April 15, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System has granted initial approval to UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) to offer a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree in neuroscience.  The proposal will now go to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

The past two decades have seen explosive growth in neuroscience and there is an increasing demand for researchers and neuroscience health professionals. UAB expects to enroll 15 students in the program, which will be administered by the Department of Neurobiology in the School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The program also will draw from the Schools of Optometry and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

The proposed degree program will provide a broad and challenging sequence of courses in biology, psychology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. It will also feature introductory and advanced classes in neuroscience. UAB anticipates graduates of the program will have academic, intellectual and research skills that will make them highly competitive for professional schools in health-related sciences and research.

Students in the program will have unique opportunities to work with top UAB neuroscience faculty and participate in original research projects.

In 2006, UAB created a Comprehensive Neuroscience Center to develop a world-class program in interdisciplinary neuroscience research, clinical care and education. UAB is home to the Alabama Neuroscience Blueprint Core facility, a research program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will link investigators from universities and institutions across the state and region. A 2006 grant of $8.6 million over five years provides six shared core facilities for scientists working in neuroscience. UAB was one of only four institutions nationally to receive NIH Neuroscience Blueprint funding.