Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, asking how the brain and its networks give rise to sensation, perception, movement, emotion, memory, consciousness, and everything else that makes us who we are. It sits at the intersection of biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology, drawing on molecular and cellular science, systems biology, computational modelling, and experimental psychology to build an increasingly detailed picture of how neural circuits produce behaviour and how disruptions to those circuits underlie neurological and psychiatric conditions. Few disciplines are advancing more rapidly or with greater implications for medicine and our understanding of human nature.

At the University of Exeter this three-year full-time programme combines biological and psychological approaches to the brain and nervous system, developing your knowledge of neural structure and function from the molecular level through to behaviour and cognition. You will study neuropharmacology, neuroanatomy, sensory systems, learning and memory, and the neuroscience of mental health, alongside training in the experimental and analytical methods used to investigate these questions. The programme includes a sandwich year and work placement opportunities, giving you the chance to gain research or professional experience in a neuroscience or related environment during your studies.

Neuroscience graduates work in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical research organisations, academic research institutions, healthcare settings, and the growing neurotechnology sector. Roles in research and development, clinical trials, laboratory science, and regulatory affairs are all realistic destinations. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study at master's or doctoral level, either in neuroscience itself or in related fields such as clinical psychology, medicine, biomedical science, or data science applied to biological systems.