- UCAS course code
- 3L47
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Master of Science (MSci)
MSci Neuroscience
Duration: 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: 3L47 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Accredited course
- 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
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £34,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Additional expenses
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).
Course unit details:
How to Make a Brain
| Unit code | BIOL21451 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Initial lectures will cover comparative anatomy of nervous systems in model organisms before focussing on the human. The ascending (spinothalamic) and descending (corticospinal) pathways will be explained before moving on to anatomy of the brain. This will lead on to lectures that provide a step-by-step explanation as to how these structures are constructed from neural induction through to the formation of functional circuits. Later lectures will cover the importance of plasticity in relation to early sensory experience and the role of stress in epigenetic shaping of post-natal brain.
Pre/co-requisites
| Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excitable Cells: the Foundations of Neuroscience | BIOL10832 | Pre-Requisite | Compulsory |
Aims
The unit aims to: teach students about basic neuroanatomy in model organisms and humans. The majority of lectures will focus on how the anatomy of the nervous system is established during development and will include the latest knowledge on neural stem cells and how they might be used to help fix the brain when it is broken. The unit will also explain the relationship between the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems and the many roles that astrocytes play in helping to maintain a healthy brain.
Learning outcomes
Category of outcome | Students should/will be able to: |
Knowledge and understanding |
|
Intellectual skills | The study of brain development led to the discovery of many of the basic cellular mechanisms known to operate throughout the body. This unit will therefore provide students with knowledge of key mechanisms that have wider application throughout biology and beyond. They should therefore be able to apply knowledge from this unit to other biological systems.
|
Practical skills | N/A
|
Transferable skills and personal qualities | Components of this unit are designed to test the student’s ability to quickly locate information and participate in group discussions to formulate a consensus opinion. Students will therefore gain confidence in using evidence to support self-constructed arguments: skills that are essential in any job setting. |
Teaching and learning methods
This unit will consist of online modules and blended live sessions after each learning block
Knowledge and understanding
Students should be able to:
- Explain the main anatomical divisions of the brain.
- Understand how the different regions of the brain develop.
- Explain the main mechanisms that shape the brain.
- Describe the main steps involved in generating a functional human brain from initial induction through to the generation of functional circuits.
- Explain the role of glial cells in brain function and maintenance.
- Appreciate the role of stem cells during brain development and in brain research and therapy.
- Explain the role of perinatal environmental stimuli in shaping the developing brain.
Intellectual skills
The study of brain development led to the discovery of many of the basic cellular mechanisms that are now known to operate throughout the body. This unit will therefore provide students with knowledge of mechanisms that have wider application throughout biology and beyond. They should therefore be able to apply knowledge from this unit to other biological systems.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
Components of this unit are designed to test a student’s ability to locate information and participate in group discussion to formulate a consensus opinion. Students will therefore gain confidence in using evidence to support self-directed learning.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Other | 15% |
| Written exam | 85% |
Assessment task | Length | How and when feedback is provided | Weighting within unit (if relevant) |
1) Online eTests (weekly) | 30min each | When each test closes
| 15% |
2) End of Semester Examination - Section A (SAQs) | 2hr
| After exam results are released | 85% (A: 25%) |
Feedback methods
Feedback for the online tests is automated and will be provided after each test closes. The blackboard online discussion board will be used for specific questions so that all students and staff can view and comment on these. Alternatively, students can e-mail staff directly and the question will be transferred to the discussion board, anonymously, along with the answer. There will be a feedback session after the exam.
Recommended reading
1.
Neuroscience Exploring the Brain - 3 edition (2007) Bear, Conners and Paradiso (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia
2.
Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development – 2nd edition (2017) Price, Jarman, Mason and Kind (Eds), Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester
For Information and advice on Link2Lists reading list software, see:
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 78 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Nicholas Glossop | Unit coordinator |