Brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience have become central aspects of all areas of Psychology.
This course is aimed at students who are interested in these new and emerging techniques. The course will provide students with a critical understanding of cognitive neuroscience and specific skills in brain imaging techniques (eg, fMRI, EEG) and programming. Students will have access to state-of-the-art equipment for brain imaging, brain electrophysiology and stimulation, and eye movement recording.
This programme contains specialised modules on the theory and methods of brain imaging and current advances in cognitive neuroscience linked to these methods. It offers an excellent opportunity for training in the latest imaging research methods and practical applications, with one-to-one contact with research-active staff from the School of Psychology.
The MSc in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience is an exciting course that offers students the flexibility to develop specific interests, whilst at the same time an excellent opportunity to develop the technical and transferable skills needed to succeed in a wide range of research-related jobs.
Key features of the course are
This course offers an excellent opportunity for advanced learning in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience. For many students this course helps them to develop a more focused set of interests and skills within Cognitive neuroscience so that they can choose the next career step that is best for them. For others, who have already identified the sub-specialty that fires their career aspirations, the course allows them to delve more deeply into their subject and to gain more specific skills and knowledge needed to build their chosen career. An aim of the course is to give students a boost in securing an interesting and exciting job in the workplace or a place on a high quality PhD course after graduation.
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF 160KB)
The course includes a variety of learning and teaching activities, including lectures, seminars, journal clubs, and workshops. For research-based modules, students will have regular supervision and directed research work. Activities include both individual and group work.
A surprising range of careers are open to students graduating with an MSc in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience. Our students are excellent candidates for research-related employment in both private and public sector organisations because this MSc develops key skills that are highly attractive to employers, namely analytical and statistical skills, as well as presentation and report writing skills.
This MSc is also excellent preparation for PhD or other advanced degree positions.
Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of interest in brain science across academia, industry and the media. The integration of cognitive brain imaging with neuroscience will play a central part in discovering how the brain functions in health and disease in the 21st century, as illustrated by the Human Brain Project in Europe and The Brain Initiative in the USA. The taught Brain Sciences degree will help you gain interdisciplinary knowledge “from molecules to mind” and enable you to develop research skills in cognitive brain imaging, fundamental neuroscience and brain disorders.
The programme will consist of compulsory taught courses, selected optional courses and a research project spread over 11-12 months.
Taught courses are delivered by lectures, tutorials, problem-based learning and computer-based sessions supplemented by a wide range of electronic resources for independent or group study. You will use the primary scientific literature as an information resource and through project work will develop skills in team-working, experimental design and data interpretation. Through assessment of coursework you will gain skills in oral and written communication.
The University of Glasgow MSc in Brain Sciences provides you with many career opportunities.
Research: MSc students can enter a research career, mainly by undertaking further postgraduate research studies towards a PhD, or by working in research laboratories in academic settings.
Industry: Other options include going on to work in a wide range of commercial sectors including the pharmaceutical or biotechnological industries and scientific publishing.
Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of interest in brain science across academia, industry and the media. The integration of cognitive brain imaging with neuroscience will play a central part in discovering how the brain functions in health and disease in the 21st century, as illustrated by the Human Brain Project in Europe and The Brain Initiative in the USA. The taught Brain Sciences degree will help you gain interdisciplinary knowledge “from molecules to mind” and enable you to develop research skills in cognitive brain imaging, fundamental neuroscience and brain disorders.
The programme will consist of compulsory taught courses, selected optional courses and a research project spread over 11-12 months.
Taught courses are delivered by lectures, tutorials, problem-based learning and computer-based sessions supplemented by a wide range of electronic resources for independent or group study. You will use the primary scientific literature as an information resource and through project work will develop skills in team-working, experimental design and data interpretation. Through assessment of coursework you will gain skills in oral and written communication.
The University of Glasgow MSc in Brain Sciences provides you with many career opportunities.
Research: MSc students can enter a research career, mainly by undertaking further postgraduate research studies towards a PhD, or by working in research laboratories in academic settings.
Industry: Other options include going on to work in a wide range of commercial sectors including the pharmaceutical or biotechnological industries and scientific publishing.
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 neuroimaging research.
Graduating students will be ideally placed to make major contributions to research and technological development within the field of brain imaging.
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 ).
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.
Assessment will vary between course units, but will comprise a mixture of examinations (including short answer and multiple-choice formats), coursework, lab reports and a final research report.
