undergradly.
Major · Biological & Biomedical Sciences

A pre-clinical and pre-PhD ramp with cadaver-lab access at a handful of programs

Neurobiology and Anatomy combines nervous-system biology with structural human anatomy, pulling together molecular neuroscience, neurophysiology, gross anatomy, and histology in a single bachelor's. About 652 students complete this CIP each year across just 12 institutions, and the major functions almost entirely as a pre-professional ramp toward medical, dental, PT, PA, OT, or PhD programs rather than a terminal credential.

Schools offering
12
Annual completions
652
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$65k

About this major

Neurobiology and Anatomy is the cellular, molecular, and structural study of the nervous system in vertebrates and invertebrates. The CIP definition pulls together neuronal and glial cell biology, neural transmitters and receptors, synaptic signaling, autonomic function, nervous system circuitry and mapping, and the anatomical and functional basis of central nervous system diseases — a curriculum that, in practice, runs through cell biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physiology, neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, and histology. Programs at medical-school-adjacent campuses typically pair this with cadaver-lab or prosection sequences and clinically themed case work, while smaller programs lean more heavily toward molecular and circuit-level neuroscience.

The major attracts students who already see themselves heading into a graduate health program (MD, DDS, DPT, PA, OT) or into a research PhD in neuroscience, anatomy, or a biomedical field, and who want a structural-and-systems runway focused on the nervous system specifically. Comfort with detailed anatomical memorization matters — gross anatomy and neuroanatomy reward specific recall in a way few other sciences do — and so does sustained interest in wet-lab and dissection work. Strong organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physiology performance signals readiness for the graduate programs that most graduates target next.

The scale of this major reflects how administratively narrow it is. Only 652 students earn the bachelor's neurobiology-and-anatomy CIP each year across 12 institutions, with the University of California-Davis accounting for roughly 387 of those completions. Career data reinforces the pre-professional and pre-PhD pattern: two of the four tracked careers — medical scientist at $100,590 and biological science postsecondary teacher at $83,460 — list a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry credential, while the bachelor's-only routes anchor closer to research-technician and lab-assistant wages. The $64,879 five-year median sits modestly above Biology, General ($58,010) but well below the eventual ceiling that requires graduate training.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists $101k +8.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Biological science teachers, postsecondary $83k +7.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Biological scientists, all other $93k +1.2% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$65k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you already see yourself in a graduate health program (medicine, dentistry, PT, OT, PA) or in a funded neuroscience or biomedical PhD, if the nervous system specifically holds your attention rather than biology in general, if cadaver-lab access and detailed neuroanatomical memorization energize rather than drain you, if you read fMRI papers or surgical animations for fun and want the underlying systems made rigorous, and if you are prepared to attend one of the small set of programs (UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, University of Washington, Cincinnati, Purdue, Georgetown) where the major is actually offered with the lab infrastructure to support it.

Think twice if you want a four-year degree that lands you at a research-scientist wage straight out of school, since bachelor's-only roles cluster in the $45,000–$55,000 research-technician range, well below the $64,879 five-year median that already reflects graduates who have continued into clinical or graduate school. Reconsider this route if you are unsure about graduate school — Biology, General (83,027 annual completions) and Neuroscience (9,625) keep more options open at the same eventual career destinations with much larger program networks. Pause too if your interest in the brain is primarily cognitive, behavioral, or computational rather than cellular and structural; Neuroscience is the better-fit CIP for that orientation. And if you are drawn primarily to general human anatomy without the nervous-system emphasis — say, as a pre-PT or pre-DC track — standalone Anatomy or Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology will track more directly to those goals.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Neurobiology and Anatomy

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 387 387
University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 0 63 63
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 54 54
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH 0 43 43
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN 0 40 40
Georgetown University Washington, DC 0 38 38
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 0 14 14
Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 0 10 10
Hampshire College Amherst, MA 0 2 2
Harvard University Cambridge, MA 0 1 1
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Neuroscience

