Master in Neuroscience

Master in Neuroscience is one of 4 English-taught Biomedical Science programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 2 institutions. 4 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 8,700 to EUR 17,300; this programme lists EUR 8,700 a year. 4 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

The MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen is a two year, English taught master's for students who want to work with the brain at the level of cells, circuits and behaviour. It is a research based degree, and the teaching draws on what lecturers are working on themselves.

What you study

The first year is built around three compulsory courses. Neuroscience I: Cells and Circuits (20 ECTS) runs in the first semester together with Experimental design in Neuroscience (10 ECTS). In the second semester you take Neuroscience II: Higher brain function (12.5 ECTS) and choose two of three electives:

• Drug discovery and development in Neuroscience (7.5 ECTS)
• Computational Neuroscience (7.5 ECTS)
• Laboratory Animal Neuroscience and Neurosurgery (7.5 ECTS)

The electives focus on applied neuroscience, and specialists from the University of Copenhagen and from industry give lectures on them. The programme covers everything from basic neuroscience to higher cognitive functioning.

How the programme is organised

Roughly 37 per cent of the degree is mandatory courses, 13 per cent electives and 50 per cent thesis. There are about 30 students in a year. Teaching takes the form of lectures, journal club work and research projects, and includes visits to laboratory facilities at the university, hospitals, other universities and research centres in Denmark, and to industry.

The second year is your thesis: a nine month project worth 60 ECTS. You pick the subject yourself within neuroscience and find a supervisor at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The project can be done at the university or with a partner outside it, private or public, and some students write it in a research department abroad, arranged with the host institution and their main supervisor in Copenhagen.

Who it suits

This suits someone who wants hands on experimental work and a long stretch of independent research. You should be at home in cell biology, physiology, molecular biomedicine or neurobiology, since the programme builds on that background. The degree trains you in experimental, translational and clinical neuroscience, with methods and in vitro and in vivo models, so curiosity about how the brain works in health and disease matters more than a single narrow speciality.

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal, and the programme does not offer pre-assessment of your background. A list of bachelor's degrees meets the academic requirements automatically, including Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedicine, Medicine, Molecular Biomedicine, Neurobiophysics and Physiological and Brain Sciences, provided you meet English B. Medicine with Industrial Specialisation and Pharmaceutical Sciences qualify if you have passed 30 ECTS within three of four fields: cell biology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology. Other Danish or international degrees in health, life or biological sciences are eligible with at least 30 ECTS in cell biology, physiology, molecular biomedicine or neurobiology.

Your bachelor's degree must normally be no more than five years old at the start of the first semester, and you can apply for an exemption with a letter and documentation. Applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland apply by 15 January and hear back by 13 March; Danish, EU, EEA and Swiss applicants apply by 1 March and hear back by 15 May. Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge, while other students pay a fee set by the institution. If qualified applicants outnumber places, priority goes to documented relevant background in neuroscience and then to grade point average.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.