Anonymous
05/09/2026 09:13
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:DS is debating between a career in clinical psychology and psychiatry. He was advised to major in psychology for clinical psych but neuroscience for psychiatry. He is starting off as a psychology major but minoring in neuroscience to hopefully keep options open. If his first year isn’t too stressful, he is likely to change his minor in neuroscience to a second major. Even if he doesn’t pursue medical school, he feels the coursework will provide a stronger foundation for a clinical psychology program.
Major is irrelevant for med school. He should just major in one and take relevant electives across both majors and the rest of the university's offerings
Anonymous
05/09/2026 02:23
Subject: Re:Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Yes, my badAnonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:remarkable science for those unable or unmotivated to do physics
Even more remarkable for those who are. See: Dylan and Abbott
you mean Dayan and Abbott?
Anonymous
05/09/2026 02:14
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
What a shame - should have at least taken a computational/quantitative neuroscience course before switchingAnonymous wrote:DS was interested because of his experiences having multiple concussions. He hated his first year bio classes though and switched to QAMO.
Anonymous
05/09/2026 02:11
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Medicine is arguably the highest earning mainstream profession, and it's female-dominated.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am shocked by how popular neuroscience is too. It is an incredibly specialized field for an undergrad, but it is insanely popular. Neuroscience is now more popular than biology at some colleges despite biology being a much more general and widely applicable major. Neuroscience varies from school to school, but in some schools it does seem to be a "STEMMED -UP psychology. Girls especially seem to love it.
If a field starts tilting heavily female, its earning potential heads into the toilet. I didn't like it, but that's the way it works.
What a sexist saying it is...... earning potentials? Ask how much money radiologist and neurosurgeon make? Letting alone the CEO of Google Deep Mind who has a PHD in neuroscience.
Radiology is at least 60 percent male and neurosurgery is like 90 percent male, so I'm not sure what your point is. It's not sexist to point out that society undervalues most professions that are considered "woman's work" from education and the arts to, increasingly, the life sciences.
It's not that society undervalues "women's work", it's that women are more willing to take low-pay high-satisfaction jobs over high-pay low-satisfaction jobs due to not having to plan to be their future family's primary earner during the career-defining ages of 18-25.
Anonymous
05/09/2026 02:05
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
You've got the causality backward. Men are going into nursing because it's lucrative.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am shocked by how popular neuroscience is too. It is an incredibly specialized field for an undergrad, but it is insanely popular. Neuroscience is now more popular than biology at some colleges despite biology being a much more general and widely applicable major. Neuroscience varies from school to school, but in some schools it does seem to be a "STEMMED -UP psychology. Girls especially seem to love it.
If a field starts tilting heavily female, its earning potential heads into the toilet. I didn't like it, but that's the way it works.
Why is this sexist post not being removed? awful. terrible taste and ignorance at this best.
Because it's true. Teaching used to pay well before it became female-dominated. Recently nursing has gotten increasingly lucrative because more men are going into that field (mainly to get to CRNA, but still).
Anonymous
05/09/2026 00:33
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
DS is debating between a career in clinical psychology and psychiatry. He was advised to major in psychology for clinical psych but neuroscience for psychiatry. He is starting off as a psychology major but minoring in neuroscience to hopefully keep options open. If his first year isn’t too stressful, he is likely to change his minor in neuroscience to a second major. Even if he doesn’t pursue medical school, he feels the coursework will provide a stronger foundation for a clinical psychology program.
Anonymous
05/09/2026 00:09
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:more psychology vs more biologyAnonymous wrote:Is there a difference between neuroscience and cognitive science at the undergrad level? Or similar to political science and government?... most schools just pick one to name the department.
Which is more psychology which is more biology?
Anonymous
05/08/2026 23:45
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Also, kids who are pretentious choose it because they think it makes them sound smart. Even if they have a 900 SAT, and all they take is basic coursework to fill out a neuroscience major at directional state school, the secret hope is that their less educated friends and family will ooh and ahh about their genius at family BBQs for years to come. The "rocket scientists" of the moment.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 20:21
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
DS was interested because of his experiences having multiple concussions. He hated his first year bio classes though and switched to QAMO.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 20:10
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am shocked by how popular neuroscience is too. It is an incredibly specialized field for an undergrad, but it is insanely popular. Neuroscience is now more popular than biology at some colleges despite biology being a much more general and widely applicable major. Neuroscience varies from school to school, but in some schools it does seem to be a "STEMMED -UP psychology. Girls especially seem to love it.
