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Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

The UCL Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology (NPP) traces its origins to the founding of the Department of Physiology at UCL in 1828, the first of its kind in England. Today in NPP we research fundamental aspects of how and why organisms work, continuing a long-standing tradition of shedding light on the most complex animal function and behaviour, in both health and disease, by revealing the underpinning molecules, cells, systems and circuits. We are part of UCL's Neuroscience Research Community, the largest in Europe, and home to over 40 research groups and 100+ Post-Doctoral researchers, PhD students and support staff.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£6,400
£3,200
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£38,300
£19,150
Duration
3 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
October 2026
February 2027
May 2027
Applications accepted
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but should be submitted at least three months prior to your preferred start date.
Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university in a relevant discipline or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g. Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to UCL.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Students joining the UCL Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology enter our outstanding postgraduate training environment. The department brings together scientists working in world-leading interdisciplinary research specialities related to the structure and function of single molecules, synaptic signalling in the nervous system, understanding of circuits in the brain underlying behaviour, pain and inflammation, metabolic and cardiovascular disease and the pharmacology of neurotransmitter receptors, channels and transporters in cell membranes. 

Academic research is conducted at molecular, cellular, organismal and systems levels and may involve animal models of disease or studies in humans.

Who this course is for

Our PhD programme will provide you with the opportunity to develop the analytical and research skills you need to answer the fundamental scientific questions of our time. High-achieving applicants with a demonstrable interest in neuroscience, physiology or pharmacology will find a diverse and welcoming environment in which to develop their research skills and build career in research.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

The UCL Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology has an outstanding academic reputation and its links with other universities and industry provide strong support for our postgraduate research students' networking and employment prospects. 

We live in a period of astonishing growth of understanding in the interrelated fields of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology. There is a growing need for well-trained researchers in these fields in order to achieve advances in medicine so that society can face the medical challenges of the future with confidence. 

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

Postgraduate education in NPP provides an excellent scientific background accompanied by an impressive set of transferable skills, including analytical, presentation and communication skills. This, together with the outstanding reputation of UCL research in neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology and collaborative links with other major academic institutions and companies, provides numerous opportunities for our PhD students to find top science jobs in academia and industry. 

Employability

Our postgraduates have transferred the excellent skills acquired to the fields of biomedical research, consultancy, patent law, scientific publishing and teaching.

Networking

PhD students take an active role in the Department, participating in the seminar series that includes guest scientists from the UK and abroad. PhD students are encouraged to propose speakers and host events. Additionally, our PhD students organise their own regular meetings and receive departmental support to invite speakers from different fields (academia, industry, consultancy companies, charities, publishers, etc) to give them insight and advice on various career opportunities. They also take part in and give presentations at national and international scientific meetings, which in most cases include networking events.  

Teaching and learning

Our PhD students work closely with their supervisor and the research team, usually in daily contact. The growing knowledge and understanding of the research area that is characteristic of PhD studies requires constant self-directed study and participation in the discussion of research methods, data analysis and interpretation.   

Throughout the PhD programme, regular scheduled progression points are used to review academic progress. This will take the form of either a report or a meeting and is overseen by a Thesis Committee, comprised of a secondary supervisor and a thesis chair. The student is also expected to meet regularly with their supervisor and/or supervision team to oversee progress. Students are required to undertake training in statistics, transferable skills, research ethics, and skills appropriate to their studies. These are provided by the Faculty or through the UCL Doctoral School.

The student would be expected to commit a minimum of 36.5 hours per week, as consistent with a full-time employment at UCL, or the equivalent timing for a part-time position. This time frame also includes self-directed learning. The demands of a PhD may also necessitate additional out-of-hours work to accommodate a project’s need e.g. data collection and analysis.

Research areas and structure

Cellular, molecular and systems neuroscience: synaptic transmission, transporters, the pharmacology of ion channel and G-protein coupled receptors, voltage- and calcium-gated ion channels and signalling pathways, neuronal network behaviour and translational neuroscience, metabolic disease, sensory systems, vascular physiology, epithelia, inflammataion, cardiovascular and metabolic neuroscience.

Research environment

We provide a world-renowned research environment in which you begin your research career. Our PhD students are able to join established research groups in well-funded labs that support their research throughout their PhD studies. NPP PhD students participate in the departmental seminar programme in addition to having regular opportunities to attend national and international meetings of scientific societies such as the Physiological Society, British Pharmacological Society and British Neuroscience Association.

