Natural Sciences Tripos

Programme Specification: Part II Neuroscience

This course is taught jointly by the Departments of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience; Experimental Psychology; Pharmacology and Zoology.

Aims

to provide an advanced multidisciplinary course in neuroscience;
to enable students to understand the principles of neuroscience and to provide practical and conceptual training in selected topics ranging from the molecular to the integrative and behavioural aspects of neuroscience;
to provide training in research skills through the provision of an eight-week research project;
to provide students with analytical and presentational skills;
to provide an optional course in statistics to enable the application of mathematics and mathematical modelling to complex neurobiological systems.

At the end of the course students should:

be able to demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics in neuroscience;
be able to evaluate the practical techniques required to solve neurobiological problems;
be able to analyse, interpret and communicate data obtained during a research project;
be able to critically analyse research literature and present such analyses in both written and oral form.

These include lectures and associated seminars, supervisions, a research project and technical workshops.

Assessment for this course is through:

four unseen written examinations (for aims 1 and 2 and learning outcome 1);
a dissertation of no more than 5000 words, based on a research project undertaken by the student over an eight week period (for aims 1-4 and learning outcomes 2-3);
an oral presentation based on the research project (for aim 4 and learning outcome 3);
a critical essay of no more than 2000 words analysing a published research paper (for aim 4 and learning outcome 4).

Essential: None.

Recommended: NST Part IB Neurobiology

The title of this document is: Natural Sciences Tripos: Part II Neuroscience
URL: http://www.cam.ac.uk/about/natscitripos/ps/p2/neurosci.html