
- UCAS course code
- B143
- UCAS institution code
- M20
BSc Neuroscience with Industrial/Professional Experience / Course details
Year of entry: 2021
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Course description
Our BSc Neuroscience with Industrial/Professional Experience course will enable you to gain experience of the workplace on a year-long placement during your degree, making you more attractive to potential employers after graduation.
You will examine how the brain and nervous system work to generate behaviour, perception, movement, sleep, memory and other key functions.
The course covers a range of topics, including biology, pharmacology, physiology, motor systems, sensory systems and more, with the opportunity to choose optional units in particular areas of interest.
You will spend your first year studying fundamental principles before going on to specialise in your second and final years.
In Year 3, you will have the opportunity to go on a placement with one of our `trusted partner' organisations in the UK or abroad. Alternatively, you can choose to arrange your own placement (subject to approval from the School of Biological Sciences).
Placements range from research project work to roles in education, the biotechnology industry and science communication.
Our course has Advanced Accreditation from the Royal Society of Biology , which recognises academic excellence in the biosciences and highlights degrees that educate the research and development leaders and innovators of the future.
Special features
Foundation year available
You can prepare for the full degree course if you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry by undertaking our foundation course first.
Wide range of placements
Choose from placements with our partner organisations in the UK or overseas.
There are reduced tuition fees for the placement year.
Flexibility to transfer between courses
You can transfer between most of our biological sciences degree courses at the end of your first year or, in some cases, later.
Teaching and learning
You will benefit from a wide range of teaching and learning methods that suit the content and aims of each course unit.
These range from lectures and tutorials to practicals and research projects, including the final year project .
Find out more about how you will learn and see a typical Year 1 timetable on our teaching and learning page.
Coursework and assessment
Assessment methods vary widely to suit the nature of the course unit and each level of study.
- Lecture units are usually assessed by written exam (multiple choice, short-answer or essay-based), which are held at the end of an academic semester in either January or May/June.
- Field courses are usually assessed via oral and written presentations, group work and/or projects.
- Practical units are usually assessed by experimental report and/or short written assignment and/or written exam.
- The proportion of independent study assignments increases during each year of study.
Year 1
Lecture units are usually assessed by e-learning activities during the unit and multiple choice exams at the end of the semester. Year 1 contributes 10% to your overall degree mark.
Year 2
Lecture units are usually assessed by a combination of e-learning activities during the unit and short answer-based exams at the end of the semester.
Year 2 contributes 30% to your overall degree mark.
Placement year
You will write a scientific placement report, which is submitted and assessed when you return to University in your final year. The mark for the report, and the associated viva voce oral examination, contribute approximately 10% towards your overall degree mark.
Final year
Lecture units are usually assessed by essay-based exam. Students also take two 'honours' papers: degree programme-specific examinations comprising essays and data-handling problems.
A significant part of the year (accounting for one-quarter of the overall degree mark) is the project, which is assessed by literature review and a written report.
The final year contributes 60% to your overall degree mark.
Course unit details
This course is modular. You will study compulsory course units and choose some optional units.
Most units are assigned 10 credits and you will take 120 credits each year.
Course content for year 1
You will gain a broad introduction to biological sciences, covering key concepts such as:
- neuroscience
- biochemistry
- genetics
- anatomy
- physiology
- pharmacology
- molecular biology
Year 1 also provides an introduction to the essential data handling and laboratory skills required for all biological scientists.
Course units for year 1
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 1 | BIOL10000 | 10 | Mandatory |
Biochemistry | BIOL10212 | 10 | Mandatory |
Molecular Biology | BIOL10221 | 10 | Mandatory |
From Molecules to Cells | BIOL10232 | 10 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Laboratory Science | BIOL10401 | 10 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Experimental Biology - Human Biology | BIOL10422 | 10 | Mandatory |
Genes, Evolution and Development | BIOL10521 | 10 | Mandatory |
Writing and Referencing Skills (online unit) | BIOL10741 | 0 | Mandatory |
Body Systems | BIOL10811 | 10 | Mandatory |
Drugs: From Molecules to Man | BIOL10822 | 10 | Mandatory |
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Course content for year 2
You will continue your studies in greater depth and begin to specialise. You will also undertake a dissertation.
In the Research Skills unit, you have the opportunity to carry out techniques that are widely used in current neuroscience research.
Course units for year 2
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 2 | BIOL20000 | 10 | Mandatory |
Neuroscience RSM | BIOL20922 | 10 | Mandatory |
Human Sciences EDM | BIOL21061 | 10 | Mandatory |
Dissertation | BIOL21090 | 10 | Mandatory |
Drugs & the Brain | BIOL21312 | 10 | Mandatory |
Membrane Excitability: Ion Channels & Transporters in Action | BIOL21321 | 10 | Mandatory |
Motor Systems | BIOL21332 | 10 | Mandatory |
Sensory Systems | BIOL21341 | 10 | Mandatory |
How to Make a Brain | BIOL21451 | 10 | Mandatory |
The Biology of Being Human | BIOL20982 | 10 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
You can apply to spend your third year on a placement with one of our partner organisations in the UK or overseas.
We have trusted partner organisations including pharmaceutical companies, research institutes and hospitals. Our students have recently had placements with organisations such as the University of Nevada, Roche Products Ltd and AstraZeneca.
Our range of placements reflects both research career paths and the growing range of science careers outside of the laboratory in science enterprise, education and communication. We are unique in providing such a range of placements to our students.
Read more about our industrial/professional experience placements .
Course content for year 4
Final year topics reflect the current hotspots of bioscience endeavour and the research interests of our staff, and are constantly being updated.
You will undertake an independent in-depth research project that may involve supervised practical work in a laboratory, or you may choose to work on e-learning, educational, data analysis, bioinformatics or enterprise topics.
Please note the course units listed below are just a small selection and do not represent the number and breadth of course units available on this course.
Course units for year 4
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Tutorials Year 3 | BIOL30000 | 0 | Mandatory |
Projects | BIOL30030 | 30 | Mandatory |
Project Literature Review | BIOL30101 | 10 | Mandatory |
Chemical Communication in Animals (L) | BIOL31461 | 10 | Optional |
Bioethics: Contemporary Issues in Science & Biomedicine (E) | BIOL31522 | 10 | Optional |
Neuroinflammation in Health & Disease (E) | BIOL31612 | 10 | Optional |
Imaging in Biomedical Research (E) | BIOL31631 | 10 | Optional |
Neuropharmacology of Human Health (E) | BIOL31671 | 10 | Optional |
Clocks, Sleep & the Rhythms of Life (E) | BIOL31681 | 10 | Optional |
Learning, Memory & Cognition (E) | BIOL31692 | 10 | Optional |
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Scholarships and bursaries
What our students say
Find out more about what it's like to study at Manchester on the Biology, Medicine and Health Student Blog .
Facilities
Learning facilities
Our modern teaching labs are equipped for a range of biological and biomedical techniques. The following are just a few of the techniques you could undertake during your degree:
- electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG)
- electroretinography (ERG) and electromyography (EMG)
- dissection and histology
- immunofluorescence microscopy
- polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
- DNA sequencing
- spectrophotometry
Our computing facilities include access to over 200 PCs in dedicated clusters and e-learning tools including online lecture notes, discussion boards, lecture podcasts and quizzes.
You will also have access to the University's other facilities for undergraduate students .
Research facilities
As a final year student, you have the opportunity to undertake a project in the labs of our world-class bioscience researchers.To support our research, we have extensive research facilities equipped with high-quality technology.