- UCAS course code
- B140
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Neuroscience
- Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB-ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6, 6, 6 to 6, 6, 5 at HL, including specific requirements
Course description
Our BSc Neuroscience course examines how the brain and nervous system work to generate behaviour, perception, movement, sleep, memory and other key functions.
The course also covers new technological advances that have been at the forefront of recent breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience, including biomedical imaging, genetic manipulation and functional recording at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels.
There have also been major advances in our understanding of the biology of higher brain function and the pathogenesis of a variety of neurological disorders, such as mental health disorders and neurodegenerative disease eg Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
You will study a range of topics during the course, including 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.
Special features
A range of study options
You can extend your degree by a year to undertake an integrated master's, gain industrial/professional experience, study with entrepreneurship or learn a modern language.
It is possible to broaden your degree by taking units from the University College, Business and Management for all Programmes or the University Centre for Academic English in exchange for a few units from your degree.
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.
Flexibility to transfer between courses
You can transfer between most of our bioscience 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 practical 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.
- 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 coursework and essay-based exams at the end of the semester. Year 2 contributes 30% to your overall degree mark.
Final year
Lecture units are usually assessed by a combination of e-learning activities, coursework and 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 through a presentation 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:
- fundamentals of 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 |
Body Systems | BIOL10811 | 10 | Mandatory |
Drugs: From Molecules to Man | BIOL10822 | 10 | Mandatory |
Excitable Cells: the Foundations of Neuroscience | BIOL10832 | 10 | Mandatory |
Displaying 10 of 17 course units for year 1 | |||
Display all course units for year 1 |
Course content for year 2
You will continue your studies in greater depth and begin to specialise. You will also undertake a Science Communication unit.
In Year 2, you will learn about different aspects of neuroscience including how the brain controls movement, how we sense the world, how the brain develops and how different drugs can affect the brain.
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 |
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 |
Science Communication | BIOL21392 | 10 | Mandatory |
How to Make a Brain | BIOL21451 | 10 | Mandatory |
Cell Membrane Structure & Function | BIOL21141 | 10 | Optional |
Displaying 10 of 24 course units for year 2 | |||
Display all course units for year 2 |
Course content for year 3
In Year 3 you will delve deeper into how the brain works, for example, you will learn about sleep and biological rhythms, learning and memory, what happens in disease and how we can cure the brain.
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 3
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 | 40 | Optional |
Life Sciences Enterprise Project | BIOL31080 | 40 | Optional |
Science Communication Project | BIOL31220 | 40 | Optional |
HSTM Project | BIOL31250 | 40 | 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 |
Displaying 10 of 12 course units for year 3 | |||
Display all course units for year 3 |
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 research project in the labs of our world-class bioscience researchers. To support our research, we have extensive research facilities equipped with high-quality technology.