The Student Council of Neuroscience (officially the 'Fachschaftsrat') represents the students of all three degree programs offered by the Graduate Training Center of Neuroscience in Tübingen. We encourage students to work together on studies-related topics and engage in social activities.
To get involved, reach us via email at fachschaft@fs-neuro.de or come directly to a meeting (typically on Wednesdays at 18:30 in the DZNE common room, see calendar below for details).
We also have a GTC Discord channel for students and guests to form study groups and discuss science, as well as a Telegram group for student council event planning! Reach out to Julius (t.me/juliusgrt) for an invite link.
To stay up to date with all our events, subscribe to our shared Google Calendar. Beyond this, find out about social events in Tübingen in the Telegram "hanging out" group.
At the beginning of each summer semester, a President and a Vice-President are elected and their task is to ensure the successful running of the student council. Additionally, within each track two student representatives are chosen to be part of the study commission and help to reach out to lecturers within each program.
The GTC library is located on the lower ground floor (Level -1) of the DZNE building. The library consists of various books relevant to our courses and research. For a detailed list, please refer to our book catalog.
The curricula of the three master's programs comprise some 55 different neuroscience courses, all taught in English and offered periodically every academic year. The courses range from broadly-based neuroscience topics to demanding, specialized courses, as well as two longer-lasting laboratory rotations and a final master's thesis.
The master's programs have an explicit ‘research orientation’ with the goal of optimally preparing graduate students for demanding doctoral projects. This goal is achieved by two means: first, by recruiting active researchers as instructors who incorporate state-of-the-art neuroscientific questions and methods in their courses and, secondly, by implementing extensive periods of laboratory training where students engage in current research projects. The same is true for the experimental master's thesis of 6 months, which often serves as a ‘seed crystal’ for a subsequent doctoral dissertation.
Please note that our programs are currently undergoing reaccreditation. We will offer students the same courses and more, allowing greater freedom of choice for individual profile formation. The general structure that is described here remains. You can find more detailed information on the respective program's pages.
The master's programs of the three graduate schools are basically designed alike regarding the overall requirements, the curricular and semester structure, the format of the study regulations and the ECTS credits and degree earned (for details, see ‘Module Handbooks’). However, regarding the course content they differ considerably.
The master's programs consist of four semesters (2 years). The 1st year covers the theoretical training that provides the required competences needed in the 2nd year of study, which comprises the practical training.
Semesters 1 + 2 comprise the theoretical parts of the master's training, including the exams at the end of each semester. Course types include lectures, lectures with exercises, journal clubs, tutorials, seminars and practical block courses. To find out about specific courses, visit the GTC Master's website, click on one of the three tracks, go to 'Courses, Regulations & Downloads' and download the latest module handbook.
Semester 3 comprises two 10-week long laboratory rotations where students work on small research projects in laboratories of their choice. Students will acquire practical skills in state-of-the-art methods and, furthermore, will get to know current scientific questions and research projects embarked on in Tübingen. Each lab project will be concluded with a written report and an oral presentation of the project in a final seminar. The lab work, together with the written and oral performance, will be marked and makes up a considerable part of the final grade.
Semester 4 represents a six-month period where students conclude their studies with an experimental master's thesis. After graduation, students may either leave the program with a M.Sc. degree to pursue further studies elsewhere or they may continue with their project and enter the GTC’s doctoral program (for details, see ‘Doctoral Program’).
