Mind, Brain, Behavior
Honors: 14 courses
Students interested in integrating serious study of the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior with thoughtful attention to sociocultural, philosophical and historical questions raised by those sciences may pursue a Mind, Brain, and Behavior focus in History and Science, developed in collaboration with the Standing Committee on Neuroscience and the University-wide Mind, Brain, and Behavior Interfaculty Initiative. All students who join MBB
- are part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary community of scholars (faculty, postdoctoral and other researchers, and graduate and undergraduate students)
- have access to interdisciplinary MBB courses
- are encouraged to participate in the Harvard Society for Mind/Brain/Behavior, a very active and diverse student organization
Students who choose the MBB Focus may be able to satisfy some of their science requirements through the MBB Summer Study Abroad Program in Trento, Italy!
Required Courses:
- Five courses in a sociocultural area, one of which must be History of Science 100, Knowing the World: An Introduction to the History of Science. At least three of the five sociocultural courses should be historical in nature. Up to two courses may be taken in an auxiliary area, such as: health and science policy, medical anthropology, religion and ethics, philosophy of mind and behavior.
- Psychology 1 (Introduction to Psychological Science).
- Three additional courses in science. Must include MCB 80 (Neurobiology of Behavior) and two advanced science courses that focus in one of the following areas: cognitive systems, psychopathology, human evolutionary biology, child development and the brain, computational neuroscience, or neurobiology. In some circumstances, courses from two areas may be combined.
- Interdisciplinary seminar in MBB, taken in the junior year.
- History of Science 97. Tutorial, Sophomore Year.
- History of Science 98. Tutorial, Junior Year.
- History of Science 99ab. Tutorial, Senior Year (the senior thesis – two semesters). The thesis must address a topic in Mind, Brain, and Behavior.
- Students pursuing the Mind, Brain, and Behavior track are also expected to participate in the University-wide Mind, Brain, and Behavior research milieu, including a non-credit senior year seminar for Mind, Brain, and Behavior thesis writers.