New candidates

The Master program has two pillars:

  • the neuroscience courses with compulsory in methodology, neurobiology and affective and cognitive neurosciences and various optional courses for 30 ECTS
  • a long-term research project in a laboratory (at least 3 semesters) for 60 ECTS
Program structure
90 ECTS
6 compulsory courses
Cellular and moleclular neurobiology
Methodology and statistics
Cognitive and affective neuroscience
18 ECTS
Optionale courses
(among a choice of about 30 courses)
12 ECTS
Research project
60 ECTS

Study Duration : 3 to 5 semesters Start Date : Fall term Important : Students are doing in the same time both the research project and courses. Student are expected to be at full-time in their laboratory outside class hours, so at least 2 full days a week for the first two semesters.

Show the detailed study plan

Courses are jointly proposed by the faculty of Medicine, the faculty of Psychology and Educational sciences (FPSE), the faculty of Science, and the faculty of economics (GSEM).

* Course given once every two years (7312D given in 2019/20, 751235 not given in 2019/20, 24N09 given in 2019/20)

** Limited number of students

*** Under conditions of relevant knowledge in statistics

Mandatory courses : Neurobiology

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
24N01 Principles of neurobiology Daniel Huber Medicine (Neurocenter) English 6 Fall, Tu and We 16:00-18:00
Total

Mandatory courses : Methodology

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
24N18 Introduction to applied statistics for health data analysis Delphine Courvoisier FacMed English 3 Fall, Mo 14:15-17:00
24N05 Techniques for investigating brain functions Christoph Michel Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 Fall, Th 16:00-18:00
Total

Mandatory courses : Affective and cognitive neuroscience

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
24N03 Introduction to cognitive and affective neuroscience Patrik Vuilleumier Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 Spring, Fr 10:00-12:00
24N10 Clinical and experimental neuropsychology Roberta Ronchi Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 Spring, We 16:00-18:00
Total

Optional courses : Affective and social neurosciences

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
751035 Neuropsychologie des émotions et neuroscience affectives Didier Grandjean and Leonardo Ceravolo FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, We 14:00-16:00
751036 Neurosciences affectives (TP) Didier Grandjean FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, Tu 12:00-14:00
751037 Approches cognitives de l’émotion David Sander FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 14:00-16:00
751042 Emotions positives et recherche de récompenses Eva Pool FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, Mo 8:00-10:00
751343 How emotion affects memory over the lifespan Ulrike Rimmele FPSE English 3 Fall, Th 10:00-12:00
751610 Affect et prise de décision Tobias Brosch FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, Mo 10:00-12:00
Total 12

Optional courses : Artificial intelligence

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
13X005 Intelligence artificielle: Principes et méthodes Stéphane Marchand-Maillet Sciences French 4 Fall, We, 8:00-10:00 (theory) and Th, 15:00-17:00 (exercices)
S403011 Machine learning*** Sebastian Engelke GSEM (Economie) English 6 Spring, Tu, 8:00-10:00, We, 10:00-12:00
Total 12

Optional courses : Attention and cognition

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
751200 Habitudes et systèmes de mémoire Julie Péron FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Sp Mo 8:00-10:00
751202 Attention et fonctions exécutives Dirk Kerzel FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, We 16:00-18:00
24N07 Neurobiology of vigilance states* Laurence Bayer Médecine English 3 Spring, Th 16:00-18:00
751003 Neuropsychologie de la musique Clara James FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, We 10:00-12:00
751044 Emotions animales Thibaut Gruber Psychologie French 3 Fall, We 14:00-16:00
751204 Neuropsychologie cognitive Virginie Descloux FPSE (Psycho) French 6 Fall, Fr 14:00-18:00
751235 Modèles non symboliques des fonctions cognitives* Roland Maurer FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, Mo 12:00-14:00
14B043 Introduction à la biologie du comportement André Langaney Science French 3 Annual, Th 10:15-11:50
Total 12

Optional courses : Bioethics

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
13B003 Bioéthique (version 1) Christine Clavien, Samia Hurst Sciences French 6 Annual, Th 12:30-14:00
13B003 Bioéthique (version 2) Christine Clavien, Samia Hurst Sciences French 3 Fall, Th 12:30-14:00
Total 12

Optional courses: Clinical neurosciences and brain dysfunctions

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
75113E Troubles du sommeil et fonctionnement psychologique Ralph Erich Schmidt FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 18:00-20:00
751110 Neuropsychologie clinique de l'adulte Andrea Brioschi, Nadezhda Guevara FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Fr 8:00-10.00
751136 Neuropsychologie clinique intégrative des affections démentielles Anne Claude Juillerat Van der Linden FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, Tu 16:00-18:00
Total 12

