit towards a default course equivalency. This should automatically update on your transcript and count towards the major. On rare occasions, the databases do not work correctly. If you think you are not getting appropriate credit, please contact your advisor.

In general, it is not recommended that you retake classes at Rice that you have AP credit for. If you feel unprepared, it is often a better use of time to review the material on Khan Academy or similar. However, if you feel you need the structure of a classroom to learn then you are permitted to take a course which you already have AP credit for.

Transfer credits are handled by the department in which the course would be housed in. For example, if you are trying to get a MATH 101 credit from another school, you should contact the Math department transfer advisors and have them verify whether your transfer course is sufficient for Rice course credit. For a biology or neuroscience focused transfer course, you should email Dr. Lwigale at lwigale@rice.edu. If a transfer request is accepted, the transfer advisor will put in the exception on your transcript and it should automatically count towards your major. All decisions are made on a case by case basis – you should be prepared to provide a syllabus and examples of your work and exams. If you are planning on studying abroad or taking classes elsewhere during the summer, it is strongly recommended that you secure a guarantee from the appropriate transfer advisor that the class you intend to take will count for transfer credit. This avoids wasting your time and money should your transfer advisor believe that the course doesn’t meet the standards for Rice credit.

What should I take first?

Depending on the level of AP credit (or equivalent) that you might have, you should initially focus on taking the foundational classes in the major; these are not directly neuroscience related, but provide key knowledge you will need later in your college career. In particular, BIOS 201 Introduction to Biology, COMP 140 Computational Thinking (or CMOR 220 Intro to Computation) and PSYC 203 Intro to Cognitive Psychology are all required for the core courses in the neuroscience major. Getting these out of the way allows you to take the more traditional neuroscience courses, and they count towards several other majors as well.

If you are considering whether neuroscience is right for you, you should consider taking either NEUR 380 Neurosystems in the spring (which has no pre-requisites) or BIOS 385 Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of the Neuron in the fall (which requires BIOS 201). These are core courses in the major, and both provide an excellent overview of the general field of neuroscience. They will likely be the courses that help you decide whether you would like neuroscience as a dedicated major or not.

If you are uncertain if you would like neuroscience at all, you might also consider taking BIOS 128 BrainSTEM. As described in previous sections, you would be teaching basic neuroscience information to middle and high school students on a weekly basis. These are simple lessons – you do not need to know any neuroscience to start. In your first semester of the course, all you have to do is act as an assistant to a more senior student, and you will easily pick up the material by osmosis. You will gain a general understanding of some of the more interesting aspects of neuroscience through this process. However, it is a popular class and difficult to get into as a first semester freshman.

Advising

Listed below are the primary advisors for the neuroscience major. They will handle issues regarding  course planning, getting involved in research, and general advice for your academic career. All can help you declare a major or minor, but they need you to send them the appropriate form via email (we no longer process forms with physical signatures). Additionally, the advisors are pretty friendly and willing to talk about random neuroscience subjects if asked nicely.  Your advisor is initially determined by the first letter of your last name. However, this is a soft rule – if you would like to switch to a different advisory, you are fully allowed to.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Flynn, use his calendar system. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Lefeldt or Dr. Ross, simply email them.

Advising Students with last names that begin with A-G

Jon Flynn, Ph.D.
www.flynn.rice.edu
flynn@rice.edu
Appointments available at www.flynn.rice.edu/appointments

Advising Students with last names that begin with H-M

Caná Ross, Ph.D.
Cr53@rice.edu

Advising Students with last names that begin with N-S

Joey Olmos, Ph.D.
Jlo5@rice.edu

 Advising Students with last names that begin with T-Z

Nele Lefeldt, Ph.D.
www.lefeldt.rice.edu
lefeldt@rice.edu

 

 

Last Updated 11/29/2024