You will take eight taught course units worth 15 credits each and complete a research project.
Semester 1:
Semester 2:
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.
You will be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service
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 work involving brain imaging.
The course also provides clear career paths in specialist software and hardware 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.
This course is about the relationship between brain function and mechanisms that underpin behaviour.
Computational neuroscience uses data to construct models of brain function. Cognitive neuroscience and human imaging relate function to its underlying neural substrate.
The course includes a long research project which gives you the chance to carry out an in-depth imaging study. The computational and analytical skills you’ll learn are great preparation for a PhD.
The course takes students from both life sciences and the physical sciences and engineering. Appropriate training is given to ensure all students can master the required skills and complete the course successfully.
For the taught component of the course, students choose one of two options: either a pathway focused on mathematics, computational neuroscience and MR-physics or a pathway focused on ethics, clinical neurology, neuroradiology and neuroanatomy, which includes a practical human brain dissection course.
You’ll develop the skills and knowledge for all sorts of careers. Many of our graduates continue to PhD level. Others work as research associates and assistant psychologists for employers such as universities and the NHS. Throughout your course, you’ll have frequent reviews with your tutor to discuss your learning needs and objectives.
Our ongoing collaborative projects with hospitals, mental health care units, the police and prison service, and several leading firms in business and industry will show you how psychology can be applied in the real world.
You’ll also benefit from our research excellence. We don’t just focus on one or two specialisms – with active researchers in most areas of psychology, we are consistently one of the highest-ranked research departments in the UK.
Whatever your particular interest, we have the facilities for your research. Our research environment was rated amongst the best in the country in the last national assessment. We are exceptionally well resourced for research in Social and Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Developmental Psychology, with a dedicated suite of rooms for different participant groups.
To give you the right tools for your research, there is a fully equipped neuroscience unit with excellent facilities for brain imaging, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, behavioural neuroscience and computational neuroscience. We have access to a small-bore MRI device and to the University’s MRI facility for human studies.
Please contact us for the latest funding opportunities.
PATHWAY 1
OR
PATHWAY 2
Teaching is through lectures, seminars and laboratory classes.
There are examinations at the end of semesters one and two, written coursework and an extensive empirical research project over the summer.
The course is designed to prepare you for a PhD, but your experience could land you a job in the private sector as a lab technician or a developer.
This programme provides an opportunity to undertake intensive training in human cognitive neuropsychology by working closely with our Human Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, a group of internationally recognised cognitive psychologists, clinical and academic neuropsychologists including Dr Sharon Abrahams and Professors Sergio Della Sala and Robert Logie.
Teaching follows an integrated approach with courses on neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, clinical neuropsychology and brain imaging. You will also receive training in generic research methods within psychology.
This programme comprises two semesters of taught compulsory and optional courses, followed by a dissertation. Optional courses within the area of human cognitive neuroscience can be selected to tailor the programme to your interests. You may also choose your optional courses from a range in associated disciplines, such as individual differences, informatics and psycholinguistics, with permission from the programme director.
Compulsory courses
Option courses
Dissertation
The dissertation involves conducting a research project under staff supervision. You will produce a written report, which describes your research and interprets your findings.
If you are looking to complete a research dissertation in clinical based environments (interacting with NHS patients) or schools / nurseries, you may be asked to apply for a Research Passport by your supervisor, or you may select a clinical research project that is already in progress within the University.
On successful completion of this programme, you will have gained:
The programme is suitable for graduate psychologists or those who have studied or worked in related disciplines who wish to pursue a research-oriented career within cognitive neuropsychology (providing the foundations for later application to a doctoral training programme) or a clinically oriented career in neuropsychology.
Learn how to create artificial information systems that mimic biological systems as well as how to use theoretical insights from AI to better understand cognitive processing in humans.
The human brain is a hugely complex machine that is able to perform tasks that are vastly beyond current capabilities of artificial systems. Understanding the brain has always been a source of inspiration for developing artificially intelligent agents and has led to some of the defining moments in the history of AI. At the same time, theoretical insights from artificial intelligence provide new ways to understand and probe neural information processing in biological systems.
On the one hand, the Master’s in Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems addresses how models based on neural information processing can be used to develop artificial systems, probing of human information processing in closed-loop online settings, as well as the development of new machine learning techniques to better understand human brain function.