Optional courses: Development and plasticity

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
751337 Vieillissement cognitif et différences individuelles Alexandra Hering FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, 2 saturdays, 9:15-17:00
751116 Neuropsychologie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent Mayor FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, TU 10:00-12:00
751116 Neuropsychologie de l’enfant et de l’adolescent Claire Mayor FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 10:00-12:00
751338 Développement cognitif dans une perspective de Life-Span Mathias Kliegel FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, 2 Saturdays 9:15-16:30
13B010 Advanced topics in molecular genetics Robert Maeda FPSE (Psycho) French and English 6 Fall, Fr 8:15-10:00
Total 12

Optional courses: Functional neuroanatomy

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
24N02 Introducing the human brain: from structures to function** Joszef Kiss, Charles Quairiaux Medicine English 3 Spring, Tu 16:00-18:00
Total 12

Optional courses: Language and communication

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
75400 Neuropsychologie du langage chez l'adulte I Marina Laganaro FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, We 10:00-12:00
75415 Troubles du langage chez l’enfant Hélène Delage FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 8:00-10:00
751201 Langage Julie Franck FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Spring, We 14:00-16:00
Total 12

Optional courses: Methodology

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
751513 Introduction à la programmation d’expériences Dirk Kerzel, Andres Posada FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 10:00-12:00
751242 Electrophysiologie en psychologie cognitive (TP)** Nicolas Burra Psychology French 3 Fall, Mo 14:00-16:00
751500 Analyse de données multivariées Julien Chanal FPSE (Psycho) French 3 Fall, Tu 8:00-10:00
24N04 PET and MRI Imaging in Neuroscience Philippe Millet, François Lazeyras, Nathalie Ginovart Medicine English 4 Spring, Th 14:00-16:00
13X004 Imagerie numérique Svyatoslav Voloshynovskyy Science French 8 Annual, Fall Fr 10:00-12:00 and Spring Th 10:00-12:00
24N12 Applied Data science using open-source tools Michael Dayan Medicine English 3 Fall, Mo 9:00-11:00
24N14 Applied Data Science, examples of neuroimaging Michael Dayan Medicine English 3 Non donné en 2022-23
14B012 Scientific writing and communication** Michael Hothorn, Andreas Boland Science English 4 Fall, Tu 8:00-11:00
14F001 Elements of bioinformatics Amos Marc Bairoch, Marie-Claude Blatter Science English 5 Fall, Mo 8:00-12:00
14F012 Elements of proteomics and metabolomics: translation to human diseases Serge Rudaz, Jean-Charles Sanchez Science English 3 Fall, Th 14:00-16:00
24N17 Scientific 3D applications Emmanuel Badier Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 tba
Total 12

Optional courses : Neuroeconomics

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
S403052 Psychology of finance Kerstin Preuschoff GSEM (Economics) English 6 Fall, We 14:00-16:00
Total 12

Optional courses : Perception

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
14C031 Perfume and flavour chemistry Christian Chapuis, Christian Margot Science English 6 Fall, Tu 13:00-15:00
Total 12

Optional courses : Computational neuroscience

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
24N13 Trends in Computational Neuroscience Alexandre Pouget Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 Spring, We 14:00-16:00
24N16 Statistical and Computational Neuroscience Timothée Proix Medicine (Neurocenter) English 3 Spring, Mo 16:00-18:00
Total

Optional courses : B2B

Course number Course name Organizing lecturer Institution/Faculty Language ECTS Schedule
MGT-642 Innosuisse Business Concept Iohannès Bry EPFL English 4 Spring, Tu 17:00-21:00
BrainHack Geneva Michael Dayan Campus Biotech English 1 Fall
i-teams i-teams Program Vincent Wagner UNIGE English 3 tba
Total

Language

No French exam is required for the master in neuroscience admission. Official results to an English test (IELTS, Toefl, Toeic, Cambridge etc.) are required with a minimum B2 level in English as all of the compulsary courses and about one third of the optional courses are given in English.

Tuition fee

Tuitions fees are CHF 500.- per semester.

Admission conditions

The student can be accepted to the master if she/he fullfills three conditions:

  1. The student holds a bachelor of Sciences, Medical Sciences, Psychology or any other degree considered equivalent by the faculties and the Neurocenter committee. Information regarding the equivalence cannot be obtained before the documents submission to the Admission office.

