Welcome to Study Neuroscience

The Master’s Programme in Neuroscience invites our newly admitted students starting their studies in autumn 2024 to take a moment to explore this page and get to know us better. Our staff, students and faculty welcome you!

The admission results (application round from 1 Dec 2023 to 3 Jan 2024) have been sent to the applicants to the e-mail address given on their application form. The results can also be found in the My Studyinfo -service.

Greetings from the programme

Congratulations for being accepted to the Master’s Programme in Neuroscience! 

We look forward to welcoming you to the University of Helsinki at the end of August! 

The fall term begins with the "Cellular Physiology” course on September 2nd. After this course, you can select to continue on a study tract that focuses more on Neuroscience or Cell and Systems Physiology by selecting courses obligatory in the specific study tract.

The “Methods and Trends” course, held on Wednesdays throughout the autumn term, is also on your schedule. This course is designed to immerse you in the research community in the Helsinki area. You'll meet leading researchers and their teams, explore the impactful work being done in the field of neuroscience and physiology, and discover career opportunities that might await you after completing your Master's Programme. 

In addition to these, the first autumn semester includes various other courses, which are:

The final course schedule will be published during the summer months. Meanwhile, you can have a look at the preliminary autumn course schedule in the preliminary syllabus for the academic year 2024-25 and the full programme curriculum.

This Prezi presentation compiles key information from several websites in a visual format.  

If you think you would benefit from studying or refreshing your knowledge on some topics in advance for the first courses (NEU-101 and NEU-102), you can find reading tips below (under topic "Contacts and useful links").

Meet our students

In the autumn, you get to meet the current neuroscience students. In the meanwhile, you can chat directly with some of our students if you have questions about studying in the programme or student life in Helsinki. If you have questions related to admissions, please contact the Admission Services.

The student blog posts on the chat platform are also a great way to get an overview of student life in Helsinki.

Find out what the students in the Master's Programme in Neuroscience have to say about their studies, career plans and paths as well as life in Helsinki by checking out the student and alumni stories.

MNeuro student organization GangLion

Introducing the recently established student organization of the Master’s Programme in Neuroscience: GangLion, a group of highly proactive and motivated students who are determined to make a positive impact on the campus and beyond. GangLion organises all sorts of professional as well as informal events in a low-threshold, relaxing environment and you are most welcome to join! GangLion’s mission is to offer an opportunity to connect, get inspired and inspire others. Come and meet us latest on the Pre-Orientation Day in August and immerse yourself in this big adventure as part of the MNEURO family!

You can read more about the MNeuro students and their activities from the GangLion Action Plan 2024 (pdf).

Orientation and tutoring

The teaching officially starts on 2 September 2024, but you should participate in the orientation activities for the new students already before classes begin (Orientation week 26 August – 1 September). The MNeuro-specific orientation meeting is planned to take place on Wednesday, August 28th at the Viikki Campus, Biocenter 3.

You will be assigned to a tutor group led by a senior student, or student tutor. Your tutor will help with questions related to studying in our programme, give support with administrative matters and introduce you to the university campuses and facilities. This will make it easier for you to start your studies and life in Helsinki. Each student will also be assigned a guiding teacher with whom you can discuss your personal study plan and goals.

The detailed information concerning the orientation and tutoring will be published in the Instructions for students in the summer.

Your campus

As a student in the Master's Programme in Neuroscience, the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the Viikki campus will be your home base.

Helsinki Think Company brings together students, researchers and people interested in entrepreneurship. One of their workspaces is at the Viikki campus offering free co-working spaces, boot camps, idea accelerator programmes, hackathons, mentoring and a community of like-minded individuals.

UNITalent Pro­gramme

International students in the Master's Programme in Neuroscience can apply to the UNITalent Pro­gramme. It is designed to support international students in building professional networks in Finland and to gain insight into field specific working life. Students take part by attending monthly group meetings with hosting organisation for a period of three months. During the programme, the University Career Services also provides training in career management skills.

Contacts and useful links

If you have questions related to the admissions and accepting your study place, please contact the Admission Services.

If you have questions about the content of the Neuroscience programme, please contact Katri Wegelius.

Also, if you are eager to read something before the courses start to brush up what you have learned before or perhaps broaden your knowledge with something new, here are some tips for you:

You can prepare yourself for NEU-101 Cellular Physiology course by refreshing concepts on 1) Cellular membranes and transport across them; 2) Mitochondria function; 3) Proteostasis; 4) Cell signaling; and 5) Cell cycle. You can use e.g. Alberts et al., Essential Cell Biology, 6th edition to support learning.

For NEU-102 Cellular Neurobiology course you can check that you remember the basics of: 1) Ion channels; 2) Action potential; 3) Synaptic physiology. You can read about these topics for instance by selecting basic parts of the relevant chapters of the book Blaustein, Kao & Matteson ‘Cellular Physiology and Neurophysiology’ 2nd or 3rd edition.