Postgraduate Diploma in Science (PGDipSci) in 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 University of Otago is the only New Zealand university to offer an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience.Neuroscientists apply a wide range of scientific disciplines, including Anatomy, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychology, and Zoology. As an interdisciplinary programme, Neuroscience is taught by staff from many departments. Each teaches a separate ''neuro'' component, with the result being a coherent and integrated subject.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.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.

Division of Sciences