Neuroscience Program

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate student presenting at SciFest 2018

SciFest is an annual summer event where undergraduates display the results of their summer research.

An effective method for expanding your undergraduate Neuroscience education is to gain valuable lab experience. There are several ways to gain this experience. Lab experience is part of the Senior Honors program. There are summer research opportunities at Brandeis. Neuroscience labs often offer either paid or volunteer opportunities during the academic year.

Summer Research at Brandeis

Scientific research does not stop at Brandeis University even after the academic year concludes. Every summer we have 100-120 undergraduates on campus doing research, including students from Brandeis and from other institutions. 

Funding support for Brandeis undergraduates comes from a variety of programs highlighted by an NIH Computational Neuroscience training grant and our alumni-sponsored Division of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships.

The capstone event for SciFest, a poster session where students can present the results of their research to peers, grad students, and faculty. It is typically held in early August.

Senior Honors

Completing a senior research project is another option for an undergraduate neuroscience senior interested in undergraduate research. The senior must submit a petition at the beginning of the fall semester. If this petition is approved, the senior must complete a senior research project; and then submit and defend a thesis in late spring.

Undergraduate Publications

Working in a lab sometimes results in co-authoring a research publication. Since 2003, Brandeis undergraduates in the Division of Science have been co-authors on approximately 400 peer-reviewed research publications in scientific journals. View undergraduate publications data.

Finding Opportunities

Interested in lab research? The undergraduate program at Brandeis offers opportunities to motivated neuroscience undergraduates to gain research lab experience while working in paid or unpaid positions. Visit find opportunities to learn more. In normal circumstances, students either should be paid or should receive academic credit for independent research, but in exceptional circumstances, students may petition to be allowed to volunteer outside of the employment and course structures for a period of up to 4 months. Please review the guidelines for undergraduate research participation for more information.

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Office can provide assistance in finding topics, mentors, and funding for research or creative projects for undergraduates at Brandeis.