Master of Science (MSc) in Neuroscience

About the programme

The programme qualifies you as an experienced neuroscientist with highly specialized knowledge of the cells of the brain, their circuits, and higher brain functions. Through cutting-edge and research-based lectures, journal clubs, hands-on lab sessions, and a master’s thesis during the last academic year, you will be challenged to find new applications in the field of neuroscience.

What makes the programme at UCPH unique?

The programme offers a broad education in neuroscience, covering topics from basic neuroscience to higher cognitive functioning. The research-based lectures contain new scientific discoveries from the teacher’s own research and the pharmaceutical and med-tech industries. You also have opportunities to specialise through elective courses and an extensive thesis project.

What specialisations does the field of study offer?

A substantial part of the programme are the mandatory courses “Cells and circuits”, “Higher brain functions”, and “Experimental neuroscience.” The courses cover different aspects of neuroscience and introduce you to the major technologies applied in this discipline. Elective courses give you opportunities to learn clinical and computational neuroscience (bioinformatics and computational modelling).

Online Open House

Join us for Online Open House and Application Web Meeting on 8 January at 16:00-18:00

Admission and application

To apply for admission to this master's degree programme, you must have completed a qualifying bachelor’s degree or a similar Danish or international degree programme which is assessed to be relevant. Apply for admission via the application portal.

Below, you can read more about admission requirements and which documents to upload in the application portal.

Click here to submit your application

Opens 15 November for applicants from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, and 16 January for applicants from within the EU/EEA/Switzerland.

Academic admission requirements

Here you'll find the different academic requirements depending on which qualifying degree you hold.

There are no bachelor’s degrees that give legal right of admission to the MSc in Neuroscience.

If you hold one of the bachelor’s degrees listed below from a Danish university, you are considered to meet all academic admission requirements and have direct access to apply to the master’s degree programme in Neuroscience:

Biology
Biochemistry
Biology-Biotechnology
Biomedicine
Medicine
Medicinal Biology
Molecular Biomedicine
Molecular Medicine
Molecular Biology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Veterinary Medicine

If you hold the following bachelor’s degree from the University of Copenhagen, you are considered to meet all academic admission requirements and have direct access to apply to the master’s degree programme in Neuroscience:

Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Data Science with a specialisation in Neuroscience

Degrees with specific course requirements

If you hold one of the bachelor’s degrees listed below, you are qualified for admission if you fulfil specific course requirements:

Medicine with Industrial Specialisation
Pharmaceutical Sciences

In order to qualify for admission, you must have passed 30 ECTS within 3 of the following 4 fields:

Cell biology
Biochemistry
Genetics
Molecular Biology

Please note that having a bachelor’s degree that fulfil the admission requirements does not guarantee you admission to the programme.

If you have a bachelor’s degree, professional bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a Danish or international universities you are qualified for admission if your programme is within the following areas:

Health sciences
Life sciences
Biological sciences

Furthermore, you must have obtained at least 30 ECTS within cell biology, physiology, molecular biomedicine and/or neurobiology.

Please note that having a bachelor’s degree that fulfil the admission requirements does not guarantee you admission to the programme.

You must have earned your bachelor’s degree within a maximum of 5 years prior to the start of the first semester of the master’s programme, e.g. for the intake in the autumn of 2025, you must have graduated by September 2021 or thereafter. In exceptional circumstances the Admissions Committee may waive the graduation year requirement.

If your bachelor’s degree is too old, you can apply for an exemption from the graduation year requirement. If you choose to apply for an exemption, you must submit the following documents along with your application for admission:

A letter explaining how you have maintained your academic qualifications since graduation (e.g. relevant work, internships, further studies)
Relevant documentation (e.g work contracts, diplomas etc).

If you already have a master's degree from Denmark or another country, you can, in principle, only be admitted to a new degree programme if there are places available on the programme for which you are applying for admission.

Please read more about limitation on second degrees

When we assess whether you meet the admission requirements for the master's degree program, Danish legislation only allows us to assess your bachelor's degree. Consequently, you cannot study supplementary courses between bachelor's and master's degree programs in order to meet the admission requirements.

If you have passed courses/projects before you complete the qualifying bachelor's degree, these can be included in the assessment, even though they are not part of the bachelor's degree program.

It applies to courses/projects you have taken as single subjects and courses/projects you have taken as part of another study program.
A maximum of 30 ECTS credits of these courses/projects may be included.