If a field starts tilting heavily female, its earning potential heads into the toilet. I didn't like it, but that's the way it works.
What a sexist saying it is...... earning potentials? Ask how much money radiologist and neurosurgeon make? Letting alone the CEO of Google Deep Mind who has a PHD in neuroscience.
Radiology is at least 60 percent male and neurosurgery is like 90 percent male, so I'm not sure what your point is. It's not sexist to point out that society undervalues most professions that are considered "woman's work" from education and the arts to, increasingly, the life sciences.
Ob-gyn is predominantly female and has been for almost 2 decades based on residency grads. with salaries of 350-450k it is above general surgery and many male-leaning disciplines. For any MD specialty, the money is there, male or female. Even the lower paid ones make 200k full itme.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 17:09
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am shocked by how popular neuroscience is too. It is an incredibly specialized field for an undergrad, but it is insanely popular. Neuroscience is now more popular than biology at some colleges despite biology being a much more general and widely applicable major. Neuroscience varies from school to school, but in some schools it does seem to be a "STEMMED -UP psychology. Girls especially seem to love it.
If a field starts tilting heavily female, its earning potential heads into the toilet. I didn't like it, but that's the way it works.
What a sexist saying it is...... earning potentials? Ask how much money radiologist and neurosurgeon make? Letting alone the CEO of Google Deep Mind who has a PHD in neuroscience.
Radiology is at least 60 percent male and neurosurgery is like 90 percent male, so I'm not sure what your point is. It's not sexist to point out that society undervalues most professions that are considered "woman's work" from education and the arts to, increasingly, the life sciences.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 17:01
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:It’s also an easy program for a small college to have. No major lab costs.
What? No. Princeton has a neuroscience building that must have cost a fortune (courtesy of its alums Jeff Bezos and the former Mackenzie Bezos). It's full of MRIs and optical imaging facilities that I'm sure aren't cheap.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 16:55
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Neuroscience is popular because its genuinely interesting when you really get into it.
But the way it's being sold is as a "safe" major for both pre-med and social science who don't want to do hard math. Basically, it's the modern equivalent of a psyche degree.
Buyer beware.
But the way it's being sold is as a "safe" major for both pre-med and social science who don't want to do hard math. Basically, it's the modern equivalent of a psyche degree.
Buyer beware.
Anonymous
05/08/2026 16:48
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am shocked by how popular neuroscience is too. It is an incredibly specialized field for an undergrad, but it is insanely popular. Neuroscience is now more popular than biology at some colleges despite biology being a much more general and widely applicable major. Neuroscience varies from school to school, but in some schools it does seem to be a "STEMMED -UP psychology. Girls especially seem to love it.
If a field starts tilting heavily female, its earning potential heads into the toilet. I didn't like it, but that's the way it works.
Why is this sexist post not being removed? awful. terrible taste and ignorance at this best.
Because it's true. Teaching used to pay well before it became female-dominated. Recently nursing has gotten increasingly lucrative because more men are going into that field (mainly to get to CRNA, but still).
Anonymous
05/08/2026 14:12
Subject: Why is Neuroscience Such a Popular Major?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:People love to crap on kinesiology programs, but they often have some of the same bio and Chem classes as those majors. Anyway, there’s overlap, since it’s dealing with the human body.
They take the intro chem and bio classes, but not the upper level classes (300-400 level). That's why they're crapped on. It's more of a survey major with less depth and rigor.
Kinesiology majors typically exclude organic chemistry from a requirement. Kinesiology often times is conferred just as a Bachelor of Arts degrees, not a B.S.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:People love to crap on kinesiology programs, but they often have some of the same bio and Chem classes as those majors. Anyway, there’s overlap, since it’s dealing with the human body.
They take the intro chem and bio classes, but not the upper level classes (300-400 level). That's why they're crapped on. It's more of a survey major with less depth and rigor.
Kinesiology majors typically exclude organic chemistry from a requirement. Kinesiology often times is conferred just as a Bachelor of Arts degrees, not a B.S.
Mine has to take, O Chem, Micro, physics, psych and stats, just like other pre-health majors. They also need anatomy and physiology. The only one that they may not need is biochem. It's is a BS, not a BA.