On the other hand it addresses various ways of modelling and understanding cognitive processing in humans. These range from abstract mathematical models of learning that are derived from Bayesian statistics, complexity theory and optimal control theory to neural information processing systems such as neural networks that simulate particular cognitive functions in a biologically inspired manner. We also look at new groundbreaking areas in the field of AI, like brain computer interfacing and deep learning.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/computation
Why study Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems at Radboud University?
- Our cognitive focus leads to a highly interdisciplinary AI programme where students gain skills and knowledge from a number of different areas such as mathematics, computer science, psychology and neuroscience combined with a core foundation of artificial intelligence.
- Together with the world-renowned Donders Institute, the Behavioural Science Institute and various other leading research centres in Nijmegen, we train our students to become excellent researchers in AI.
- Master’s students are free to use the state-of-the-art facilities available on campus, like equipment for brain imaging as EEG, fMRI and MEG.
- Exceptional students who choose this specialisation have the opportunity to study for a double degree in Artificial Intelligence together with the specialisation in Brain Network and Neuronal Communication. This will take three instead of two years.
- This specialisation offers plenty of room to create a programme that meets your own academic and professional interests.
- To help you decide on a research topic there is a semi-annual Thesis Fair where academics and companies present possible project ideas. Often there are more project proposals than students to accept them, giving you ample choice. We are also open to any of you own ideas for research.
- Our AI students are a close-knit group; they have their own room in which they often get together to interact, debate and develop their ideas. Every student also receives personal guidance and supervision from a member of our expert staff.
The programme is closely related to the research carried out in the internationally renowned Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. This institute has several unique facilities for brain imaging using EEG, fMRI and MEG. You will be able to use these facilities for developing new experimental research techniques, as well as for developing new machine learning algorithms to analyse the brain data and integrate them with brain-computer interfacing systems.
Some examples of possible thesis subjects:
- Deep learning
Recent breakthroughs in AI have led to the development of artificial neural networks that achieve human level performance in object recognition. This has led companies like Google and Facebook to invest a lot of research in this technology. Within the AI department you can do research on this topic. This can range from developing deep neural networks to map and decode thoughts from human brain activity to the development of speech recognition systems or neural networks that can play arcade games.
- Brain Computer Interfacing
Brain computer interfaces are systems which decode a users mental state online in real-time for the purpose of communication or control. An effective BCI requires both neuro-scientific insight (which mental states should we decode?) and technical expertise (which measurement systems and decoding algorithms should be used?). A project could be to develop new mental tasks that induce stronger/easier to decode signals, such as using broadband stimuli. Another project could be to develop new decoding methods better able to tease a weak signal from the background noise, such as adaptive-beam forming. Results for both would assessed by performing empirical studies with target users in one of the EEG/MEG/fMRI labs available in the institute.
Our Artificial Intelligence graduates have excellent job prospects and are often offered a job before they have actually graduated. Many of our graduates go on to do a PhD either at a major research institute or university with an AI department. Other graduates work for companies interested in cognitive design and research. Examples of companies looking for AI experts with this specialisation: Google, Facebook, IBM, Philips and the Brain Foundation. Some students have even gone on to start their own companies.
Examples of jobs that a graduate of the specialisation in Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems could get:
- PhD researcher on bio-inspired computing
- PhD researcher on neural decoding
- PhD researcher on neural information processing
- Machine learning expert in a software company
- Company founder for brain-based computer games
- Hospital-based designer of assistive technology for patients
- Policy advisor on new developments in neurotechnology
- Software developer for analysis and online visual displays of brain activity
Half of your second year consists of an internship, giving you plenty of hands-on experience. We encourage students to do this internship abroad, although this is not mandatory. We do have connections with companies abroad, for example in China, Sweden and the United States.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/computation
The International Master in Bio-Imaging at the University of Bordeaux offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary academic program in cellular and biomedical imaging, from molecules and cells to entire animals and humans. It is part of the “Health Engineering” program, which combines three academic tracks (Biomedical Imaging, Cellular Bio-Imaging and Bio-Material & Medical Devices).
Built on the research expertise of the researchers at the University of Bordeaux, this Master program provides excellent training opportunities in advanced bio-imaging methods and concepts to understand (patho)-physiological processes through the vertical integration of molecular, cellular and systems approaches and analyses.
Students receive intense and coordinated training in bio-imaging, combining a mix of theoretical and practical aspects. They acquire scientific and technological knowledge and experience in the main imaging techniques used in biomedical research and practice.
