Are you wondering how thoughts and emotions come into being in the brain's neurons? Would you like to employ a wide spectrum of scientific methods to understand how the brain works? In that case, Norway's first master's degree programme in neuroscience is your right choice.

The physical foundation for psychological phenomena such as thoughts, emotions, ideas, memories and problem-solving has occupied philosophers for several thousand years, but the methods and technology to study the material basis for mental activity directly have only been available for a couple of decades. Modern neuroscience makes it possible to link microscopic activity in individual cells and cell populations directly to mental processing and mental disease. The master's programme in neuroscience represents an initial attempt to offer Norwegian students a general and comprehensive education in neuroscience. The programme is highly interdisciplinary and is based on basal and extensive foundational knowledge in biology, medicine, psychology, physics, and mathematics. The teaching will be provided by neuroscientists at four NTNU Faculties and the Centre for the Biology of Memory. Experts from other Norwegian and international universities will also lecture.

Visions for the Master's Degree Programme in Neuroscience

One of the 21st century's greatest scientific challenges is to understand how mental activity comes into being in the brain. What is the physical basis for psychological phenomena such as thoughts, emotions, ideas, memories, and problem-solving? These questions have troubled philosophers for several thousand years, but the methods and technology to study the material basis for mental activity directly have only been available for the previous two decades. Neuroscientific technology is rapidly developing, and progress within gene technology, electronics, and data processing now allow researchers to relate microscopic activity in individual cells and cell populations directly to measurable mental processing.

This development does not only form the basis for an improved understanding of normal human thinking, it also contributes to prevent and treat diseases in the nervous system. Diseases in the brain and nervous system are the most common cause when patients are admitted to hospital in Norway. In Norway, some 30% of the population will be hit by disturbances in the brain (such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, strokes, schizophrenia, depression, multiple sclerosis, and chronic pain) at least once in their life. These figures will rise even more in years to come due to changes in the Norwegian age profile. Alzheimer's disease already affects more than 5% of the population.

With these figures as the background, it is important to educate researchers and medical personnel with knowledge about the nervous system. The medical faculties at the four Norwegian universities have taken a joint initiative in a nationwide focus on neuroscience, and this initiative is currently being followed up by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The primary goal of this effort is to upgrade brain research. However, this upgrading must go hand in hand with the establishment of subjects taught in this field. As of today, there are no dedicated neuroscience programmes offered in Norway. Neuroscience is a highly interdisciplinary field and is part of the curriculum in medicine, biology, psychology, and physics, but in each of these subjects neuro-related topics only represent minor and time-limited elements angled with a view to subject-specific matters. An upgrade of neuroscience in Norway requires (i) a general programme in the subject, and (ii) an education that provides students with knowledge across traditional disciplines.

The establishment of a master's degree programme in neuroscience at NTNU is an attempt to meet these challenges. The project represents an initial attempt to offer Norwegian students a general and comprehensive education in neuroscience. We wish to offer students with a Bachelor's degree in basic disciplines such as biology, physics, or psychology a complete programme in neuroscience at Master's level. The offer includes an elementary interdisciplinary foundation course and two courses specializing in cellular and psychological neuroscience. Combined with a thesis in neuroscience, the offer may provide students with a unique and profound background for dealing with interdisciplinary problems that future neuroscientists will face. The master's programme will also lay the foundation for a PhD programme in neuroscience, which is recently agreed to be established at NTNU. These two programmes are most likely to be coordinated by the same leader group. The establishment of a separate neuroscience programme is in line with the development at most larger universities in Europe and the USA.

NTNU has a unique starting point to develop Norway's first master's degree programme in neuroscience. One of the institution's three Centres of Excellence, the Centre for the Biology of Memory, is within the neuroscience field. One of the Centre's explicit goals is to develop a programme offer in neuroscience to strengthen the recruitment to the field. The Centre represents an internationally acknowledged academic environment within the biology of memory. Seven international professors hold part-time positions at the Centre. Master's students in neuroscience will have the opportunity to work with these guest lecturers in the laboratory, and they will be offered training from the lecturers whenever relevant. The international guests have also agreed to accept students connected with the Centre for further training. Combined with a structured programme offer, the direct interaction between students and world-leading researchers will provide NTNU's next generation neuroscientists access to top laboratories within the field. Hopefully, many of them will return to Norway and contribute to the further upgrading of neuroscience.