Masters Degree Study Departments
Master’s degree in Neurobiology
Brain research in the Sagol Department of Neurobiology at the University of Haifa is a unique enterprise, focusing on the interface between behavior and its neural components. The Department’s research groups specialize in various areas of research in the field of brain sciences and use different model systems for research purposes. Each group focuses on specific behaviors and traces their underlying mechanisms.
This search is performed on many levels, from molecular and cellular mechanisms to the study of complete neural systems. The methods we use include molecular and cellular biology, genetic engineering, microscopy, electrophysiology in parts of the brain and in the entire animal, as well as functional brain imaging in humans.
Together, we illuminate topics of learning and memory from different angles, as well as cognitive processes in the healthy and diseased brain, with the objective of understanding the neural processes that create complex behavior.
The aim of the studies in the Department is to enable outstanding students, graduates of biology, medical sciences or other fields in the life sciences and psychology, to deepen integrative theoretical knowledge together with intensive practical training in research of the field of neurobiology. Emphasis is placed on the research of behavior as reflecting the functional and structural principles of the nervous system and its units, on the assumption that the characteristics and structures of the nervous system will be expressed through the behavioral variety.
The program combines new research methods at the forefront of science, from advanced molecular methods and genetic engineering, to the recording of electrical signals in the brain and the use of brain scanners.
The program will admit graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Medical Science, Psychology or related fields in the life sciences, from a recognized institution of higher education in Israel or abroad.
Applicants who are graduates of accredited universities abroad and of universities with branches in Israel, operating with a permit granted by the Council for Higher Education, will be required to successfully pass the GRE exam, or supplementary Bachelor’s degree studies.
A weighted final grade of at least 80, in each of the departments studied for the Bachelor’s degree.
A personal interview with the Departmental Admissions Committee.
If necessary, the Admissions Committee will determine the supplementary studies for each student, according to their academic background. Completion of supplementary studies with a grade point average of 80 is a condition for continuing studies in the Department.
Candidates will be invited to a personal interview before the Admissions Committee. The Committee may, at its discretion, toughen or recommend easing the above admission requirements, as long as that will not contradict the general University admission requirements. The Admissions Committee will recommend to the Graduate Studies Authority on admission to studies; however, the final decision to approve the admission is given by the Graduate Studies Authority, after completion of all the graduate’s requirements and the submission of a Bachelor’s degree certificate or entitlement to a Bachelor’s degree.
Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education in which the language of instruction is not Hebrew, must pass a Hebrew proficiency examination at the level required by the University as a condition for admission.
Research program
Employment options after graduation: Program graduates will be able to join the ranks of advanced academic research (Ph.D.), the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, and a variety of research and development organizations in the fields of neurobiology and biology.