Dartmouth vs Brown for neuroscience: which is better for undergrads?

For undergraduate neuroscience specifically, Brown usually has the edge. Dartmouth is also excellent, but its neuroscience-related options are a bit more distributed across departments and can feel smaller in scale.

Brown is especially strong if you want a clearly defined neuroscience identity as an undergrad. The department is highly undergraduate-facing, students often get into labs relatively early, and Providence gives access to Brown’s medical school and affiliated research settings. Faculty access is generally good at both schools, but Brown’s concentration has more of a direct pipeline for undergrads who already know they want neuroscience.

Dartmouth’s big advantage is the undergraduate focus of the college overall. Classes can feel very personal, professors are accessible, and research can be easier to land because there are fewer graduate students competing for attention in some areas. Dartmouth also has strong brain science work tied to psychology, biology, and Geisel School of Medicine, so motivated students can build a very strong path there.

If your priority is the most established, flexible, and undergraduate-centered neuroscience major, Brown is probably the better pick. If you care more about a smaller-campus feel, very close faculty interaction, and a tighter-knit academic environment, Dartmouth can be just as compelling. For most students choosing purely on undergraduate neuroscience structure and breadth, Brown comes out ahead.