Why Study Bio-Psych?
Introduction:
The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented expansion in our understanding of the brain and nervous system, and their relations to behavior. The discipline that has been most involved in the effort to understand brain-behavior relations is termed biological psychology or neuroscience. This field is, by its very nature, an interdisciplinary field, one that comprises not only central portions of biology and psychology, but also chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science.
Why a Concentration?
In recognition of the fact that the subject matter of biological psychology cannot be accommodated by any one department, the Biology and Psychology Departments jointly offer the Biological Psychology Concentration. The program is not a double-major; it is structured to provide an integration of the two disciplines for students who choose either biology or psychology as their major.
Goals of the Concentration:
The concentration is not intended simply to prepare undergraduates for advanced degrees in neuroscience. In fact, a study of colleges comparable to Holy Cross with similar programs revealed that only about one-fourth of students who major or concentrate in this area go on to advanced study in neuroscience. Another third are premedical/predental students who see Biological Psychology as a relevant complement to their undergraduate preparation. The remaining students who select Biological Psychology do so for the same reasons that they might involve themselves in any area of study. Their postgraduate plans are, in turn, as varied as any sample of students' plans would be, ranging from business and law school to social service and the arts