Students and faculty excited about the new program’s potential
The University of Guelph has been at the forefront of biological research and innovation for decades and it continues to evolve to this day. Beginning in September 2017, undergraduate students have the opportunity to major in neuroscience in addition to the already extensive list of biological science majors offered by the University. The implementation of this program will fill an apparent gap, as a minor and graduate program in neuroscience are already offered.
Dr. Francesco Leri, chair of the psychology department, helped to spearhead the movement, along with Dr. Brian Husband, the associate dean of academics for the integrative biology department. Several other faculty members and student organizations were also involved, including the Neuroscience Club and the College of Biological Sciences Student Council (CBSSC).
Current students played a large role in the approval of the new major by the University’s Senate.
Jack Wong, the current president of the CBSSC, told The Ontarion that he has been asking about neuroscience becoming a major at U of G since his second year.
“It was great to see that the momentum has definitely continued in making this major a reality,” said Wong.
Dr. Leri explained that there are a number of reasons why it was time for a neuroscience major to come to Guelph, the first being that students asked for it.
“They got themselves together a few years ago, they did a survey, and there was a significant request of a major that was designed for students interested in the brain that would cover a variety of fields,” said Dr. Leri.
“The second reason is that the number of neuroscientists is becoming more and more prominent […] and the field itself is growing.”
“The third reason,” he explained, “is that this is one of those fields of science that covers multiple levels.”
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The new major is designed to encompass at least four different departments, including biomedical science, human health and nutritional sciences, molecular and cellular biology, and psychology providing students the opportunity to develop a variety of skill sets through an interdisciplinary education.
“Students will have a formal, comprehensive degree in neuroscience,” said Dr. Leri, explaining that his kind of program is hard to come by at other universities. “Usually it’s one department and they teach within their domain. This has been built initially as a collaboration so we’ve picked the best of the different elements and we’ve put them together.”
For Wong, the idea of not restricting the neuroscience major under one umbrella makes it “more of a collaboration of information between the various disciplines.”
The addition of this new major could also have a positive impact on the University of Guelph as a whole, not just the undergraduate students looking to enter the program.
“The new major will enhance the [University’s] reputation at the undergraduate level by offering something that is quite unique in southern Ontario and perhaps in the rest of Canada,” said Dr. Leri. “The investment the University made is a statement: neuroscience matters to Guelph.”
Leri explained that the addition of the neuroscience major at the University could draw in new researchers and faculty who want to help push Guelph further forward through cutting edge research.
Not only are faculty excited about the possible benefits that this new program could have for the school, but many students are also excited by the potential prospects.
Claudia Idzik, the vice-president of events on the College of Biological Sciences Student Council said in an interview with The Ontarion, “Since neuroscience is one of the largest minors right now, it could bring in way more students to the program.”
The new major aims to allow students to have a smooth introduction and movement into the degree, however, when this major was added, another was lost. The major in Psychology: Brain and Cognition will be replaced as a result of the new neuroscience major moving in. According to Dr. Leri, students already enrolled in the psychology major will complete their degree without any complications.
“We guarantee the courses [and] their degree as it began will finish and it will not be impacted. The quality will not be impacted. If anything, there will be more courses that they can take,” said Dr. Leri.
When asked if he could go back and take this major as his own, Wong responded by saying, “100 per cent I would! I knew starting off with my human kinetics degree that I had a huge passion for neuroscience. […] If I could double-major, I would.”
Idzik gave a similar response, saying, “I’d 100 per cent enroll in it. It’s such a cool major and I think it would be a good stepping stone for graduate programs.”
The new major is set to accept its first cohort of students in September 2017 and promises to push the University of Guelph further towards their mission of “Changing Lives and Improving Life.”
Featured image by Kylie Armishaw.