Electives

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.CreditsCourse Name
ANAT 5163Functional Human Neuroanatomy: Central Nervous System
BIOC 5093Membrane Structure and Function
BIOC5113Biochemical Aspects of Cellular Regulation
BIOL4373Laboratory in Animal Cell Molecular Biology
BIOL4413Animal Cell Biology
BIOL4563Comparative and Molecular Endocrinology
BIOL4583Developmental Neurobiology
BIOL4593Neurobiology of Sensory and Motor Systems
CELL5061.5Fluorescence Microscopy
CELL5111.5Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease
MEDI5203Advanced Topics in Visual Sciences
MEDI5903Molecular Regulation of Cell Growth and Differentiation
OBST5013Reproductive Endocrinology I
OBST5043Reproductive Endocrinology II
OBST5056Experimental Techniques in Reproductive Biology
PATH4046Diagnostic Histochemistry
PHYL4263Physiological Basis of Central Nervous System Functions
PHYL5263Advanced Topics in Neurophysiology
PHAR5423Central Nervous System Pharmacology
PCTH5003Molecular Aspects of Drug Action at the Membrane Level
PCTH5024Drugs and Intercellular Communication
PCTH5134Pharmacology of Anesthesia
PSYC4603Behavioural Neuroendocrinology
PSYC4623Drugs and Behavioural Neuroscience
PSYC5793Special Topics in Perception
PSYC5823Cognition
PSYC5933Neurophysiology and Cortical Plasticity
PSYC5943Psychoneuroendocrinology
RHSC5063Topics 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
BIOL437Laboratory in Animal Cell Molecular Biology
BIOL441Animal Cell Biology
BIOL455Comparative Neurobiology
BIOL456Comparative and Molecular Endocrinology
BIOL458Developmental Neurobiology
PATH404Diagnostic Histochemistry
PHYL426Physiological Basis of Central Nervous System Function
PHAR408Clinical Pharmacokinetics
PCTH404Drug Assay and Pharmacometrics
PSYC401Clinical Psychology
PSYC402Research in Anxiety Disorders
PSYC407Cognition and Culture
PSYC417ASpecial Topics in Psychology
PSYC431Special Topics in Forensic Psychology
PSYC460Behavioural Neuroendocrinology
PSYC462Drugs and Behavioural Neuroscience
PSYC465AComputers in Psychology
PSYC469Psychoneuroimmunology