Language requirements

To gain admission to a master's programme taught in English, all applicants must document qualifications on par with the Danish upper secondary school ‘English level B” with a weighted average of minimum 3 or ‘English level A’ with a weighted average of minimum 2 on the Danish grading scale.

We accept the following ways of documenting this:

An English taught qualifying upper secondary school diploma, bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK or Ireland will exempt you from the language requirement.

Applicants from countries in e.g. Asia and Africa where English is the official language of instruction, must also document English language proficiency by taking an English language test.

If you have not studied a full degree in English, you must:

Either document that you have passed Danish upper secondary school 'English level B' (Engelsk B) with the minimum weighted average grade of 3 on the Danish grading scale
Or document that you have passed Danish upper secondary school ‘English level A’ (Engelsk A) with the minimum weighted average grade of 2 on the Danish grading scale
Or document that you are holding a Nordic entrance examination with an English level which is considered comparable to a Danish B level in English by the Danish Agency of International Education. And with a weighted grade comparable to at least 3 on the Danish grading scale See a comparison of the Nordic subject levels and grades: Nordic subject levels (in Danish)
Or you must pass an IELTS Academic, TOEFL, Cambridge Advanced English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) test.

Name of documentation

Minimum grade

Documentation required

English level B

(Engelsk B)

Weighted average of 3

Danish Upper secondary school diploma
VUC diploma

English level A

(Engelsk A)

Weighted average of 2

Danish Upper secondary school diploma
VUC diploma

Please notice:

There is no period of limitation for validity of Danish upper secondary school 'English level A’' (Engelsk A) or ‘English level B’ (Engelsk B).
You must send us your documentation as soon as possible and no later than:
- 1 June Non-EU, -EEA and -Swiss citizens
- 15 August Danish, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Name of test	Minimum score	Information required for online check of test
IELTS (academic) IELTS Home Edition	6.5 (overall test score) 6.5 (overall test score) Only overall score will be considered.	TRF Number (Test Report Form Number)
TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT) TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition ITP TOEFL-test (MyBest Scores are not accepted)	83 83 560	Registration number
Cambridge Advanced (CAE)	Passed at level C1 or C2	ID-number and Secret Number
Cambridge Proficiency	Passed at level C1 or C2	ID-number and Secret Number

Please notice:

IELTS and TOEFL tests older than 2 years are not accepted (counted from the programme application deadline). There is no period of limitation for validity of the Cambridge tests.
If you have not yet completed a language test by the programme application deadline, please upload a document in which you explain when you will be forwarding the results. You are required to send us your test score as soon as possible and in no case later than:
- 1 June Non-EU, -EEA and -Swiss citizens
- 15 August Danish, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Application deadlines

Study start in September

1 March at 23:59

Application deadline for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 16 January. You will receive a reply by 10 June.

15 January at 23:59

Application deadline for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 15 November. You will receive a reply by 1 May.

How to apply

Choose your category and read how you apply for admission. You can also find information about deadlines and documentation requirements.

Please note that you must also select according to your citizenship:

Citizen from Denmark, EU, EEA or Switzerland (EU)
Citizen from countries outside EU, EEA or Switzerland (NON-EU)

International bachelor's degree - EU

Danish bachelor's degree - EU

International bachelor's degree - NON-EU

Danish bachelor's degree - NON-EU

Apply as a current- or former student

How we assess your application

The programme accepts a maximum of 30 students each year. One third of the seats may be reserved for students from countries outside the EU/EAA.

Selection criteria

If more than 30 applicants fulfil the admission requirements, the applicants will be prioritised based on the following (listed in prioritised order):

Documentation of relevant bachelor’s degree including courses, internships or work within the field of neuroscience.
Grade point average from bachelor’s degree.

Admission rules

Important dates

Application help

Have you submitted your application?

Admission statistics Neuroscience 2023
Admitted	32
Admission distribution (legal right/other)	0% / 100%
Applicants	226
Age average	23
Legal gender distribution (cpr. - m/f)	34% / 66%
Nationality (dk/international)	25% / 75%
Available spots	No

Programme structure

The MSc in Neuroscience is a 2-year programme taught in English, and there are approximately 30 students in a year.

The programme is known for its extensive and ambitious cuririculum, cutting-egde research based education and lecturers from both the university and the industry.

Teaching forms are lectures, case-based groupwork, laboratory work and research projects, depending on your electives, it can also include journal clubs, case studies, and visits to laboratory facilities at the University of Copenhagen and university hospitals.