9,625 completions/yr

Biochemistry

8,736 completions/yr

Biomedical Sciences, General

6,553 completions/yr

Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology

5,770 completions/yr

Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology

3,392 completions/yr

Nutrition Sciences

3,240 completions/yr

Microbiology, General

2,120 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do neurobiology and anatomy majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework pairs nervous-system biology with structural anatomy: cellular and molecular neuroscience, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, histology, and embryology, layered on top of a standard pre-med biology and chemistry core (cell biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics). Upper-division terms typically include regional dissection or prosection sequences alongside lab-based work on neural circuits, synaptic signaling, and central nervous system disease models. Programs at medical-school-adjacent campuses (UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, University of Washington, Georgetown) tend to offer cadaver-lab access; smaller programs lean more toward molecular and circuit-level work.
How is this different from Neuroscience or from Anatomy on its own?
Neuroscience (CIP 26.1501) is the much larger sibling at 9,625 annual completions and reaches further into cognitive, behavioral, and computational territory — cognition, perception, and systems-level brain function. Anatomy (CIP 26.0403) is a structural-only program centered on gross human anatomy without the nervous-system emphasis. Neurobiology and Anatomy sits between them: narrower than neuroscience because it stays at the cellular, molecular, and structural level of the nervous system, but broader than pure anatomy because it adds the full nervous system as its central focus. If you want behavioral or cognitive science, choose neuroscience; if you want general body structure, choose anatomy; choose this CIP if you want the nervous system and its anatomy specifically.
What kinds of jobs do graduates actually land with just a bachelor's?
Realistic bachelor's-only landing spots are biological technician, neuroscience research assistant, anatomy or histology lab assistant, and pharma or biotech entry-level roles, typically at $45,000–$55,000 to start — below the $64,879 five-year median, which already reflects graduates who have moved into clinical or graduate school. The headline tracked careers all require advanced credentials: medical scientists ($100,590) and biological science postsecondary teachers ($83,460) list a doctoral or professional degree as typical entry-level education, and natural sciences manager ($161,180) is a mid-career outcome reached after years of bench experience. Treat the bachelor's as a credential floor and a graduate-school launch pad.
Is this really a pre-med / pre-PT / pre-PA / pre-DDS major in disguise?
Largely, yes — with a strong pre-PhD branch as well. Two of the four tracked careers (medical scientists at $100,590 and biological science postsecondary teachers at $83,460) list a doctoral or professional degree as typical entry, which is what students who enter MD, DDS, DPT, OT, or PA school plus those who pursue a PhD eventually become. UC-Davis, the dominant program at 387 of the 652 annual completions, draws heavily from pre-health applicants, and Georgetown, University of Washington, and Cincinnati sit next to medical schools that the cadaver-lab and clinical-shadowing infrastructure is built around. If you are not aiming at a graduate health program or a research PhD, broader Biology, General usually serves you better.
Do I need a PhD or master's to make this major pay off?
For the high-wage tracked careers, yes. Medical scientist roles ($100,590, 8.7% growth) and postsecondary biology teaching ($83,460, 7.3% growth) both list a doctoral or professional degree as typical entry. The standard graduate paths from this major are a five-to-seven-year funded PhD in neuroscience, anatomy, or a related biomedical field, an MD or MD/PhD, or a clinical doctorate (DPT, OT, PA, DDS). A master's in this space is usually a bridge credential — useful for strengthening a PhD or MD application, building research hours, or moving into industry research-associate roles — rather than a final credential on its own. Funded PhD programs are the standard route for academic and pharma R&D, with stipends covering tuition and living costs.
Why is the five-year median earnings figure around $65,000?
Because many graduates are still in graduate or professional school five years out, or working as research and lab technicians while applying. Earnings five years post-bachelor's undercount what neurobiology and anatomy majors eventually earn once they finish a PhD, MD, DPT, or PA program — medical scientist ($100,590), faculty research scientist ($83,460+), and natural sciences manager ($161,180) wages all sit further down the pipeline. The $64,879 figure is an early-career snapshot of a long training arc, and is meaningfully higher than Biology, General ($58,010) or Anatomy ($69,125) at the same five-year mark for similar reasons.
Why do only 12 schools offer it as a standalone major?
Most universities roll neurobiology and anatomy students into Biology, General, into Neuroscience (CIP 26.1501), or into Cell/Molecular Biology rather than running a separate CIP code — the standard administrative grouping pattern for narrowly named biology tracks. The 12 listed schools fall into two clusters: large public research universities with on-campus medical schools and cadaver-lab access (UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, University of Washington, Cincinnati, Purdue), and Northeast / mid-Atlantic campuses with medical-school proximity (Georgetown, Harvard, Hampshire College, University of Rhode Island). UC-Davis alone accounts for 387 of the 652 annual completions, so the program-distribution math is heavily concentration-driven.