Bachelor of Arts and Science - Neuroscience

The University of Otago

Neuroscience is all about understanding how the brain and wider nervous system works, and is one of the fastest growing areas of science.The brain is a final frontier... a last great unknown.Neuroscientists are its explorers. They try to understand how the brain functions, how it deals with injury or damage, and how it develops and changes over time.What they find helps neurologists, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists – and provides important models for high-level information processing and robotics.Knowing how the brain perceives stimuli and controls movement helps those working on human performance from sports science to space medicine.To become a neuroscientist, you would complete postgraduate studies following your BSc. With a BSc(Hons), postgraduate diploma, or master’s degree you could have an exciting research career in a university, research institute, or in the pharmaceutical industry. With a PhD, you could be a leader in new research and combine this with teaching at a university or in a research institution.Neuroscience also provides a convenient first degree for those proceeding to postgraduate specialisation in professional or applied fields. For example, law, medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, audiology, and bioengineering.Graduates with a BSc in Neuroscience possess valuable skills that are widely sought after by employers, including technical expertise in areas where there is a worldwide shortage of skilled workers.