7 Essential Skills for UC Davis Neuroscience Majors: Mehek’s Story

The Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior major at UC Davis is a rigorous, interdisciplinary program geared towards students interested in pursuing neuroscience. Given the breadth and depth of the academic requirements to graduate, mastering a handful of key skills can be crucial for students to find success in the program. Building some or all of these skills before entering the program empowers students to handle the challenges they will face during their studies. To learn more about how to succeed at UC Davis as a neuroscience student, we spoke to Mehek, a Polygence alumna. She shared her journey and highlighted several essential skills and tips for aspiring neuroscience majors.

Why Essential Skills Matter for Neuroscience Majors at UC Davis

Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field drawing from molecular biology, physics, computer science, chemistry, and more. Studying neuroscience requires a broad range of knowledge and a diverse set of skills. These skills include foundational knowledge in core STEM subjects, as well as hands-on lab techniques, time management, research literacy, self-motivation, and more. Students can begin preparing early for their neuroscience studies by developing some of these skills during high school, laying a strong base for advanced neuroscience coursework. Take Mehek as an example: her early passion for research and scientific papers on the human brain helped her develop the essential skills that set her up for success, and she’s been building on and strengthening those skills during her first year of university-level studies.

Common Challenges Neuroscience Majors Face

Students in the Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior major at UC Davis face a number of common challenges. As a result of the demanding and interdisciplinary coursework, many first-year students struggle to keep up with prerequisites. Prerequisites for neuroscience at UC Davis include biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and calculus. After completing the required general STEM requirements, students must then transition to “Depth Subject Matter” courses, which are highly specialized classes. These include Genes & Gene Expression, Biomolecules & Metabolism, Comparative Neuroanatomy, Developmental Biology, and more. With a large portion of their time dedicated to managing a suite of advanced classes, it is also a challenge for students to find and pursue research opportunities. Simply knowing where to begin looking for opportunities to get involved in research can seem like a daunting challenge. With all of these academic responsibilities (prerequisite courses, advanced neuroscience courses, and research), it can be difficult to maintain motivation and focus, and to avoid burnout during the four years of the B.S. program.

Mehek’s  7 Key Skills for Neuroscience Success

Self-Direction and Motivation

Considering these challenges, a clear, internal sense of direction was one of the most important things that Mehek brought with her to UC Davis. Going into a program knowing exactly what you want to get out of it allows students to “make use of the resources in the most effective way—whether that’s academically, socially, or career-wise.” From Mehek’s perspective, having a clear target is a key factor in achieving success for neuroscience majors at UC Davis: “Knowing what you want makes up half the effort in reaching your goals.” Another important skill is the ability to self-motivate or, as Mehek puts it, having “the drive, motivation, and work ethic” to reach your target.

Research Literacy and Scientific Writing

Research literacy is another important skill for success in a variety of academic fields. Mehek highlights how Polygence helped her develop scientific research literacy, developing the necessary skills to read, make sense of, and accurately summarize scientific papers. Mehek’s Polygence project was on drug addiction and the brain. “I knew I wanted to do something with neuroscience,” she says, “because that was an area I was interested in, and I got paired with my mentor, Andrew. He gave me papers to read and helped me learn about the area.” Ultimately, Mehek’s Polygence project culminated in her writing an original scientific paper. “We started broadly with neuroscience and then focused on drug addiction. I wrote a scientific paper with his help.”

Foundational STEM Knowledge

Developing foundational STEM knowledge is a must for STEM majors. First-year students in STEM are usually required to work through a broad curriculum of prerequisite courses, which go beyond the level of detail taught in high school science classes. Coming into college with foundational knowledge in biology, chemistry, and math allows students to hit the ground running. Highly prepared students are able to power through these prerequisites and begin taking advanced courses specific to neuroscience (or to their chosen major) as early as possible.

Communication Skills: Writing, Presentation, and Public Engagement

Clear communication is essential for translating complex neuroscience concepts into understandable insights. UC Davis students learn to write precise research reports, summaries, and papers while presenting findings confidently in seminars, poster sessions, and conferences. They are also trained to convey their work to diverse audiences, including peers, mentors, and even family members interested in their research. These communication skills allow students to explain intricate systems and processes in human biology, strengthening their general academic skills and professional presence. Mastery in communicating these ideas provides a strong foundation for leadership in research, teaching, and health-related careers.