Medical diploma obtained outside EU are not eligible. Paramedical trainings and diploma are not eligible. Swiss HES bachelors are eligible under the condition of validating a 40-ECTS customised study plan (one year) before entering the program.

You can ask for a first notice about the possibilities of equivalence of your diploma by writting to delphine.jochaut@unige.ch

2. The student is merit-based selected (scholastic results and motivation).

3. The student is accepted by a research lab for the master project according to the schedule below.

How to apply

General view of the admission process:

New candidates

Students finishing their bachelor degree at the University of Geneva should:

Step one : administrative registration

From January 1st to February 28th

Students from the Faculty of Psychology : Inform the secretariat of your faculty by email that you are applying for the Master in Neuroscience and go directly to step 2.

Students from the Faculty of Sciences: Register to the master program directly at your current faculty by filling the required form. Please contact the secretariat of students of your faculty to do so.

Students from the Faculty of Medicine: Register to the master program directly at your current faculty by filling the required form. Please contact the secretariat of students of your faculty to do so.

Step two : application for selection

from January 1st to February 28th

1- Fill the online form (available from January 1st to February 28th) (button “Apply now”, at the bottom of the page)
2- Attach the required documents
3- Submit

The required documents must be merged in two different files (preferably in PDF):

The first one with:

  • a curriculum vitae (mandatory)
  • a motivation letter (mandatory)
  • a copy of your transcripts of bachelor
  • your results to an official English test (Toefl, Toeic, Cambridge, IELTS or any other proof of your English level) (mandatory for students who did not hold a bachelor degree at least partially taught in English)
  • recommendation letter(s) if possible (highly recommended)
  • any other document that could support your application.

The second one with:

  • a copy of your diplomas (only for graduates)
  • a copy of your transcripts of bachelor (or any followed program that you think could support your application) only in French or English

The Neurocenter will evaluate your application and directly send your application to the laboratories mentioned in the laboratory choice form between March and September 1st, depending on their availability for a master student project and on their interest in your profile. If you have not been directly contacted by a laboratory for an interview at the end of May, please contact the laboratories your are interested in by yourself (by sending CV and motivation letter). You must have found a laboratory before September 8 to be admitted to the next Fall term. You will be registered in the faculty of affiliation of your supervisor.

The affiliated research groups approved by the Neurocenter committee is listed here.

Apply now

General view of the admission process:

New candidates

The enrolment process to the master is done through two different procedures. Please note that these two procedures have to be done separately, you don’t have to wait for an answer from the Admission Office before sending your application to the Neurocenter. No application will be taken into account without having followed these two steps.

STEP ONE: ADMINISTRATIVE REGISTRATION

From January 1st until February 28th for the following Fall semester

The administrative registration is done through the Admission Office of the University. This immatriculation process is the same for any students applying for any program at UNIGE. Please follow the procedure described hereApplication deadline is February 28th to start in the Fall semester of the same year. For additional information regarding the immatriculation request, please contact directly the Admission office via the online portal.

STEP TWO: APPLICATION TO THE NEUROCENTER (for selection)

From January 1st to February 28th for the following Fall semester

1- Fill the online form (available from January 1st to February 28th) (button “Apply now”, at the bottom of the page)
2- Attach the required documents
3- Submit

The required documents must be merged in two different files (preferably in PDF):

The first one with:

  • a curriculum vitae (mandatory)
  • a motivation letter (mandatory)
  • transcripts (in French or English only) of your bachelor degree (mandatory)
  • results to an official English test (mandatory)
  • recommendation letter(s) if possible
  • any other document that could support your application.

The second one with:

  • a certified copy of your diplomas (not mandatory if your bachelor is in progress)
  • a certified copy of your transcripts of bachelor (or any followed program that you think could support your application) only in French or English (mandatory)
  • an official syllabus of your undergraduate program (bachelor or equivalent) only in French or English (a few lines for each course) (mandatory)

The Neurocenter will evaluate your application and directly send your application to the laboratories mentioned in the laboratory choice form over March/April, depending on their availability for a master student project and on their interest in your profile. You must have found a laboratory before April 30th. If you are admitted to the program, you will receive an admission letter at the beginning of May. You will be registered in the faculty of affiliation of your supervisor.

The affiliated research groups approved by the Neurocenter committee is listed here.

Apply now

Contact

For administrative questions (immatriculation request), please contact directly the Admission office via their platform: https://admissions.unige.ch/kayako/

For further information about the program, please contact directly Delphine Jochaut: delphine.jochaut@unige.ch

For information regarding living and studying in Geneva, you can contact the Master in neuroscience student association: Site web Email: aeng-gnsa@unige.ch