Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience

Entry requirements

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

Research students are welcomed to Brunel as valued members of our thriving, research-intensive community. A research degree provides the opportunity to investigate a topic in depth, and contribute new knowledge to your discipline. A PhD involves demonstrating through original research or other advanced scholarship the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge at the forefront of an academic discipline or professional practice, the ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the general of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline. Both full-time (3 years) and part-time (6 years) study routes are available.

MPhil option

Research students are welcomed to Brunel as valued members of our thriving, research-intensive community. A research degree provides the opportunity to investigate a topic in depth, and contribute new knowledge to your discipline. An MPhil involves the exploration of a research topic and is typically studied over a shorter period of 1 year for a full-time student and 2 years for a part-time student. MPhil students are required to demonstrate a systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights informed by the forefront of their discipline, field of study or professional practice.

Research profile

The newly founded Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN) focuses on fundamental and applied research into the relationships between brain function, behaviour and psychological processes - using techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, psychophysics, transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS), transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), infrared thermography and behavioural experiments.

Bringing together cognitive neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, cognitive psychologists and sports and exercise psychologists the group aims to carry out cutting edge research on cognitive/perceptual/motor processes and their neural substrates in these three main research strands:

• Vision – visual attention, visual perception, face perception, visual language.
• Action – motor control, executive control, performance (e.g. sport).
• Plasticity – lifespan changes, acquisition of expertise (e.g. in areas above such as vision, action and performance, sports), neurodegeneration/rehabilitation.

Information for international students

English language requirements

• IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 68% (58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 98 overall (min 20)

Fees and funding

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.