Developing Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Neuroscience is a complex field that draws from multiple disciplines, including biology, psychology, and cognitive science. Excelling in this area requires more than memorization; it demands strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. At UC Davis, students are guided by faculty and their academic advisor to analyze experimental results, identify patterns in human neural data, and design innovative experiments to test hypotheses. This approach not only strengthens their education in core neuroscience concepts but also provides neuroscience majors with the tools to tackle challenges beyond the classroom, preparing them for careers related to research, health sciences, or advanced studies after completing their undergraduate degree.

Time Management and Balancing Commitments

First-year students can easily feel overwhelmed trying to balance classes, a social life, research, and — in many cases — doing laundry, going grocery shopping, and acquiring other life skills for the very first time. Having the ability to manage time effectively and to find a smart balance among their many commitments often makes the difference in helping students stay afloat.

Networking and Resource Utilization

Mehek’s favorite thing about UC Davis is “how big the school is, how much they have to offer to their students, and how much support they give.” Knowing how to thrive in and capitalize on a large University network is an important skill. Acquiring and strengthening this skill is key for students to connect with professors, mentors, and peers; to find research opportunities and academic support; and to reach their full overall potential. Mehek says that even though UC Davis is “a large school, I’ve found my own community in my friends and classmates. The school has a lot to offer in terms of resources, and I haven’t fully taken advantage of all of them yet, but I love that they have so much to offer.” 

How Mehek Has Grown Through Her UC Davis Experience

Mehek’s UC Davis experience has helped her grow both academically and personally. She originally chose UC Davis because, in her words, “I could see myself growing into the student and the person I wanted to become over the four years of my college experience.” While the university has a large student body, that has been a plus for Mehek. She’s been able to find a “very supportive” community of friends and classmates who share her interests. In addition to finding a supportive academic and social community, she’s discovered and taken advantage of a variety of resources that the university has to offer. These have been instrumental in supporting and amplifying her success. Finally, Mehek’s early research and mentorship experiences empowered her to enter her first year with confidence and to continue building that confidence with each semester.

Advice for Aspiring Neuroscience Majors Interested in Research

We learned a lot from our conversation with Mehek! Based on her experience, high school students who a) are aspiring neuroscience majors and b) are interested in conducting research should:

• Start developing essential skills early with mentor-guided projects. A research mentor can guide you through the process of starting and finishing a successful neuroscience project.

• Use online resources to actively explore neuroscience research opportunities

• Reach out to knowledgeable contacts like teachers and professors

Finally, Mehek strongly emphasizes that self-motivation and independence is absolutely essential for neuroscience students to navigate academic systems, find opportunities, and achieve sustained success.

Building Essential Skills for a Neuroscience Future

Continuously learning and developing a handful of essential skills empowers students to find and stay on their ideal path towards neuroscientific success. The skills highlighted above — self-direction & self-motivation, research literacy, foundational STEM knowledge, time management, and networking & resource utilization — are based on inside knowledge from within the UC Davis Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior major. However, they are also relevant for Bachelor of Science degrees at other universities (e.g. for prospective UCLA Cognitive Science majors and UC Berkeley Biology majors), and for long-term career success after graduation.

Are you ready to follow your passion for neuroscience? Completing a passion project, like Mehek’s research paper on drug addiction and the brain, is a powerful strategy for clarifying and focusing your sense of academic direction, and for strengthening the other important skills discussed above.

Polygence works with a diverse network of PhD-level neuroscience mentors, connecting them to motivated high school students who are passionate about pursuing neuroscience. We engineered our flagship research mentorship program for driven high school students to generate structured academic growth. Participating students benefit from 10 individual sessions with their mentor as they start and complete an independent research project. Another great option is Polygence Pods, which offers small, beginner-friendly courses for students interested in neuroscience, neurodiversity, neurodegenerative diseases, and more.

Apply to Polygence now to take your passion for neuroscience to the next level!