Objectives and Career Opportunities
Academic Year 2024-2025
Graduates in the International Master’s Degree Programme in Neuroscience will acquire:
- a solid cultural preparation in basic neuroscience and in different sectors of applied neuroscience and a high level of scientific and operational preparation in connected subjects;
- thorough knowledge of instrumental methodology, analytical tools, techniques of data acquisition and analysis;
- advanced knowledge of mathematical and informatic support tools;
- expertise in the scientific investigation method;
- the capacity to fluently use the English language, both written and spoken, with specific reference to the subject terminology;
- the capacity to work autonomously, also taking responsibility for managing projects and structures.
For the purposes indicated, the International Master’s Degree Programme in Neuroscience includes:
- training aimed at: acquiring mathematical, statistical, informatic, physical and chemical tools; furthering basic neurobiological training and its applications, especially concerning comparative and applicative knowledge of molecules, cells, tissue and organisms in physiological and altered conditions, their reciprocal interaction, the social and inter-relational effects on living beings; the acquisition of useful techniques for understanding biomolecular, cellular and organism phenomena; the acquisition of specialised skills in a specific sector of basic or applied neurobiology;
- training activities, lessons and laboratory practice dedicated to learning experimental and data processing methods;
- training in companies, public administration offices and laboratories, as well as study trips to other Italian and overseas universities, also within the framework of international agreements.
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BIOLOGIST |
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Role within a work context A biologist studies animals and plants, evaluating nutritional and energy needs, including those of interest for human health. He/she works in clinical chemistry and microbiology test laboratories, in animal disease prevention institutes, in environmental protection agencies in municipalities, provinces and regions, in companies and associations working in quality control, production and the sale of medicinal drugs, and in training and knowledge sectors. The degree of professional autonomy and the possibilities for careers can vary depending on the job carried out and the skills acquired. |
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Job-associated skills - scientific and methodological knowledge in the plant, animal and human biology fields; - knowledge of physiology, pharmacology and pathology; - knowledge of written and spoken English; - knowledge of basic IT and statistics programmes; - commercial and product-management skills (for scientific information work). |
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Career possibilities Anyone with a Master’s Degree in Neuroscience can: - access to PhD Programmes according to the regulations for admission; - access to promotion and development activities for scientific and technological innovation, and management and planning of neurobiological technologies; - promote understanding of neurobiological phenomena at all levels and contribute to spreading such knowledge; - access to biology, biochemistry, biophysics and instrumental applications related to neuroscience in the healthcare, neuropharmacological and social fields. |
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RESEARCHERS AND TECHNICIANS GRADUATES IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
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Role within a work context A biologist wanting to work in research will have acquired a suitable post-graduate specialisation qualification after accessing a PhD Programme and being awarded the degree. As a PhD graduate, he/she can acquire further qualifications by accessing post-PhD research programmes in public (academic) or private (pharmaceutical, food and biotechnology industries), or find work in the same areas in a research support role with a high level of responsibility and qualification. The degree of professional autonomy and the possibilities for careers in research, including academic or industrial careers, can vary depending on the job carried out and the skills acquired. |
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Job-associated skills - excellent scientific and methodological knowledge in animal and human biology; - excellent knowledge of written and spoken English; - excellent knowledge of basic IT and statistics programmes. |
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Career possibilities Anyone with a Master’s Degree in Neuroscience can: - access to scientific and technological innovation promotion and development roles, and also management and planning roles for neurobiological technologies; - hold positions of high responsibility in professional and project activities in neuroscience-related fields, in industry, healthcare and public administration; - promote understanding of neurobiological phenomena at all levels and contribute to spreading such knowledge; - access to biology, biochemistry, biophysics and instrumental applications related to neuroscience in the healthcare, neuropharmacological and social fields. |
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CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCES |
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Knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will have advanced knowledge of molecular and developmental neurobiology and of cellular neurophysiology that will allow them to understand the relations that exist between neuron sub-cellular structures and their physiological functions, in particular the ones related to cellular communication and its plastic modifications. They will have knowledge about the biophysical basics of the properties of excitable membranes, ionic channels and receptors, in order to understand the basic molecular processes behind neuronal communication. Graduates will know the molecular mechanisms that govern the main functions of neuron cells and glial cells in vertebrates’ nervous systems, transmission in central and peripheral synapsis, neuronal diversity, the cytoplasmic composition of nerve cells and their dendritic trafficking and molecular neurotrophic function activities. By studying the main stages of the brain and bone marrow’s embryonic development, graduates will acquire knowledge about cellular mechanisms that regulate the formation of the nervous system and the creation of complex neural networks. |
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Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding |
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Thanks to theoretical and practical lessons that introduce students to scientific methodology, the graduate will acquire the ability to apply - in appropriate experimental contexts - preparation, growth, transfection and morphometric methods for neurons and skeletal muscle cells in vitro, and also acquisition, registration and analysis procedures for electrical signals in specific excitable cell populations of nervous system preparations from vertebrates and invertebrates.
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INTEGRATIVE AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCES |
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Knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will have acquired knowledge about the mechanisms controlling sensor-motor integration, cognitive and sensorial perceptive capacities. |
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Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will have advanced knowledge of the composition and function of motor and sensory systems, and will be able to define the functional uniqueness of their interactions with the outside world. Graduates will also be able to develop practical knowledge about psychophysical investigation methods and apply them in appropriate experimental test contexts. |
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TRANSLATIONAL NEUROSCIENCES |
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Knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will have acquired the basic tools for understanding the physiopathological, symptomatological and diagnostic basics of the main human neurodegenerative diseases and relative therapeutic actions in experimental and clinical contexts. They will also have been exposed to experimental procedures used to repeat these aspects in suitable models, and to critical analysis of their reliability, in order to understand the translational potential in clinics. They will also have encountered the principles that govern the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of molecules acting on the nervous system and the actions of such substances in pathological and therapeutic contexts. Graduates will also have acquired advanced knowledge on the physical and physiological bases of modern technologies for non-invasive mapping of the human brain, and on statistical procedures for analysing signs coming from them. |
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Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will be able to associate several aspects of neural pathologies in their clinical presentation or when summed up in models, with the most adequate and updated strategies for diagnosis and therapy. Graduates will be able to plan and carry out data acquisition, processing and analysis procedures relating to image diagnostics of brain activity and to use the skills acquired to understand the problems regarding the methods used and to propose solutions. |
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INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING FOR RESEARCH |
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Knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will learn to use the English language in the scientific and technological field. Further laboratory knowledge and skills for the job market will also be acquired while preparing the degree thesis, which will be strictly experimental and all written and discussed in English. In this context, a large amount of laboratory work is foreseen (internship, at least 8 months), in university or other scientific structures in Italy and overseas, aimed at accessing new topics that may be a part of broader contexts compared to the ones offered by the degree course, such as the ones leading to professions in industrial and production fields. By preparing a thesis and discussing original experimental data in front of a commission of lecturers and researchers, the graduates will acquire the capacity to present scientific topics.
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Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding |
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Graduates will be able to critically read and understand scientific articles in the most renowned magazines of the relevant sector. Moreover, they will acquire expertise in the correct terminology which is mandatory for drafting scientific projects and original scientific articles. They will be able to tackle scientific problems and to work in laboratory autonomously. They will have experience in group working and thus they will be able to interact with others to pursue common aims. Graduates will be able to communicate scientific topics orally and in writing. |