World's Top 10 Schools for Neuroscience | Best Global Universities for Neuroscience and Behavior

The list of 10 Best Universities in the World for Neuroscience and Behavior

1. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA 02138 United States

Source: Harvard University

Neuroscience is one of the programs offered by the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences program, which promotes collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. This interdisciplinary program includes approximately 150 academic members from various Boston hospitals and campuses with diverse expertise in all areas of neuroscience. This University offers top-ranked undergraduate neuroscience programs for interested students. You will obtain a solid core foundation and will then be able to focus on the extent of specialization that most interests you. You will have access to modern labs, high-resolution microscopy facilities, animal cores, and an instrumentation center that can create unique behavioral chambers and other experimental equipment.

2. University of California San Francisco

500 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143 United States

Source: University of California San Francisco

Graduate training in neuroscience is available through an interdisciplinary program at the University of California, San Francisco. This program aims to prepare Ph.D. students for independent neuroscience research and teaching. Membership in the Neuroscience Program is not required to participate in Neuroscience Program activities. All interested UCSF faculty, students, and other trainees can attend the program's retreat, lectures, and journal club. This program aims to train students who will be experts in one method of neuroscientific research while also having a solid general understanding of other areas of neuroscience and related sciences. To accomplish this goal, the students can enroll in multidisciplinary core and best neuroscience programs and courses sponsored by different graduate schools.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Neurobiology & Neurosciences is one of the majors offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's biological & biomedical sciences department. You can learn more about the major here, including the number of graduates, degree levels available, ethnicity of students, average wages, and other information. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology awarded nine bachelor's degrees in neurobiology and neurosciences during the 2020-2021 academic year. As a result, the School was ranked #151 in popularity among all schools and universities offering this degree. This is a 61% drop from the previous year when 23 degrees were awarded.

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305 United States

Source: Stanford University

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is one of the original departments established at Stanford University. It has a long history of groundbreaking theoretical research that significantly impacts the actual world. For decades, the Department has been recognized as the best psychology school in the country and a prominent psychology department among American colleges. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., recognized this exceptional achievement in 2003. The Psychology Department is housed in Building 420 on Stanford's Main Quad. They research on a wide range of topics like addictive behaviors, aging, computational approaches, and more.

5. Johns Hopkins University

3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States

Source: Johns Hopkins University

John Hopkins University's departmental approach and scope are both deep and broad, with 34 primary faculty, 4 adjunct faculty, and over 70 secondary faculty conducting research in all areas of study, from molecular and cellular, to circuits, systems, and behavioral neuroscience, as well as neurological and psychiatric disease. The level of interaction and collaboration across laboratories in the Department of Neuroscience and other departments at Johns Hopkins University is one of the Department's distinguishing features. The Department of Neuroscience is a unique, fascinating, and vibrant place to pursue science because of its great collegial environment. A prominent subject at the Hopkins Neuroscience Department is warm interpersonal interactions.

6. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States

Source: University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a world-class facility for neuroscience research and education. Around 200 academic members work at 32 departments and six schools, including Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Veterinary Medicine. This setting suits interdisciplinary cooperation to understand the brain and brain illnesses better. For students interested in neuroscience but do not wish to major in it, the Neuroscience program offers a variety of minors. The Neuroscience minor provides comprehensive training in neurobiology and behavior. The newly developed Computational Neuroscience minor trains students to use quantitative approaches to analyze neural networks and the brain.

7. University College London

Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT United Kingdom

Source: University College London

The UCL Neuroscience Department brings together all UCL neuroscientists to make remarkable discoveries about brain function and behavior, train and build the next generation of scientists and clinicians, and transform our ability to treat neurological and psychiatric illnesses. They are part of Europe's largest Neuroscience Research Community, which includes over 40 research groups and 100+ Post-Docs, Ph.D. students, and support staff.

8. Columbia University

2960 Broadway, New York, 10027, United States

Source: Columbia University

The Neuroscience and Education program is intended to train specialists who can bridge the gap between the brain, cognition, and behavior research and challenges encountered in schools and other applied contexts. Students may also enroll in this program to prepare for further studies in neuroscience and related subjects. The program is designed for professionals and non-professionals who want to learn about neuroscience and participate in ongoing research, education, or clinical practice. Graduates of the program may continue in their areas of professional specialty, while some pursue careers in research or apply to Ph.D. schools for further study.

9. Washington University (WUSTL)

1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, United States

Source: Washington University (WUSTL)

The Department of Neuroscience values and promotes collaboration throughout the University, with the objective of better understanding the brain, and has over 40 joint faculty members. They encourage an open science and collaborative culture and provide exceptional research facilities for members of the School of Medicine and the entire institution. The Department's research takes place within the framework of a larger neuroscience community at Washington University, which is both vibrant and interactive. The district spans basic and clinical groups and extends to multiple Departments and Centers across the School's two main campuses, the Danforth and Medical School campuses. U.S. News & World Report has placed Washington University as the ninth-best academic institution in the world for neuroscience training.

10. Yale University

New Haven, CT 06520 United States

Source: Yale University

The Yale School of Medicine's Department of Neuroscience aspires to understand the nervous system's biology and function at all analysis levels. Our staff researches everything from genes and molecules through cells and synapses, circuits, behavior, and cognition. They are interested in the development, disease, dysfunction, and healing of the nervous system and the link between fundamental research and translational medicine. Students can gain expertise in models ranging from invertebrates to primates, as well as techniques such as molecular and cellular neurobiology and studies of normal and abnormal neuronal function in behaving animals through our multidisciplinary graduate training program. Within the Psychology department, the Neuroscience program comprises various methods to study the biological basis of mental processes and clinical problems. Faculty in the program research learning and memory, social cognition, decision-making, and visual attention and perception using current neurobiological approaches.