Overview
By choosing Neuroscience at Aston University, Birmingham, you’ll study with leading academics to ask the big questions about our brains, and what happens to the nervous system when people have neurological, psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders.
Course outline and modules
Neuroscientists study the development and function of the nervous system. This includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerve cells throughout the body. They investigate what happens when people have disorders by focusing on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions.
This interdisciplinary science liaises closely with other disciplines such as mathematics, linguistics, engineering, computer science, chemistry, philosophy, psychology, and medicine.
At Aston, our course follows a practical and hands-on approach, giving you access to the most up-to-date and high-tech equipment, enabling you to engage with the newest techniques in basic and applied research. It has been designed to provide you with the perfect first step towards a future career in one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of life and medical sciences.
What is studying Neuroscience at Aston really like?
Our course differs from many undergraduate neuroscience courses in the UK, with a key focus on acquiring practical skills - an advantage that will set you apart from the graduate crowd.
You’ll work closely with active neuroscience researchers working on ground-breaking projects and study a range of modules designed to give you a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating world of brain function.
During the course, you will get the opportunity to:
- Learn pharmacology through tissue bath experiments.
- Perform EEG and EMG recordings and analyze the data with research-grade tools.
- Undertake complex brain-slice recordings to discover how drugs work and how our brains are organized and function.
- Explore how natural toxins and nerve agents are used in the research lab to discover how our brain cells talk to each other.
- Discover more about the major diseases and disorders of the nervous system.
- Hear from leading clinicians in our guest lectures.
- Understand how research conducted at Aston University into areas like Parkinson’s, autism, dyslexia, epilepsy, and developmental cognitive neuroscience is impacting the wider field of study.
Placement year
You’ll get to gain real-world experience with our integrated placement year, designed to help you stand out in the graduate crowd.
You can choose to complete this exciting year in a variety of settings, from research laboratories to the pharmaceutical industry. Our dedicated Careers and Placement team will be on hand to support you throughout CV surgeries, on-campus careers fairs, and regular communication while you are away from campus.
Modules
Experience a thorough and ‘hands-on’ grounding in the core principles and techniques used in neuroscience through a mixture of lectures and practical experience:
- Research Methods and Statistics
- Psychology and the Brain
- Neuroscience Practicals 1
- Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Genetics for Neuroscience
- Key Skills in Neurosciences 1
- Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience
Learning, teaching, and assessment
Our practical-intensive course means that you get to understand high-level concepts early in your journey and pick up laboratory skills that put you in an excellent place to secure employment.
You will be taught by staff from neuroscience, pharmacy, pharmacology, and psychology teaching groups, and encounter a variety of learning opportunities from lectures and practical sessions, to group work and self-study.
We also run regular small-group tutorials throughout the course. This helps to cement the key learning outcomes of our teaching and makes sure that you feel happy and supported.
Assessment
We use a wide range of assessments linked to learning outcomes such as:
- examinations (unseen essay, short answer, or multiple-choice questions)
- essays
- practical reports (group or individual)
- presentations
- laboratory reports
- project work
- computer-based assessment
- peer assessments.
Career prospects
Studying neuroscience opens up a huge range of opportunities for graduates in the UK and internationally. This includes clinical neurophysiology, applied research in academia and industry, as well as undertaking roles in big data and artificial inelegance, policy and funding, patent law, medical writing, and postgrad medicine.
Our industry links and placement opportunities will provide you with the skills, know-how, and experience to be successful in:
- academia (research and teaching)
- clinical sciences
- biotechnology and contract research
- pharmaceutical industry
- neuropsychology and psychiatry
- regulatory affairs, policy and research administration
- science communication, museum work, and public engagement.
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