Over the past years, the input from students has proven to be extremely valuable. The master program can only be made into a success if students fully participate, are heard and actively participate in the organization. Therefore we have a Board of student representatives who meet with the coordinators of the master every other month.
The master Neuroscience & Cognition offers a unique interdisciplinary neuroscience program which aims at delivering a new generation of multidisciplinary neuroscientists. These have a broad knowledge of the full width of the Neurosciences and are equipped to face the challenges of modern neuroscience research.
The large Neuroscience and Cognition community in Utrecht is united in the umbrella organization ‘Neuroscience and Cognition Utrecht’. This comprises top researchers from 6 different faculties, 3 large research institutes and the University Medical Center Utrecht. This enormous span of disciplines ensures participation of lecturers in all aspects of neuroscience and excellent research facilities for students.
Based on the diversity in background of the students, they are grouped in multidisciplinary teams during the courses, preparing them for a top research position. After a 10-week introductory course ‘Fundamentals of Neuroscience and Cognition’ each student determines his/her individual study path together with the track coordinator. The two-year program includes a major and a minor research internship, a master thesis, elective courses and a Life Sciences seminars portfolio. Each of these components is carefully selected by the student in consultation with the track coordinator, resulting in a unique study path tailored to the student’s interests and ambitions. More than 50% of our students select a second internship at a top research institute abroad.
General outline of the master program
The formal requirements to obtain a master degree Neuroscience & Cognition can be found in the OER. Here you will find a schematic outline of the program and a short description of each separate component.
| First year | |||
| first semester | second semester | ||
| first period | second period | third period | fourth period |
| Course fundamentals of Neuroscience & Cognition | Research project I | ||
| Electives | Life Sciences-seminars | ||
| Second year | |||
| first semester | second semester | ||
| first period | second period | third period | fourth period |
| Research project II | Master thesis | ||
| Total 84 weeks | |||
Introductory course ‘Fundamentals of Neuroscience and Cognition’ (15 EC)
This compulsory 10-weeks course covers all aspects of Neuroscience and Cognition. It provides a basic background for students with various bachelor backgrounds over the full width of multidisciplinary field. Researchers from all participating research institutes highlight basic concepts and then zoom in on state-of-the-art topics and issues. The course also contains hands-on practicals to familiarise each student with basic techniques in Neuroscience and Cognition, ranging e.g. from neurogenomics to behavioural neuroscience, from neuroimaging to neurophysiology. The course topics are balanced between physiology in health and neurological diseases. The lectures and practicals are given by more than 40 experienced researchers active in Neuroscience and Cognition Utrecht, ensuring good contact between students and potential internship supervisors. Each student has to pass the final exam to proceed to the next phase of the master program.
Internships (51 and 33 EC)
Each student takes a minor and major internship. There is a large choice of internships. Selection of internships is done under supervision of the track coordinator. The first internship needs to be within Neuroscience and Cognition Utrecht laboratories, the second internship may also be outside of these labs (in the Netherlands or abroad). There is always a second supervisor based in Utrecht.
Master thesis (7.5 EC)
Each student writes a master thesis. The student chooses the topic and supervisor of the thesis in consultation with the the track coordinator. The topic of the thesis differs from that in the two internships, thus further increasing the neuroscientific horizon of the student.
Research-seminars (1.5 EC)
During the two years of the Neuroscience & Cognition program the student attends at least 10 top-level research-seminars (Life Sciences seminars, RMI seminars, Helmholtz seminars, etc.) and collects the written summaries of the lectures in a portfolio, which is evaluated by the track coordinator.
Electives (12 EC)
Each student selects a number of courses (total length 8 weeks) from a large series of available master courses in Utrecht or other Neuroscience master programs at a Dutch University. Selection of courses is based on the specific interest of individual students and is done in consultation with the track coordinator. The electives can also be used to learn an additional technique or method in a lab. Electives might be done during the internships and/or writing of the thesis (note the lenght of the thesis or internship period lengthens with the duration of the elective).