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Neurosurgeon education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeons usually study medicine, nursing, or biology. 27% of neurosurgeons hold a doctoral degree, and 26% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 173 real neurosurgeon resumes to see exactly what neurosurgeon education sections show.
The most common colleges for neurosurgeons are the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Austin.
There are also many online neurosurgeon courses to help get the education required to be a neurosurgeon.
What education do you need to become a neurosurgeon?
What degree do you need to be a neurosurgeon?
- Doctorate, 27%
- Bachelor's, 26%
- Master's, 14%
- Associate, 10%
- Other Degrees, 23%
What should I major in to become a neurosurgeon?
Most common colleges for neurosurgeons
| Neurosurgeon common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Texas at Austin | 8.00% |
| University of Phoenix | 8.00% |
| Central State University | 8.00% |
| University of Washington | 8.00% |
| Colorado State University - Pueblo | 8.00% |
Best majors for neurosurgeons
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine | 15.3% |
| 2 | Nursing | 11.1% |
| 3 | Biology | 9.7% |
| 4 | Business | 9.7% |
| 5 | Medical Assisting Services | 9.7% |
Best colleges for neurosurgeons
The best colleges for neurosurgeons are University of Virginia, New York University, and Northwestern University.
A neurosurgeon with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for neurosurgeons. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become neurosurgeons.
1. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
2. University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$15,730
Enrollment
18,830
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
4. Maria College of Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$15,140
Enrollment
876
5. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce
Mercedita, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$5,914
Enrollment
4,155
6. Clarkson College
Omaha, NE • Private
In-state tuition
$13,392
Enrollment
646
7. Jefferson College of Health Sciences
Roanoke, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$26,886
Enrollment
774
8. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Arecibo
Arecibo, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$5,872
Enrollment
3,553
9. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
10. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
20 best online courses for neurosurgeons
Advertising disclosure
1. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
2. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
3. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing
Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...
4. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
5. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
7. Hotel Front Desk
Hotel Front Office Management and Operations...
8. Medical Coding CPC (Certified Professional Coder) Training
ICD 10, CPT, HCPCS, Rules and Regulations...
9. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
11. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
12. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
13. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
14. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
15. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
16. Prepare for the EMT Certification Test
Welcome to your final course in Become and EMT! Prepare for the National Registry exam. The title for this course is a little bit misleading. We do hope that at the completion of this course that you feel more prepared to take the skills portion as well as the written portion of the national registry exam. More than anything else, however, our greatest hope is that we have given you the knowledge and tools to provide high quality patient care once you are certified as an EMT or once you achieve...
17. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
18. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
19. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
20. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
Top 10 most affordable universities for neurosurgeons
The most affordable schools for neurosurgeons are Hunter College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for neurosurgeons are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for neurosurgeons.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
5. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,668
Cost of attendance
14,488
8. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
9. Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$9,233
Cost of attendance
18,110
10. University of Colorado Denver
Denver, CO • Private
In-state tuition
$9,283
Cost of attendance
22,243
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for neurosurgeons
The hardest universities for neurosurgeons to get into are University of Virginia, New York University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for neurosurgeons are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for neurosurgeons based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
2. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
6. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
7. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
8. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
9. University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
59%
SAT average
1,367
10. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for neurosurgeons
The easiest schools for neurosurgeons to get into are AdventHealth University, d'youville college, and university of the incarnate word.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a neurosurgeon without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for neurosurgeons.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
3. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
4. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
5. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
6. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
8. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
9. Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,033
10. Washington Adventist Hospital
Takoma Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
52%
SAT average
958
Average neurosurgeon salary by education level
| Neurosurgeon education level | Neurosurgeon salary |
|---|---|
| Doctorate Degree | $379,790 |
Neurosurgeon education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025