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Neuroscience Education Abroad Guide

The Famous Keukenhof Tulip Garden by Jeff Cesark Amsterdam Netherlands

CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 70 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, 2-12 weeks in the summer, or even winter break. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Neuroscience department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps. 

Quick Facts

  • The most common year for NRSC majors to study abroad is during junior year.
  • The most common degree requirements taken abroad are upper-division NRSC electives, certain Gen Ed classes, and general elective hours
  • Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need

Planning and When to Go

  • First-year: Start planning for education abroad! Start making progress with your ancillary biology and your major genetics requirement. Complete introductory chemistry as needed to be ready for general chemistry. Take A&S Gen Ed classes that are less common to find abroad.
  • Sophomore: Complete your 2000-level NRSC courses. It is highly recommended to complete your ancillary general chemistry sequence prior to junior year/studying abroad, as well as any other remaining 1000-2000 level ancillary and major requirements. Again, try to save some upper-division major electives for education abroad. Education abroad during sophomore year is less common, but absolutely possible.
  • Junior: Go abroad! Consider taking Neuroscience upper division electives that are not offered at CU. Keep in mind that since this category is inter-disciplinary, you may find some Neuroscience- related courses in other departments such as Biology, Psychology, Physiology, Biochemistry, etc. As always, be sure to get the course(s) pre-approved.
  • Senior: Work closely with your advisor to ensure that you can get all of your requirements completed.
    Be sure that you know when the credits may be transcripted, as this can delay your official graduation date.

What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?

Usually Doable Tricky Probably Not
General Electives  A&S Gen Ed NRSC A&S Gen Ed NRSC A&S Gen Ed NRSC
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences N/A Global Diversity Upper-division NRSC electives
 		 Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication Ancillary courses; NRSC Core courses

Suggested Programs

Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.
   
 

Submitting Courses for Evaluation

Note that the Neuroscience department requires that their students submit syllabi for all new course evaluation requests that are submitted on the Major/Minor/Certificate Evaluation Form. If you cannot find syllabi on your program's website, reach out to your program manager through your provider (e.g. CIEE, ISA, etc.) and/or contact your CU program manager.
 

Additional Resources

Last Updated March 2023