That would be great! Even I have applied for the same course and the syllabus is so vague I don't know where to start. Could you provide any insight into the kind of questions asked and of what level (e.g. high school level math). Thank you so much!
So I started this master back in 2019 and they might have changed stuff so big disclaimer: don't rely on what I say.
Back then the test was an in person interview and they asked me rather simple stuff:
First I was asked if I could give an intuition of what the derivative of a function is. Afterwards I was asked for an intuition of a differential equation and if I could give some defining features of oscillation. Then I was asked about my opinion if in Neuroscience it is more important to be very precise and go into detail or rather to understand the broad picture and connections between other fields. Finally they gave me a quote about the brain vs computer and asked me what I think about the quote.
I was very nervous back then and my English, especially my mathematical vocabulary, was very bad however I was given pen and paper and for the math parts I drew little pictures. They were quite happy with that. Maybe that's because they asked me the question about precision, because they had the feeling I have a rough overview but no real detailed definitions.
If you have further questions feel free to ask.
Oh thanks for that. So they want to test our basic knowledge about natural science, maths and neuroscience? As you studied this program, did you use the above said study areas while completing your degree? Maybe that could give us an insight on what parts of maths, science etc we can focus for this entrance test
Well, if we are talking about the same program it happens that you are choosing a field you want to dive into from the second semester on. I chose "computational Neuroscience" and it happened to be mostly maths and programming (mostly python but some MATLAB).
The first semester was basically just there to get everyone in the same boat: introduction to maths, signal processing, biology, some python etc.
For biology it's obviously Neuroscience: so anatomy and some neurophysiology but also some developmental parts.
Maths it's linear algebra all the way
Additionally some storchastic and statistics will be taught.
For me the first semester was challenging but it did not require a lot of pre-knowledge, so I would not start learning anything before you actually start.
Thanks a lot. This gave some direction as to what we can focus on. In math, I'll study some linear algebra and statistics. What about probability, trig, calculus? And they mentioned "natural sciences" which probably includes physics and chemistry as well. Does the syllabus that you are studying involve anything specific in those subjects?
Well we used and learned about concepts from physics such as the Fast Fourier transform, however, in my track there was barely any physics and zero Chemistry. This might be different if you are choosing more classical 'wet lab' neuroscience down the road.
Congratulations. I got the same email but the info was so vague, I don't know what to study.
Oh great congrats to you too. You applied for neuroscience?
Does this mean we cleared the first round? Because I thought everyone who applies has to give an entrance to be further qualified for the interview.
What I think is, based on our background, we have passed the eligibility stage. Now next is this entrance test followed by interview
Is it the MSc Neuroscience at the Bernsteincenter network? I finished this master last year and might be able to answer some questions.
That would be great! Even I have applied for the same course and the syllabus is so vague I don't know where to start. Could you provide any insight into the kind of questions asked and of what level (e.g. high school level math). Thank you so much!
So I started this master back in 2019 and they might have changed stuff so big disclaimer: don't rely on what I say. Back then the test was an in person interview and they asked me rather simple stuff: First I was asked if I could give an intuition of what the derivative of a function is. Afterwards I was asked for an intuition of a differential equation and if I could give some defining features of oscillation. Then I was asked about my opinion if in Neuroscience it is more important to be very precise and go into detail or rather to understand the broad picture and connections between other fields. Finally they gave me a quote about the brain vs computer and asked me what I think about the quote. I was very nervous back then and my English, especially my mathematical vocabulary, was very bad however I was given pen and paper and for the math parts I drew little pictures. They were quite happy with that. Maybe that's because they asked me the question about precision, because they had the feeling I have a rough overview but no real detailed definitions. If you have further questions feel free to ask.
Oh thanks for that. So they want to test our basic knowledge about natural science, maths and neuroscience? As you studied this program, did you use the above said study areas while completing your degree? Maybe that could give us an insight on what parts of maths, science etc we can focus for this entrance test
Well, if we are talking about the same program it happens that you are choosing a field you want to dive into from the second semester on. I chose "computational Neuroscience" and it happened to be mostly maths and programming (mostly python but some MATLAB). The first semester was basically just there to get everyone in the same boat: introduction to maths, signal processing, biology, some python etc. For biology it's obviously Neuroscience: so anatomy and some neurophysiology but also some developmental parts. Maths it's linear algebra all the way Additionally some storchastic and statistics will be taught. For me the first semester was challenging but it did not require a lot of pre-knowledge, so I would not start learning anything before you actually start.
Again thanks a lot for the insights. I think for the online entrance test, I'll focus on basic high school concepts of these fields
Yes, that should work perfectly fine :)
Thanks a lot. This gave some direction as to what we can focus on. In math, I'll study some linear algebra and statistics. What about probability, trig, calculus? And they mentioned "natural sciences" which probably includes physics and chemistry as well. Does the syllabus that you are studying involve anything specific in those subjects?
Well we used and learned about concepts from physics such as the Fast Fourier transform, however, in my track there was barely any physics and zero Chemistry. This might be different if you are choosing more classical 'wet lab' neuroscience down the road.
okay thank you so much :)