Overview
- Degree awarded
- Master of Science
- Duration
- 12 months FT
- Entry requirements
-
We require an honours degree (minimum Upper Second) or overseas equivalent in a science subject such as:
- psychology
- neuroscience
- physics
- maths
- engineering
- medicine
- computer science
Each application will be judged on an individual basis.
This course is also available for intercalating medical students, both from The University of Manchester and other UK universities, upon completion of their third year (minimum).
For St Andrews students, this includes the three-year course plus the following one or two years spent in Manchester. Intercalating medical students need to have passed all assessments at first attempt (if they are third year) or have no fails in third year if they are fourth year. We also accept home and international medical graduates.
- How to apply
Please apply via our online application form . See the application and selection section for details of the supporting documents we require.
We recommend that you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.
Course options
Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
---|---|---|---|---|
MSc | Y | N | N | N |
Course overview
- Learn about cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience techniques and their application to research in clinical and cognitive neuroscience.
- Study the theory behind cognitive, social, behavioural, and clinical neuroscience while gaining practical data analysis and functional neuroanatomy skills.
- Gain valuable research experience through the research project component of the course.
- This MSc can form the first year of Research Council-funded 1+3 postgraduate PhD studentships and is also suitable for intercalating medical students.
- Study at a university ranked 8th in the UK and among the top 40 in the world for Medicine (QS World University Rankings 2022).
Open days
Alumni Panel Session on Monday 29 April, 2-3pm. Join our online panel of biosciences graduates and find out about studying master’s at Manchester, and the careers this could lead to. Book your place here .
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MSc (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £13,500
International, including EU, students (per annum): £34,500
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK students (fees are typically fixed for international students for the course duration at the year of entry).
For general fees information, please visit the postgraduate fees page. Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
- Telephone
- +44 (0)161 529 4563
- pgtaught.neuro@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/psychology/
- School/Faculty
-
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
We require an honours degree (minimum Upper Second) or overseas equivalent in a science subject such as:
- psychology
- neuroscience
- physics
- maths
- engineering
- medicine
- computer science
Each application will be judged on an individual basis.
This course is also available for intercalating medical students, both from The University of Manchester and other UK universities, upon completion of their third year (minimum).
For St Andrews students, this includes the three-year course plus the following one or two years spent in Manchester. Intercalating medical students need to have passed all assessments at first attempt (if they are third year) or have no fails in third year if they are fourth year. We also accept home and international medical graduates.
English language
International students must demonstrate English proficiency through a secure and approved testing system.
We ask for English language proof if you are from non-majority English speaking countries (a list of majority English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Home Office, can be found here ).
Specifically, we require a minimum of:
- IELTS : 7.0 overall with 7.0 in writing and 6.5 or above in the remaining components
- TOEFL: 100 internet-based (with 25 in writing and 22 or above in the remaining components)
See further information about requirements for your country .
We may also accept evidence of a confirmed place on a University Pre-sessional English language course , if your current IELTS scores are:
- Minimum 6.5 overall (with 6.5 in three components including writing and 6.0 in the remaining component) plus enrolment and attendance on the 6-week pre-sessional course (PS6)
- Minimum 6.0 overall (with 6.0 in each component) plus enrolment and attendance on the 10-week pre-sessional course (PS10)
Please note, we must approve this before you apply for the English course.
English language test validity
Application and selection
How to apply
Please apply via our online application form . See the application and selection section for details of the supporting documents we require.
We recommend that you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.
Advice to applicants
We require the following documents before we can consider your application:
- Transcript of your studies to date.
- Degree certificate (if you have already graduated).
- Personal statement detailing why you would like to study this particular MSc, which parts of the course are most attractive to you and why, and how completion of the course would fit into your career aspirations.
- An academic reference. You will be required to provide the name and contact details of two referees during completion of the application form. Your referees will be contacted directly and asked to provide a letter of reference. When providing referee details, you must ensure the email addresses are accurate and official, typically ending with an institutional domain. We do not accept references provided from a personal email address, eg Hotmail or Gmail.
If any of the supporting documents is not in English, you must also provide us with an official or certified English translation.
If English is not your first language, we also require proof of your English language ability. If you have already taken an English language qualification, please include your certificate with your application. We may be willing to consider your application without this document, but if we choose to make you an offer, the conditions will include IELTS (or equivalent qualification).
How your application is considered
Each student will be assessed on the criteria by the admissions panel. Once the course is full, all suitable candidates will be added to a waiting list. Applicants will be rated on the following criteria:
- an honours degree (minimum Upper Second) or overseas equivalent in a science subject, for example psychology, neuroscience, physics, maths, engineering, medicine, or computer science. Each case will be judged on an individual basis;
- personal statement;
- academic references.
