Off Campus Studies

Planning for Off-Campus Study

The Neuroscience Program encourages students to take advantage of intellectual and cultural experiences not normally available at Bowdoin.  For example, larger institutions often offer advanced seminars and a wider variety of courses in Neuroscience. Students also have an opportunity to meet undergraduates, graduate students and faculty with different perspectives and backgrounds. However, for someone who intends to complete a major in Neuroscience, the decision to study away (abroad) demands careful planning in advance. 

Getting Courses Approved in Neuroscience: 

• Fall: If helpful, prospective neuroscience majors might consider meeting with a faculty member in the Neuroscience Program to chart a course through the major. This planning sheet might be helpful as students gather their thoughts on selecting a semester and a program for their abroad experience.
• If students are deciding among various science majors as they consider their plan abroad, they could consider meeting with Hadley Horch (Biology and Neuroscience, Druck 130E) or Erika Nyhus (Neuroscience and Psychology, Kanbar 220). 
• Spring: Students should obtain sufficient documentation about the courses they wish to take when abroad and seek provisional approval from faculty in the Neuroscience program for any courses they hope to count toward the Neuroscience major.  
• To seek provisional approval from neuroscience, contact a Neuroscience faculty (your Neuro advisor, the Neuro professor you contacted in the fall, a favorite Neuro professor, or the program director) by email, with the following information:
  • The name of the university/program you plan to attend.
  • Which Neuro classes you intend to take, along with links to the website for these courses. 
• The faculty member will reply and CC Rachel Reuling (r.reuling@bowdoin.edu), indicating whether the classes will be provisionally approved for transferring and for which requirement. This email will be kept in the department records. 
• You can then follow up with the physical OCS form for this faculty member to sign. 

** If you decide to change your classes at any point (either before or after beginning your study abroad), re-email the same faculty with the new class you intend to take and its website and get it pre-approved before you enroll. 

Return to Bowdoin:

• When you return to Bowdoin, have your transcript sent to the Bowdoin registrar.
• Your classes will initially appear as general (non-Neuro) credit in your transcript, even if they were approved for Neuro credit.
• By mid-October of your senior year, your advisor will use the previous email communications to update your transcript for the approved Neuro credit.  

Additional Notes: 

1. None of the specific courses required for a major in Neuroscience have to be taken at Bowdoin, although the requirements of the major must be satisfied by courses listed in the college catalogue or by equivalent courses at other institutions.
2. Courses taken away are unlikely to be acceptable substitutes for Bowdoin laboratory courses or seminars, although they may earn credit to satisfy the elective requirement.
3. Students who do not continue their core curriculum in Neurosciene while away sometimes have problems completing their major on their return. Students planning to study away should begin consulting with their advisor and at least one member of the Neuroscience faculty as early as possible, preferably during their sophomore year.
4. Careful planning is particularly important for students considering honors thesis research during the senior year. Such students should consult with prospective thesis advisors before studying away.
5. Students studying away should be aware of the need to complete prerequisites before taking upper-level courses, and note that some courses in the Neuroscience Program are offered only in alternate years.
6. Three-credit courses of appropriate Neuroscience content are generally accepted as equivalent to single courses at Bowdoin (the actual Bowdoin credit equivalent is determined by the Registrar's office). Final decisions about awarding credit toward the major for courses taken at other institutions will be made following a careful review of the course content and the student's performance in the course.