Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, encompassing the molecular, cellular, systems and cognitive levels at which the brain and neural circuits generate behaviour, perception, movement, memory, sleep, emotion and all other functions of the mind. It is one of the most rapidly advancing fields in all of science, with implications that reach from medicine and mental health to artificial intelligence and our fundamental understanding of what it means to be human. For students who are fascinated by how the brain works and want to understand it at a scientific level, neuroscience offers both intellectual depth and enormous practical relevance.

At Manchester, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, providing an accessible entry route for students who want additional academic preparation before engaging with degree-level neuroscience. Manchester is a leading research-intensive university with strong life science and neuroscience provision, and the programme benefits from research-active faculty working at the frontier of the field. Across the main degree you will study the neuroscience of behaviour, perception, movement, sleep and memory, engaging with the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie these functions alongside the systems-level understanding of how brain regions and circuits interact.

You will develop both experimental skills and theoretical understanding, working with the quantitative and computational tools that modern neuroscience increasingly requires alongside the biological content of the discipline.

Graduates of neuroscience programmes move into pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, clinical neuroscience roles, research support in academic and medical institutions, science communication and policy. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study, including doctoral research in neuroscience, or professional training in medicine, clinical psychology or other health professions.