Undergraduate
General Undergraduate Information
Undergraduates interested in studying the many disciplines comprising Mind Brain Behavior are attending Harvard at a particularly exciting time. The University has committed its enthusiasm and resources to developing undergraduate programs in MBB by taking advantage of both the intellectual innovations possible in new combinations of traditional disciplines and the knowledge and structure those traditional disciplines provide.
The Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative offers a number of opportunities for undergraduates:
- activities open to all students interested in mind, brain, and behavior
- a secondary field program of study open to all undergraduates
- tracks of study open to students in participating concentrations (Computer Science; History and Science; Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution; Linguistics; Neuroscience; Philosophy; and Psychology)
All students interested in MBB:
- are part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary community of scholars (faculty, postdoctoral and other researchers, and graduate and undergraduate students), brought together with a variety of community-wide lectures and panels each year
- may take MBB courses as space is available
- are welcome and encouraged to participate in the Harvard Undergraduate Mind Brain Behavior (HUMBB), an active and diverse student organization
Students in MBB tracks or the MBB secondary field:
- get enrollment priority in MBB interdisciplinary seminars
- take part in the annual junior symposium, a day of talks and discussions with leading scholars from Harvard and beyond
- are eligible for funded research fellowships to conduct thesis research the summer before the senior year
- take part in interdisciplinary senior workshops groups where MBB track students can explore the broader implications of their (thesis) research
- receive occasional invitations to conferences, colloquia, and speaker reception
To-Do Checklist by Year
If you are in or considering being in an MBB academic program (a track or the secondary field), these are the basics you should attend to by year.
- Take Psychology 1/Introduction to Psychological Science (offered both semesters).
- Begin exploring MBB-related concentration options (concentrations with tracks) through course work, advising, and concentration websites.
- Review program information on this website.
- Sign up for both our mailing lists, track/secondary program announcements and general and event announcements.
- Consider becoming involved in the MBB-affiliated student organization Harvard Undergraduate Mind Brain Behavior (HUMBB).
- Come to MBB and HUMBB events!
- Take Neuroscience 80/Neurobiology of Behavior (aka MCB 80).
- To pursue an MBB track, choose a participating concentration (Computer Science, History of Science, Human Evolutionary Biology, Linguistics, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology)
- To pursue the MBB secondary field, register on my.harvard.edu (instructions here) once you have declared a concentration.
- Come to MBB and HUMBB events!
- Take an MBB interdisciplinary seminar.
- Consider applying for a Mary Gordon Roberts Thesis Fellowship for the summer. All track students and those secondary students considering writing MBB-related theses are eligible.
- Attend the junior symposium (required for track students, recommended for secondary students).
- Come to MBB and HUMBB events!
- Write an MBB-related thesis approved by your concentration.
- Complete track/concentration course requirements.
- Attend MBB senior workshops.
- Complete certificate application
- Come to MBB and HUMBB events!
- Celebrate completing your MBB program at our senior recognition ceremony
- Complete secondary field course requirements.
- If you have not already done so, declare your secondary field in my.harvard.edu (instructions here).
- Complete your secondary field information form.
- Come to MBB and HUMBB events!
- Celebrate completing your MBB program at our senior recognition ceremony