• 37% mandatory courses
• 13% elective courses
• 50% thesis

During your first year, you will complete a number of compulsory and elective courses. The courses provide you with a thorough introduction into key areas such as cells and circuits, higher brain function, and experimental designs and methods in neuroscience. In your second year you can specialize in an area of research during your extensive thesis project.

1st year

1st semester	2nd semester
Neuroscience I - Cells and circuits (20 ECTS)	Neuroscience II: Higher brain function (15 ECTS)
Experimental design in Neuroscience (10 ECTS)	Electives (15 ECTS)

2nd year

1st semester	2nd semester
Master's Thesis (60 ECTS)	Master's Thesis (60 ECTS) - continued

In addition to your compulsory courses, you must choose two of the following three electives:

You will attend lectures by specialists in the topics covered by the individual modules. The specialists include internationally acclaimed professors and leading medical specialists from the University of Copenhagen or the industry.

You will also take part in journal clubs, undertake case studies, and visit laboratory facilities at University of Copenhagen and university hospitals.

You choose the subject for your thesis according to your own preferences within the field of neuroscience.

Researchers at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences can offer inspiration within a wide range of thesis subjects that enables you to tailor a programme that matches your personal interests.

The thesis can be carried out at the university or combined with a research placement at pre-clinical or clinical laboratories, and private or public institutions. The master's project gives the student substantial experience in individual experimental work.

Some students write their thesis in research departments abroad. The research placement is planned by the student in cooperation with their chosen host institution and their main supervisor at UCPH.

You choose the subject according to your own preferences within the field of immunology. Researchers at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences can offer inspiration within a wide range of thesis subjects that enables you to tailor a programme that matches your personal interests.

Read the programme curriculum

Career opportunities

Upon graduating, you will be qualified to find solutions in neuroscience and for patients with brain disorders.

You will acquire highly specialized knowledge of and competences within experimental neuroscience, translational neuroscience, and partly clinical neuroscience.

The programme focuses on methodologies and newly developed in vitro and in vivo models. You will acquire practical skills within neuroscience research which enables you to apply neuroscience to solve complex problems.

As a graduate, you have a wide range of career opportunities.

You are qualified to e.g.

continue your academic studies as a PhD student at world-leading universities.
work within the medicotechnical and pharmaceutical industries in Denmark or abroad.

Some of the advantages about studying Neuroscience are:

a high quality education in English
a flexible study structure
world leading facilities
a vibrant international study environment
the opportunity to experience life in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

Additionally, your master's thesis is based on experimental laboratory work during the last academic year. The thesis offers your the opportunity to specialise and obtain individual qualifications.

As a graduate, you have completed a research-based degree programme enabling you to work in the field of neuroscience.

Knowledge

You will acquire knowledge and understanding of:

neurology and psychiatry: disease pathology, disease mechanisms, diagnostics and treatments.
the brain structure and its function.
the mechanism of perception, locomotion, and higher brain functions.
methods, definitions, and tools in neuroscience.
the brain in health and disease, and technologies used to determine various measures in the brain, such as, drugs, medico-technology, as well as digital solutions.
the contribution of neuroscience in other disciplines and fields.
how to describe neurobiological domains such as cognition, affection, addiction, locomotion, pain and more.

Skills

You will be able to:

use central neuroscientific tools, as well as more general academic tools.
evaluate relevance and ability of neuroscientific methods and theories.
combine knowledge at the cellular and molecular level with brain functions.
communicate and discuss research-based knowledge with both neuroscientist and people with limited knowledge in the field.

Competences

You will have the competences to:

plan and execute neuroscientific experiments and interpret neuroscience data and literature.
develop and evaluate solutions in neuroscience.
work independently as well as in teams.
critically assess literature in neuroscience.

As a graduate, you have a wide range of career opportunities.

You are qualified to

continue your academic studies as a PhD student at world-leading universities or
find work within the medicotechnical and pharmaceutical industries in Denmark or abroad
at hospitals
within research
as support and assistance for research facilities and industries

Student life

When you study Neuroscience, you will be part of an international and vibrant study environment.

Roughly 8,000 students including many international students are studying at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

The programme is based at North Campus.

The safe atmosphere, the well-developed infrastructure, the low level of pollution and the many cultural events all contribute to making Copenhagen one of the most liveable cities in the world.