Possibly Irrelevant Question

[arborealcity]

I'm not really sure if neuroscience encompasses neuropsychology, but it's the latter that I'm interested in. So please excuse me if I'm posting in the wrong community. My question is, what would I, as a high school student, have to do in order to become a neuropsychologist? I understand that the sciences and higher level mathematics classes are

Comments

[quickaspirin]

It does (of course, Neuropsychology has its own focus - not immediately apparent for non-Neuropsychologists ;) If we speak about loss of (higher) psychic functions in man due to brain damage, Biology is less relevant. Your should go to Psychology / Clinical Psychology. Or Neurology / Psychiatry (in Medicine).

[hkitsune]

Best answer.

[psychethesane]

Or you could go somewhere that has a neuroscience major. I was a neuro major in undergrad and loved it. It pretty much combined the relevant bits from bio and psych, with some neuroscience-specific courses thrown in for good measure. FWIW, I went to med school after that and found the medical study of neurology to be absolutely not something I enjoyed.
But yeah, find a school with a neuroscience major. Ours even has a chapter of Nu Rho Psi (say it out loud,) the neuroscience honor society.

[plungerdna]

lol..."Nu Rho Psi"?!? That's awesome.

Yeah, I agree with all this--especially the medical part. I ended up applying to both neurology and psych, but in truth I like(d) reading about both more then I like practicing either.

[kicey]

Seconding this. I'm finishing a neurosci BS and it's given me a good, broad background that I could take in several directions... in fact, most of the students in my neuroscience program are pre-health students because it fulfills pre-health requirements.

[plungerdna]

What area of neuropsych interests you or what job description? In the US you usually need an advanced degree to be a neuropsychologist, but an undergraduate education in psychology, biopsychology, neuroscience, etc. would give you a good background.

Always recommend taking courses that interest you and then what ever your plans are in life might just fall into place this early on.

[tylik]

Are you interested more in the research or clinical side?

Because either way, though I know more about the research side, one of the best things you can do is get some practical experiences. Older high school students can often work in research labs, especially over the summer, and I know there are various volunteer opportunities in clinical settings. Seriously - nothing will look better on your applications, plus you'll get a real idea whether you want to work in the field.