Neuroscience - MSc

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Our Neuroscience MSc course will provide you with multidisciplinary training in a range of neuroscience topics, particularly those relevant to psychiatry and neurology. It seeks to equip graduates from a wide range of backgrounds for the next stage of their career, which may be either further full-time study in a neuroscience-related academic research environment, or employment in an academic, clinical or pharmaceutical organisation. 

Key benefits

• Appeals to students from a variety of backgrounds.
• Offers specialised graduate training in several neuroscience subject areas, both clinical and non-clinical.
• Aims to equip all graduates for the next stage of their career, usually through further full-time study in basic neuroscience in an academic research environment or in a taught clinical programme, employment in an academic, clinical or pharmaceutical organisation. Some students have entered scientific publishing.

Please note that the two year part-time programme runs on alternate years. The next intake will be September 2018. 

Description

The Neuroscience MSc inspires the next generation of neuroscientists. The course brings together home and international Students from various academic backgrounds. Our vision is to provide Students with multidisciplinary training in a broad range of neuroscience topics, particularly those relating to psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience and neurology. We believe that our Teaching and Research goals can best be achieved through our Students, Scientists and Clinicians working together on common problems. This approach transforms Students' theoretical and practical knowledge of the neurosciences, and provides them with the applied and professional skills they need for their future careers. In short, our objective is to provide students with a good foundation for life.

The Programme provides:

• Students with core teaching and learning in a wide range of neuroscience domains (3 fundamental modules) and a choice of a specialised pathway (optional modules).
• Multidisciplinary training in neuroscience topics ranging from the molecular to the behavioural. Modules are taught using a variety of teaching methods ranging from didactic instruction through to student-led seminar/tutorial work.
• Rich research experience (research module) in high quality research environments.
• Skills, career and professional development in topics relevant to biomedical research. This is done through various exercises including presentation of original research data in both poster and scientific paper formats.
• Clinicians with specialised supplementary training.
• A specialised knowledge of a broad range of neuroscience topics relevant to mental illness, psychology and neurology.
• Students with the ability to conduct high quality research and to present their findings to different audiences.

Course Objectives

Successful students should be able to demonstrate:

• Specialised knowledge in a broad range of neuroscience topics relevant to mental illness and neurology.
• The ability to conduct high quality research and to present their findings effectively.
• The high level of achievement appropriate for students wishing to undertake further research and/or training.

MSc Neuroscience Students take three broad-based neuroscience modules during their first term. During the second term Students ‘specialise’ by choosing one of six taught optional modules, ‘Psychiatric Genetics’, ‘Developmental Neurobiology’, ‘Neurodegeneration’, ‘Neuroimaging’, ‘Cognitive Neuroscience’ and ‘Neural Stem Cells and Nervous System Repair’. In the third and final term, Students work together with their Scientist / Clinician Supervisors to produce original research.       

While most students applying to the course have a degree in a basic biomedical science or in Psychology, the course attracts a much wider range of applicants. These include:

• Clinicians eager to understand current knowledge and to apply it in their own research or practice and;
• Students with backgrounds in the physical sciences, mathematics or computing keen to develop, for example, more advanced methods of analysing data from neuroimaging and genetic studies.
• Graduates who have a strong interest in Neuroscience are also encouraged to apply, and will be considered on an individual basis.

MSc Neuroscience in a speciality

To obtain an MSc in a speciality, students must complete the 3 compulsory taught fundamental modules (A1-A3), followed by a further taught specialised optional module (from Modules B1-B8) and a research project (from Modules C1-C8) in the same speciality.

While every effort will be made to accommodate a student's wishes, the number of research projects that can be offered on each speciality is dependent on availability.  

The degree of MSc Neuroscience will be awarded to:

• those students who choose a research project that is in a different speciality from their optional taught module. Also included are students who choose research projects that fall outside the specialities encompassed by B1-B8, for example, a research project in eating disorders. 
• part-time students who are not able to attend one of the specialised taught modules (B1-B8) when they are given to the full-time students but instead attend the B Neuroscience research module. 

Course format and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, field work and self-study.

You are assessed through a combination of coursework and examinations.

Career prospects

This course provides excellent training for students who wish to pursue a broad range of careers including an academic or research career, or those who wish to enter medical school, the pharmaceutical industry, or train as clinical psychologists, or work as scientific writers. 

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Visit the Neuroscience - MSc page on the King’s College London website for more details!