Bachelor Brain Science

The human brain may look like a simple mass of jelly, but it actually is an amazingly complex network made up of billions of neurons and other cells. This network is responsible for how we experience and interact with the world. Are you curious how the brain perceives, feels, remembers, and behaves? Do you want to discover how habits and lifestyle choices can be implemented to improve brain health? Do you want to contribute to better treatments for brain diseases, like dementia and Alzheimer’s? Are you ready to unlock the power of the brain? Then the bachelor Brain Science is the right programme for you!

To truly grasp how the brain works, you need to understand many things at once. In this one-of-a-kind bachelor’s programme combines the captivating fields of psychology, biology, math, and computational science. Mastery of these fields is required, because processes on all these levels are happening simultaneously when we think, feel, act, remember, or perceive.

The idea of combining different perspectives on the same brain functionality is called ‘transdisciplinarity’. With this unique approach, a bachelor’s degree in Brain Science will make you a truly transdisciplinary brain scientist.

Why this programme?

The bachelor Brain Science will train you to become a well-rounded scientist with a transdisciplinary perspective on the human brain. After graduating you’ll be in a unique position to contribute to solutions to major societal questions and challenges.

What transdisciplinarity does for you

You will learn how to apply your knowledge

This bachelor will give you fundamental scientific insight into the healthy brain on different levels of function. Because of this multi-perspective insight, you will also have a keen eye for what can go wrong. By integrating biological, computational, and psychological perspectives, you will understand how to treat brain diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer, or central nervous system injuries.

Combining hard and soft skills

Hard skills are specific skills and capabilities, soft skills are personal attributes that help you effectively work with others. The bachelor Brain Science will train you in hard skills complemented with crucial soft skills trained in the Problem-Based Learning system.

Hard skills

·Design and conduct experiments

·Analyse and model data

·Report scientific findings

·Programming (Python, R)

·Build computational models

·Programme your own data analysis

Soft skills

·Work on scientific projects in groups

·Giving and receiving feedback

·Take responsibility for work in a team

·Be a team player

·Ethics of good research and artificial intelligence

Transferrable skills

Your mathematical background, computational skills, and the acquired ability to be a bridge builder in interdisciplinary teams will serve you in many fields within or outside of science. The ability to connect different aspects while thinking about complex problems is in demand everwhere.

Your array of skills and broad background in psychology, biology, and computational science, will make you eligible for master studies and jobs the following fields: AI and robotics, consultancy, medical and research technology, gene technology, pharmacology, biomedical and software engineering, psychology, healthcare.

It will be fun!

You will experience the joy of uncovering the interconnectedness of the fields of biology, computational science, and psychology. You will see how relatively simple mathematical models are useful in capturing complex biological or psychological processes. You will see how everything is connected, from molecules and cells, to synapses and networks, and interactions among networks that sustain behaviour and cognition.

What transdisciplinarity does for society

Completing the bachelor Brain Science sets you up to contribute significantly to solutions to major societal questions and challenges.

Science is looking for people to bridge disciplines

A team consisting of a molecular biologist, a mathematician, and a psychologist will not advance as quickly as a team of transdisciplinary scientists. Knowledge and skills need to be combined across disciplines to answer complex scientific questions about the human brain. This is where you come in! The bachelor Brain Science trains you in three disciplines, so you can be the translator in a team and play a crucial role in unlocking scientific progress in brain science.

Society is looking for solutions to the brain health crisis

Approximately 1 in 4 in the Netherlands (and the European Union) are suffering from brain disease. These include for example: depression, dementia, movement disorders, stroke, epilepsy, migraine, brain trauma, and sleep disorders. Due to the ageing society, this number is expected to increase. There is a clear need for scientists to create unique solutions to these issues. As a graduate of the bachelor Brain Science, your research, transdisciplinary skills and expertise can lead to improved treatments of brain disorders and mechanisms to promote brain health.