Study Neuroscience at Otago

Emma Bultitude:

Hi, my name is Emma, and I’m currently in my first year of postgraduate study in neuroscience. What I love about neuroscience is that the brain is such a complex organ, but this degree really breaks it down into all these different, really interesting components that you can hone in on to choose your own field. I feel like you can’t get this with any other degree at all, so if that sounds like you, then neuroscience is definitely the degree to study.

I would recommend neuroscience to anyone who’s got a really keen interest in how the body works, especially in regard to the brain, and also to anyone that’s interested in some of the different conditions and disorders that can arise, because so many of these are related to the brain.

Associate Professor Beulah Leitch:

Hello, my name is Beulah Leech, and I’m the director of the neuroscience programme here at the University of Otago. The University of Otago is the only university in New Zealand offering neuroscience as an undergraduate degree.

So, what is neuroscience? You won’t have studied it at school, but neuroscience is the study of the brain and the nervous system. Your brain is amazing—it’s packed with brain cells called neurons, and it’s been estimated that there are about 86 billion neurons in your brain. To put that into perspective, that’s almost equivalent to the number of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. So, the brain is one of the largest, most complex organs in our bodies, and studying it requires approaching it in a multidisciplinary way.

The brain is studied from its structure related to its function, from early development through childhood, adulthood, and into aging, as well as in disease and health.

Emma (continued):

Something which surprised me about neuroscience was the actual extent of all the processes that take place in the brain just to do something like lift your hand up. I was also surprised by how many different fields of study neuroscience crosses into. This is so useful because you can pick so many papers that are really specific to your overall desires.

Beulah (continued):

Our neuroscientists are spread across all different departments in the university, in health sciences and sciences, and they bring their expertise to teaching neuroscience to our undergraduates. So, if you come and study neuroscience at Otago, you will get access to those world experts in neuroscience across all the disciplines.

You will study the brain and the nervous system by taking core papers, but you also have a wide choice of papers that you can select as you get interested in the brain. This allows you to tailor your degree to your specific interests.

Emma (continued):

When I graduate, I’m hoping to continue my research aspect, but I’m also looking at getting involved in some sort of clinical neuroscience in my later life and using my knowledge to help people out.

Beulah (continued):

Our neuroscience graduates are wanted worldwide for different jobs. They’re very much in demand and desirable, and we’ve got students who are placed right around the globe, working in many different disciplines. In fact, 95% of our undergraduates and 100% of our postgraduates are in work or in further education within 18 months of completing their degree.

Emma (final thoughts):

Dunedin is an awesome place to study as well. It’s not too cold, and the student life is fantastic, as well as the university itself, which is just amazing.

Beulah (final thoughts):

Neuroscience is one of the most rapidly advancing and exciting fields of study. Neuroscientists are discovering every day more about how our brain works, how it makes us who we are, and how disease affects us. But there is so much more we need to know. The brain really is the final frontier—the last great unknown. Neuroscientists are its explorers. Come explore the brain with us here at Otago.