We consider your full academic history including which undergraduate course units you have taken and the marks obtained. When application numbers are high, even if you have met our minimum entry requirements, we will take into account your marks in relevant undergraduate course units in our final decision making.
Overseas (non-UK) applicants
Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1,000 towards their tuition fees before a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.
You cannot use your CAS to apply for a visa more than three months before the start date of your course. This means that if you intend to begin a course on 18th September 2023, we will not issue you with a CAS number before 18th June 2023.
Your CAS number is only valid for one student visa application.
Re-applications
If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.
Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.
Course details
Course description
Our MSc in Neuroimaging for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience will provide you with the theoretical and practical skills required to carry out high-quality cognitive brain imaging work in healthy individuals and patient populations.
Our course is aimed at graduates with scientific training in fields as diverse as experimental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuroscience, physics, computer science, mathematics, medicine, pharmacology, and engineering who are interested in a career where brain imaging forms a major focus, or where the scientific and technological needs of brain imaging are addressed.
The course aims to provide a unique environment in which students from a variety of scientific backgrounds can work together in a way that reflects their potential future collaborations, and in which they can readily acquire the multidisciplinary skills needed.
You will explore issues relating to the optimisation of fMRI and EEG data acquisition and analysis, with a particular focus on the cross-talk between the physics of the scanning environment, the psychology of the experimental design, and the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the human brain.
In addition, the course offers an in-depth grounding in cognitive, social, behavioural, and clinical neuroscience theory, and offers the opportunity to be directly involved in neuroimaging research.
Graduating students will be ideally placed to make major contributions to research and technological development within the field of brain imaging.
PhD with integrated master's
If you're planning to undertake a PhD after your master's, our Integrated PhD programme will enable you to combine your postgraduate taught course with a related PhD project in biology, medicine or health.
You can also visit this page for examples of projects related to integrated master's courses.Special features
MSc + PhD studentships
Our MSc can form the first year of Research Council-funded 1+3 postgraduate PhD studentships (such as from the ESRC Northwest Doctoral Training Centre ).
Teaching and learning
Our course is delivered through a series of lectures and practical lab-based classes, as well as informal seminar-style sessions encouraging interaction and discussion.
The research project offers one-to-one supervision within the research environment.
Apart from doing standard background reading and preparation for coursework and examinations, you will be required to work on lab-based skills outside formal teaching times. Dedicated facilities will be available for this.
Coursework and assessment
Course unit details
You will take eight taught course units worth 15 credits each and complete a research project.
Semester 1:
- Neuroimaging Techniques (including MRI, fMRI, PET, EEG, MEG)
- Functional and Computational Neuroanatomy (unit name is subject to approval)
- Image Analysis
- Experiment Design and Optimisation
Semester 2:
- Advanced Image Analysis
- Cognitive Psychology for Clinical Neuroscience
- Cognitive and Social Neuroscience
- Clinical and Behavioural Neuroscience
Research projects
For the research project, you will join an active neuroimaging research programme from across the University. A wide variety of research options will be made available in the hope that the experience reflects the research environment that you might enter once you have graduated.
All students will be required to carry out a major component of neuroimaging data analysis and interpretation of results as part of the project. Project results will be presented in poster format at a mini-conference towards the end of the course.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Advanced PET and MRI | IIDS67432 | 15 | Mandatory |
Neuroimaging Techniques | PCHN62101 | 15 | Mandatory |
Cognitive Psychology for Clinical Neurosciences | PCHN62112 | 15 | Mandatory |
Image Analysis | PCHN62121 | 15 | Mandatory |
Experimental Design and Optimisation | PCHN62131 | 15 | Mandatory |
Functional Neuroanatomy | PCHN62141 | 15 | Mandatory |
Advanced Image Analysis | PCHN62152 | 15 | Mandatory |
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience | PCHN62162 | 15 | Mandatory |
Clinical and Behavioural Neuroscience | PCHN62172 | 15 | Mandatory |
Research Project | PCHN62180 | 60 | Mandatory |
Displaying 10 of 13 course units | |||
Display all course units |
Facilities
Disability support
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service .
Careers
Career opportunities
This MSc will prepare you for a career path in scientific and clinical research and academia, as it provides the ideal platform from which to proceed to doctoral studies or research posts involving brain imaging.
The course also provides clear career paths in specialist software industries, and in specialist sections of the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, our MSc offers a high-level specialisation relevant for students and graduates of medicine.