The BSc Neuroscience course uncovers the changes that drive neurological diseases, ranging from neurodegenerative disorders to mental health problems.
Year of entry: 2026/27
Show year of entry: 2025
B140
Y50
3 years full-time
Book your place for our Open Days on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September 2025.
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The discipline of neuroscience uncovers the changes that drive neurological diseases, ranging from neurodegenerative disorders to mental health problems.
This course is taught by the Departments of Biology and Psychology and is aligned to our research strengths, from the fundamental mechanistic working of the nervous system to behaviour and disease.
York is a research intensive university, and our neuroscience courses align strongly with the research-led teaching found throughout all of our courses. Neuroscience research at the University of York spans research at multiple levels of enquiry including molecular, cellular, circuit level, systems, cognitive and behavioural and bridges the gap between biological and psychological approaches.
Neuroscience is one of three research themes of the interdisciplinary York Biomedical Research Institute (YBRI), and aligns with the Institute for Mental Health Research at York (IMRY). IMRY's goal is to combine the expertise of specialists across the University to address key challenges in mental health.
The MSci integrated masters programme incorporates an additional year that specifically focuses on the skills needed for a career as a research scientist. During the masters year, you will conduct an extended research project in which you will gain experience in specialised neuroscience research techniques and cutting edge experimentation.
Many undergraduate courses in the Department of Biology have received accreditation (BSc) or advanced accreditation (integrated Masters) from the Royal Society of Biology. We will seek to add the Neuroscience courses to our accredited portfolio.
New investment in buildings housing teaching and state-of-the-art teaching laboratories.
We were the first university Biology department in Britain to receive an Athena SWAN Gold Award, which recognises our continued commitment to gender equality.
This course comprises core neuroscience teaching from the Departments of Biology and Psychology with exciting options to pursue your interests. Our innovative, evidenced-based teaching is strongly research-led and delivered through lectures, tutorials, interactive workshops and practicals. This is complemented by scientific training in problem solving, quantitative and communication skills, assessed through diverse formats. Your degree will culminate in a project giving direct insight into the world of neuroscience research.
We also offer a four year integrated Masters in Neuroscience.
There are opportunities for you to spend time abroad during your course:
You can also apply for a year in industry with a range of employers including pharmaceutical companies, medical research institutes, environmental organisations and professional services networks.
There are opportunities to undertake a work placement as part of this course.
Stage 1 (the first year) consists of core modules which are designed to give you an excellent basis on which to build your future studies and develop your interests.​
In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.
This module covers some of the essential skills and knowledge which will help you to study independently and produce work of a high academic standard which is vital for success at York.
This module will:
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
| UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|
| £9,535 | £31,100 |
These fees are for students starting in the 2025/26 academic year. Undergraduate fees for 2026/27 will be confirmed later in the year.
The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.
For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.
Text books and course books are all available in the library or online. We do recommend books you might find useful, reading lists are provided to you when you start your modules, but it is not compulsory for you to buy the books.
Costs for students going abroad or into industry will vary depending on what sort of placement it is and what sort of financial assistance is available.​
We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2026/27 throughout the year.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
Just four UK universities are rated Gold for teaching and top ten for research* in the latest national assessment exercises.
* Awarded joint 10th in the Times Higher Education ranking of the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
You’ll study and learn with academics who are active researchers, experts in their field and have a passion for their subjects. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
Teaching is delivered by academic scientists with additional contributions from clinical researchers. Throughout your course there will be strong links between your studies, scientific research and clinical applications. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. You may be taught by the following methods:
Cutting-edge research informs all our teaching activities and our friendly, approachable, and accessible staff are experts in their respective fields. Small-group teaching is an important part of our course, in tutorials, skills-based and research project modules and in taught modules with group work elements. This approach helps develop your scientific writing, problem solving and communication skills, as well as being a great opportunity to have informal scientific discussions with members of staff about topical issues.
You'll attend lectures where we will deliver key concepts and thought-provoking psychological and biological perspectives at the forefront of contemporary neuroscience.
Practicals are designed to help you to develop laboratory skills and to become familiar with a wide range of practical techniques, training you to use methods precisely and encouraging you to objectively assess the reliability of your results.
Workshops are also an important feature of this course, and they provide an additional dimension to most modules. You'll often collaborate in small groups in problem solving and other learning activities in our flexible learning workshops. You'll design your own experiments and work together on the findings from the latest research papers, or investigate the application of new technologies to the global challenges in the biosciences.
Each semester during the first two years, you'll take modules designed to develop more generic scientific and transferable skills. Some modules focus on specific scientific techniques, while others develop skills in problem solving, experimental design and data analysis.
