Students in the Master’s program are required to complete an additional 6 credits of elective courses. There are a variety of courses available, and we encourage you to take advantage of them. Please work with your supervisor to plan your electives.
No more than 6 credits of 300- or 400-level coursework will count towards the Master’s degree. However, registering in additional courses does not affect your tuition fees. This is a great opportunity to take additional courses that may benefit your research, and you should discuss course selection with your supervisor.
The list below is meant as a guideline only, and is not exhaustive. Note, not all electives are offered each semester or year (some tend to be offered every other year). Check the UBC calendar or with the course instructor for more details and for any pre-requisites. Other courses not listed may also be appropriate for some students in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience.
If you are not able to register directly into an elective course on the student service centre, you need complete the ‘G+PS registration form’. Please obtain the course instructor’s approval prior to sending the form to ubc.neuroscience@ubc.ca.
Additionally, you can fulfill your credit requirements by taking a directed studies course (self-guided research study). For more information, contact one of the module leaders or other faculty with whom you are interested in working with. They will direct you to the relevant department for registration and can help determine how to fulfill course requirements.
Details regarding the various courses are available on the respective department websites and the Student Service Centre (SSC). You MUST register for all the courses you are taking on the SSC, including NRSC 500 and 501. You are required to register for the NRSC 549 thesis (Masters) or NRSC 649 thesis (Doctoral) for all semesters you are enrolled at UBC. You must be continuously registered, even during the Summer terms.
UPDATE – August 26, 2020: Added Topics in Neurotrauma
UPDATE – June 16, 2020: You may choose any BIOL or BIOC course level 500 or higher
UPDATE – June 5, 2019: You may choose any PSYC course 300 or higher
UPDATE – January 10, 2020: added BIOL 459
Registration and current course schedule
| Dept. | No. | Credits | Course Name |
| ANAT | 516 | 3 | Functional Human Neuroanatomy: Central Nervous System |
| BIOC | 509 | 3 | Membrane Structure and Function |
| BIOC | 511 | 3 | Biochemical Aspects of Cellular Regulation |
| BIOL | 437 | 3 | Laboratory in Animal Cell Molecular Biology |
| BIOL | 441 | 3 | Animal Cell Biology |
| BIOL | 456 | 3 | Comparative and Molecular Endocrinology |
| BIOL | 458 | 3 | Developmental Neurobiology |
| BIOL | 459 | 3 | Neurobiology of Sensory and Motor Systems |
| CELL | 506 | 1.5 | Fluorescence Microscopy |
| CELL | 511 | 1.5 | Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease |
| MEDI | 520 | 3 | Advanced Topics in Visual Sciences |
| MEDI | 590 | 3 | Molecular Regulation of Cell Growth and Differentiation |
| OBST | 501 | 3 | Reproductive Endocrinology I |
| OBST | 504 | 3 | Reproductive Endocrinology II |
| OBST | 505 | 6 | Experimental Techniques in Reproductive Biology |
| PATH | 404 | 6 | Diagnostic Histochemistry |
| PHYL | 426 | 3 | Physiological Basis of Central Nervous System Functions |
| PHYL | 526 | 3 | Advanced Topics in Neurophysiology |
| PHAR | 542 | 3 | Central Nervous System Pharmacology |
| PCTH | 500 | 3 | Molecular Aspects of Drug Action at the Membrane Level |
| PCTH | 502 | 4 | Drugs and Intercellular Communication |
| PCTH | 513 | 4 | Pharmacology of Anesthesia |
| PSYC | 460 | 3 | Behavioural Neuroendocrinology |
| PSYC | 462 | 3 | Drugs and Behavioural Neuroscience |
| PSYC | 579 | 3 | Special Topics in Perception |
| PSYC | 582 | 3 | Cognition |
| PSYC | 593 | 3 | Neurophysiology and Cortical Plasticity |
| PSYC | 594 | 3 | Psychoneuroendocrinology |
| RHSC | 506 | 3 | Topics in Neurotrauma |
Any STAT or CPSC course 500 or higher
For more basic background on particular Neuroscience and Biological topics, students may also take the following undergraduate courses, although these may not necessarily count towards the completion of a MSc or PhD degree. Note: graduate students do not incur additional fees by signing up for supplementary courses.
| Dept. | No. | Course Name |
| BIOL | 437 | Laboratory in Animal Cell Molecular Biology |
| BIOL | 441 | Animal Cell Biology |
| BIOL | 455 | Comparative Neurobiology |
| BIOL | 456 | Comparative and Molecular Endocrinology |
| BIOL | 458 | Developmental Neurobiology |
| PATH | 404 | Diagnostic Histochemistry |
| PHYL | 426 | Physiological Basis of Central Nervous System Function |
| PHAR | 408 | Clinical Pharmacokinetics |
| PCTH | 404 | Drug Assay and Pharmacometrics |
| PSYC | 401 | Clinical Psychology |
| PSYC | 402 | Research in Anxiety Disorders |
| PSYC | 407 | Cognition and Culture |
| PSYC | 417A | Special Topics in Psychology |
| PSYC | 431 | Special Topics in Forensic Psychology |
| PSYC | 460 | Behavioural Neuroendocrinology |
| PSYC | 462 | Drugs and Behavioural Neuroscience |
| PSYC | 465A | Computers in Psychology |
| PSYC | 469 | Psychoneuroimmunology |
