Get to know New Assistant Professor Tanya Gupta
Gupta leads with empathy and makes the classroom a warm and receptive environment for conversation, debate, and curiosity.
What's your teaching style?
Ultimately, as a teacher, I want to help students share my excitement for science. As a neuroscientist and psychologist, I have the privilege of teaching a subject that is a universal source of wonder – almost everyone is at least a little bit curious about how their brain works. I am a spirited lecturer and aim to make classrooms a welcoming place. While my teaching aim is always to ensure that students learn the material, I think this starts by leading with empathy and making the classroom a warm and receptive environment for conversation, debate, and curiosity. I like to ask my students many open-ended questions, in an effort to learn their viewpoint on the material and incorporate their interests into class!
What's one of your favorite memories from your student days?
As a college student at Illinois Wesleyan University, I pursued a minor in Applied Clarinet Performance, while working in a cognitive neuroscience lab, collecting EEG data. I have fond memories of going back and forth between the music building practice rooms and the EEG lab late at night, switching gears from music to research, making friends with musicians and science students alike.
What was one thing you struggled with in college?
As someone who thrives with a structured schedule, I had trouble learning how to manage my own time, especially gaps in my class schedule. I struggled with black-and-white thinking, where I thought that every free hour had to be filled with focused studying or a structured activity. I didn’t realize that giving myself some breathing room is important, too, and am still working on that!
What do you think every student should experience in college?
Although it never feels good, I think every college student should develop a relationship with failure, and importantly, how to move forward from it. SCU students are highly successful, but it's important to remember that failure is part of your training. Try, fail, revise, try again! It’s an important process to go through.
If you could have any superhero power, what would it be and why?
Most cliche answer, but I can’t think of any power I would rather have than the ability to fly. Way too convenient for getting around the Bay!
What's your favorite sports team and why?
My favorite sports team is the Indian National Women’s Cricket team! They won the World Cup last year for the first time last year. I grew up watching the Indian Men’s cricket team, which is dominant on the world stage, but the Women’s team never had the support or resources. Seeing them rise in the rankings and win the cup in 2025 despite significant societal barriers, and even ostracism, was a transformative event for me!