Semesters 1 and 2 focus on the acquisition of general knowledge in the field (courses and laboratory training). Semester 3 consists of track specialization in cellular bio-imaging, biomedical imaging and bio-materials & medical devices. Semester 4 proposes an internship within an academic laboratory or with an industrial partner.
Semester 1:
Semester 2:
Cellular Bio-Imaging track
Biomedical Imaging track
Semester 3:
Cellular Bio-Imaging track
Biomedical Imaging track
Semester 4:
Graduates will be qualified in the following domains of expertise:
Potential career opportunities include: researcher, service engineer, application scientist, bio-medical engineer, sales engineer, healthcare executive.
Cognitive neuroscience relates cognitive and behavioural functions to the underlying brain systems. Computational neuroscience uses data to construct rigorous computational models of brain function. Put them together and these new disciplines are the key to explaining the relationship between brain and behaviour.
You’ll develop a broad and critical understanding of these two fields, along with an appreciation of different approaches to understanding brain function.
Your range of computational and analytical skills, and an ability to generate and test hypotheses, will give you an excellent foundation for further research.
The course takes students from both life sciences and the physical sciences and engineering. Appropriate training is given to ensure all students can master the required skills and complete the course successfully.
You’ll develop the skills and knowledge for all sorts of careers. Many of our graduates continue to PhD level. Others work as research associates and assistant psychologists for employers such as universities and the NHS. Throughout your course, you’ll have frequent reviews with your tutor to discuss your learning needs and objectives.
Our ongoing collaborative projects with hospitals, mental health care units, the police and prison service, and several leading firms in business and industry will show you how psychology can be applied in the real world.
You’ll also benefit from our research excellence. We don’t just focus on one or two specialisms – with active researchers in most areas of psychology, we are consistently one of the highest-ranked research departments in the UK.
Whatever your particular interest, we have the facilities for your research. Our research environment was rated amongst the best in the country in the last national assessment. We are exceptionally well resourced for research in Social and Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Developmental Psychology, with a dedicated suite of rooms for different participant groups.
To give you the right tools for your research, there is a fully equipped neuroscience unit with excellent facilities for brain imaging, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, behavioural neuroscience and computational neuroscience. We have access to a small-bore MRI device and to the University’s MRI facility for human studies.
Please contact us for the latest funding opportunities.
Teaching is through lectures, seminars and laboratory classes.
Examinations at the end of semesters one and two, written coursework and an extensive empirical research project over the summer.
This programme involves studying the interaction between and within groups of neurons in the brain, and how they affect our interactions with the outside world.
The brain is no longer considered a passive response device but rather as a network in which we consider ongoing activity before, during, and after a stimulus. The specialisation Brain Networks and Neuronal Communication deals with brain networks; ranging from the smallest scale, the communication between individual neurons, to the largest scale, communication between different brain areas. Using advanced mathematical tools, this specialisation prepares students for cutting-edge neuroscience research.
Students interested in this specialisation are expected to already have a high level of mathematical skills and/or training in physics, engineering or computer science in their Bachelor’s studies.
A large majority of our graduates gain a PhD position, while other graduates find jobs in the commercial sector or at research institutes. Graduates of this specialisation may more readily find a position within a government institution or specialised companies (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry).
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/cns/brain
- Researchers in Nijmegen combine new techniques for electrophysiological and anatomical measurements of connectivity and activation with data analysis and the experimental application of these techniques. This is done in studies of cognition in not just humans but also non-human primates and rodents.
- Exceptional students who choose this specialisation have the opportunity to do a double degree programme with either Neuroscience or Artificial Intelligence. This will take three instead of two years.
- This competitive programme provides a sound balance of theory and practice. Our selective approach guarantees excellence, especially during the research training period.
If you have successfully completed the Master’s programme in Brain networks and neuronal communication, you will be able to conduct independent neuroimaging and neurobiological research. You will have ample knowledge of the anatomical and neurophysiological aspects of networks in the human brain and the techniques for the computational analysis and modeling of brain networks. This will enable you to conduct independent research into the neurofunctional architecture of key cognitive functions, such as perception, attention, memory, language, planning and targeted actions and develop technologies to measure, characterise and model networks at the whole brain and/or the local cortical circuit level. With this educational background you should be able to find a position with one of the research institutes in the Netherlands or abroad, government institutions or specialised companies (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry).
Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience is one of the spearheads in the research policy of Radboud University. Here, in Nijmegen, hundreds of scientists from various faculties and top institutes have joined forces to unravel the workings of the human brain, step by step . They work together closely, exchange expertise and share state-of-the-art research equipment.
Nijmegen is one of the foremost centres of cognitive neuroscience in the world. We have a high admission threshold to ensure that all of our students are highly motivated and have the ability to work at an advanced level. Top scientists screen all applications to make sure the new students meet our stringent entry criteria and can maintain the current standards of excellence. Once admitted to the programme, you can expect to be trained as a multidisciplinary scientist in the following two years. The research you will undertake addresses crossdisciplinary challenges. The teachers and supervisors you will meet are all experts in their own disciplines. We hope that with this programme, you will outperform your teachers by being able to combine knowledge from different domains. Alongside language processing and perceptuomotor systems, you may also help improve brain/computer interfaces, a hot topic with applications in medicine and information technology. Apart from being very exciting, it is also logical that various disciplines are merging. After all, everything that happens in the brain is interconnected. In Nijmegen we develop sophisticated cognitive models which we test by means of state-of-the-art imaging techniques, thanks to which you can participate in cutting-edge research that will hopefully lead to new insights into the way the human brain and mind work. Finally, we offer our best CNS students excellent career opportunities in challenging PhD projects.
- Unique multi-disciplinary Master’s programme
Are you also interested in the human brain? Would you like to conduct research into the workings of the brain and join an enthusiastic, international group of top researchers? The Radboud University offers a multi-faculty Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience. The programme takes two years and is of a scientific orientation. There is a strong emphasis on experimental research. This Master’s programme is unique in Europe.
The Master’s programme in Cognitive Neuroscience is primarily focused on training you as a researcher because research institutes and businesses around the world desperately need highly qualified and motivated young researchers. Moreover, since cognitive neuroscience is a rather young discipline, much in this field has not yet been explored. There are many challenging questions that need to be answered. So there is plenty of room for new discoveries!
This competitive programme provides a sound balance of theory and practice. We enroll about 50 students per year. Our selective approach guarantees excellence, especially during the research training period.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/cns/brain
This cutting-edge programme offers an exciting opportunity to study modern neuroscience with a focus on clinical implications. You will gain a strong foundation in understanding the mechanisms and treatments of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.
This course is designed for students from a range of backgrounds, who are interested in pursuing a career in neuroscience. You will develop a detailed understanding of modern theory and concepts relating to brain research and neuroscience and the application of these principles in the treatment of brain disorders. This course places emphasis on the clinical relevance of recent developments in neuroscience.
The development of your research methods skills is an integral part of the course. You will further your understanding of applied neuroscience with a research project which will develop your data handling and analysis skills, use of applied theory and statistics.
You will join the Health Sciences Research Centre whose academics are currently investigating a range of topical issues such as the addictive nature of new psychoactive substances, effects of stress on the brain regulatory systems and the mechanisms of brain cell death and repair using neural stem cells. You will be welcome to attend research seminars and discussions on topical developments in neuroscience and health sciences, led by experts.
MSc Clinical Neuroscience is recognised by the Federation of Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and included in the Network of European Neuroscience Schools (NENS), which is the highest accolade in European neuroscience teaching.
In this postgraduate programme, you will develop an integrated overview of contemporary neuroscience as a rapidly developing discipline with multiple links with molecular biology, genetics, pharmacology and medical sciences.
You will be introduced to a diverse range of topics and will have the chance to focus on areas that interest you. Examples of topics that you might cover include: clinical relevance of recent developments in neuroscience, brain imaging techniques and their applications in neurology and psychiatry, neurobiological mechanisms of human brain disorders, effects of nutrition and addiction on brain function, and research methods.
You will discuss ethical issues in clinical neuroscience and develop your ability to critically evaluate current developments in clinical brain research, which are relevant to healthcare.
This course can accommodate students from a range of backgrounds including new graduates from life sciences or psychology as well as health professionals who hold non-traditional qualifications. The programme options of PG Diploma or PG Certificate can be useful to health professionals who wish to refresh update theory knowledge without the commitment of conducting a research project (MSc). It is also suitable for applicants from the NHS, for example neuro-nurses or therapists.
Modules
Here are examples of the modules:
Health professionals, research careers in academia, NHS or private sector including the pharmaceutical industry. Alternatively, graduates may opt for further academic study at PhD level.
