Basic and Translational Neuroscience

The MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience is a stand-alone postgraduate course in neuroscience offering both taught and research components. This one-year neuroscience programme is aimed particularly at those who want to prepare for later studies at PhD level, clinicians and others who want graduate-level research training but for whom a full PhD might not be required or appropriate, and graduates who plan a career in translational neuroscience, including careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

This course offers both taught and research components including a project rotation, research training modules, lectures, seminars and workshops, and the opportunity to undertake a wide variety of generic skills training. Students may participate in a symposium where they will have the opportunity to present their research.

Students selected onto the course will follow the structured MPhil in Basic and Translational Neuroscience research training. The aims of this one-year, full-time research training course are as follows:

to give the student experience of research work;

to expose them to a variety of laboratory environments and the balance of self-sufficiency and teamwork needed in a researcher;

to introduce them to the basic skills of experimental design, project management, time management etc. needed in research;

to familiarise the student with the practicalities of laboratory research, imparting an understanding of the nature of bench research, of record keeping and data handling, and of good laboratory practice;

to introduce them to basic analytical techniques needed to understand and contextualise their research;

to familiarise them with basic scientific writing and presentation skills.

The additional objectives that are specific to this programme will be:

to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds into neuroscience by providing a taught module with a basic overview of neuroscience;

to provide students with thorough training in neuroscience methods, data analysis and statistics techniques;

to give students the necessary basic yet broad understanding of neuroscience to prepare them for future PhD studies; and

to provide students with adequate experience in neuroscience research to enable them to make an informed choice of PhD project if they so wish.