UCL has an outstanding reputation for research in Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology with five Nobel prize winners in these areas of research. The UCL Neuroscience Research Domain brings together UCL neuroscientists from across several departments and faculties and reflects the importance of neuroscience research at UCL which is ranked 2nd in the world and 1st in Europe for neuroscience (EduRank, March 2025). 

Across UCL, PhD student provision is supported and monitored by the UCL Doctoral School which provides the main avenue for training support for PhD students. 

The progress of all PhD students is monitored by the Graduate Tutors, Professor Alexander Gourine and Dr Joanne Marks. In addition to a primary supervisor, each NPP PhD student has a secondary supervisor who chairs Thesis Committee meetings and the MPhil-PhD upgrade process at the end of the 1st year of PhD study. 

Although NPP PhD students spend most of their time within their research group working on their PhD project, the PhD programmes contain other important training and networking activities too:  

Induction week  
The PhD programme starts with an induction week, to give the new students a head start in getting to know each other, their university, and their PhD programme.  

Student progression points  
During the PhD programme, there are a number of progression points to review academic progress. The progression points allow the student to discuss how their project is progressing and receive guidance on their research.  

Student talks  
Students develop their skills in oral presentation by presenting their research to their peers, colleagues in the department and at national and international scientific meetings.  

Student reports  
At the end of the first year of their PhD, students submit a written report on their research progress and plans for the next steps of their PhD, developing their writing skills before finally writing up their PhD thesis in their final year. Constructive feedback is provided on each report by their supervisory team.  

Skills training

Across UCL, PhD student provision is supported and monitored by the UCL Doctoral School which provides the main avenue for training support for PhD students at UCL.

Seminars, workshops, lectures and conferences  
The department hosts a range of both internal and external speakers providing seminars, workshops and lectures that students benefit from. Students have the opportunity to meet with visiting speakers to discuss their work. Students have access to funding to allow them to present their work at national and international conferences, providing valuable exposure to the wider scientific community, and an exciting and important learning experience.  

Career development  
Students are encouraged to plan ahead and think about what they would like to do next with support from bespoke careers events managed by dedicated UCL Careers Office staff.  

In some circumstances, students enrol for a part-time PhD, which extends the PhD programme usually to five-to-six years' duration. This may be combined with part-time work or with other responsibilities. In all other respects, a part-time PhD programme aims to achieve experience equivalent to a full-time PhD. 

Fieldwork

There is no fieldwork within our PhD programmes but students occasionally undertake placements in collaborative laboratories in order to expand the scope of their research project or enhance their research skills.

Placement

All students funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) London Interdisciplinary Doctoral (LIDo) Programme need to undertake a 3 month placement as a part of their PhD in order to develop a new set of skills and gain experience in a non-academic sector. The placement work cannot relate directly to a student's PhD research project. 

The placement is organised by the student with guidance from the LIDo team.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.


Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £6,400 £3,200
Tuition fees (2026/27) £38,300 £19,150

Route code RRDBISSNPP01

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

Additional Fee Element - (AFE) 

Research programmes at UCL may be subject to an Additional Fee Element (AFE). The AFE is applied to cover additional costs related to consumables, equipment and materials and other items (excluding student visas) which are not included in the composite tuition fee listed in the fees schedule and is, therefore, applied to a minority of programmes. 

As each PhD programme is unique in its nature, the AFE is calculated on a student by student basis. The AFE is banded into four fixed amounts: £1,000, £2,500, £5,000 and £10,000, with one further band for variable sums over £10,000. Please contact your prospective supervisor or Graduate Tutor directly for advice on whether or not your programme will include an AFE. 

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

Our department is part of the Division of Biosciences where we have a MRC four-year PhD programme, MRC CASE studentships, BBSRC four-year PhD and BBSRC CASE three & four year PhD studentships.

There may also be funding opportunities through individual research grants and Charity studentships as well as through other programmes. These are often available to view here.

There are a number of scholarships awarded through UCL including: UCL Research Excellence Scholarship (UCL-RES) and UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (UCL-ROS). Students can only apply for these with the support of a supervisor - please contact a prospective supervisor well in advance of the deadline and please note that the NPP Department has an earlier deadline than the one advertised on the links above. For October 2026 entry the deadline is Friday 12 December 2025. 

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Research degrees usually start on 1 October, but may also start on 1 February or 1 May. Deadlines and start dates can be dictated by funding arrangements for studentships and scholarships. In most cases you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. You can identify potential supervisors by viewing the list of NPP Academic staff or searching all UCL Profiles.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Division of Biosciences
Division of Biosciences

biosciences.pgr.admin@ucl.ac.uk

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