We encourage you to develop important communication skills, including working in groups to plan and carry out experiments that investigate a scientific problem, and you'll present your work as an oral presentation or poster.
In the UK, full-time students are expected to spend 1,200 hours a year learning. That's about 40 hours of classes and independent study each week during semesters. Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours you spend on independent study will be different to other students on your course.
Teaching and learning in the Department of Biology is based in a £23m state-of-the-art facility, which is equipped with laboratories, a flexible workshop and creative learning lounge, computer rooms, specialist tissue culture and fluorescence microscopy suites.
Our teaching labs are equipped with a range of biological techniques that you could engage with while studying your degree including polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, immunofluorescence microscopy, cell culture and flow cytometry.
This course is based in the Department of Biology and Department of Psychology which are on Campus West. The majority of teaching takes place within Biology, with some additional teaching taking place at other locations on Campus West.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can use the fast and frequent bus service. Take a campus tour.
​You'll be assessed via a mixture of closed exams, online open exams, and continuous assessment. Although you must perform to a satisfactory level, Stage 1 (which is your first year) does not count towards the final degree, which is determined by work in Stage 2 (40%) and Stage 3 (60%). If you undertake a year abroad or in industry this is marked by pass/fail.
Throughout your course we will provide you with feedback on your work and assignments, which will give you an indication of the progress you are making in your studies.
Take a virtual tour of one or our modern, dedicated laboratories showing a typical range of lab equipment and facilities that you'll use
Studying neuroscience develops transferable skills such as critical thinking and research methodologies, and thus prepares you to be competitive for entry into relevant postgraduate research degrees, such as a PhD.
The course also provides suitable training for direct employment in health-related industries and services (eg NHS, pharmaceutical companies). In addition, transferable skills acquired on the course open up other relevant careers such as patent law, public health policy and education, and scientific writing.
| Typical offer | |
|---|---|
| A levels | AAB including Biology and a second science We accept the following subjects as a second science: Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Further Mathematics, Geography, Geology, Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology or Statistics. |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | 36 credits at Distinction and 9 credits at Merit or higher. Must include Level 3 modules in Biology and a second science. |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD. We consider BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science (2016 syllabus) with all 7 mandatory units. We consider BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science (2010 syllabus), please contact us for information on the units we accept. |
| European Baccalaureate | 80% overall, including 8.5 and 8 in Biology and a second science or mathematics subject. |
| International Baccalaureate | 35 points including 5 in Higher Level Biology plus either 5 in another Higher Level science or mathematics subject, or 5 in two Standard Level science or mathematics subjects. If English is not your first language then we require 5 in English B. |
| T levels | We are currently not accepting T Levels for this course unless additional A Levels (or equivalent qualifications) in Biology and a second science or mathematics subject have been taken. |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Advanced Highers - BB in Biology and a second Science/Mathematics plus
Scottish Highers - BB
We may also be able to consider three Advanced Highers or a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers, where an applicant does not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone. Please contact us to discuss your qualifications. |
| International foundation programme | Foundation Certificate from our International Pathway College or an appropriate alternative. |
| Other qualifications | To secure a place as a mature student on this course you will need recent qualifications in Biology and another science at a sufficiently advanced level, together with evidence of some of the key skills needed for studying at degree level. |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
Meeting the following additional criteria may qualify you for an alternative offer.
| Criteria | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Widening participation | If you successfully complete one of the following programmes, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to two A level grades (or equivalent) below our typical offer: Black Access Programme, Next Step York, Realising Opportunities. More about widening participation. |
| Contextual offer | BBB including Biology and a second science. |
| EPQ | If you achieve B or higher at EPQ, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer. |
| Core Maths | If you achieve B or higher in Core Maths, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer. |
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Minimum requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component |
| IB English | A score of 4 in English A or 5 in English B (Higher Level or Standard Level) |
| Cambridge CEFR | 176, with a minimum of 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, with a minimum of 6 in each component |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 136, with a minimum of 126 in each component |
| Duolingo | Integrated subscores: 120 overall, with a minimum of 105 in each component |
| GCSE/IGCSE/O level English Language (as a first or second language) | Grade C / Grade 4 |
| LanguageCert SELT | B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component |
| LanguageCert Academic | B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 478 Main Flight score with 444 in each component |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, with a minimum of 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87 overall, with a minimum of 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all components |
| Other English language qualifications | We also accept other English Language qualifications, including various school-leaving certificates. |
For more information see our undergraduate English language requirements.
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.
Get in touch if you have any questions
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