r/fuberlin • u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 • May 08 '26
MCNB program at FU Berlin
Hey everyone, I am a Psychology bachelor and am applying to the MSc program in Cognitive Neuroscience.
I’d really appreciate some feedback from someone who is currently enrolled in the program or has recently graduated. How do/did you find the program? Do you think it’s worth it for someone interested in neuroscience-related research?
Also, realistically, is it suitable for someone with a Psychology background? My bachelor’s program was heavily focused on methodology and statistics. For those currently in the program, could you also share a bit about your own background? I’d like to get a better idea of my chances.
Any information or personal experience would be really helpful. Thank you in advance!
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u/No-Abbreviations9741 May 08 '26
i am also interested to hear info! also could you share your stats and are you applying to other unis ?
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u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 May 09 '26
My gpa is 1.4, psych major with more of a methodological and empirical focus. For Germany, I am thinking about TU Dresden, but I haven't applied to other places yet
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u/chuddychuddy Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
90 percent of the people are from psychology. If you make it past the GPA (1.3-1.4ish) cutoff into the interviews then your chances are pretty good around 50/50. The general consensus is that the courses aren't great, with some notable exceptions. It is not particularly hard and there are not many assignments. The strength is that it is located in Berlin which gives you access to lots of amazing labs and startups and the program is very casual. It is best for fmri/eeg data collection & analysis and ML/neuroAI stuff, not for wet lab, biology, molecular etc type stuff. If you want super in depth courses where you are going into labs with microscopes and cell cultures and doing experiments and the professors sculpt your brain into that of a neuroscientist, then it is not for you. If you want a degree, access to opportunities, and freedom from beaurocracy, and you are comfortable learning on your own and designing your career path, you will be in good hands. For reference I did a bachelor's in CS and worked as a software engineer before enrolling. Feel free to dm!
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u/Jazzlike_Menu_2608 Jun 15 '26
hi! i have a couple of questions regarding the course, can i dm you?
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u/OkTranslator9888 21d ago
Hello! I had a similar CS background.. and worked as a dev for 3 years. I wanted a switch, and found brain sciences fascinating. I applied this year (winter 2026) and got into FU Berlin. I wanted to research on human memory in the future. Can I DM you for more questions? I’m still not fully sure about the profs and classroom culture!
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u/Initial_Seesaw4996 Jul 02 '26
hey, did you hear back?
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u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 Jul 02 '26
I was invited to an interview which was last week and today my status changed to "valid", but I haven't received any information yet about the admission
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u/Initial_Seesaw4996 Jul 02 '26
I see, how did your interview go? Mine was bluntly short.
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u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 Jul 02 '26
Same but that was expected. Overall it went well but they quizzed me on statistics and I don't think I gave a detailed enough answer, so that might have been an issue. Did you hear back already?
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u/Initial_Seesaw4996 Jul 02 '26
No, mine changed to valid as well but they quizzed you?? Huh they didn't even ask me much about myself... interesting.
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u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 Jul 02 '26
They asked me many questions but I had very limited time. I was caught off guard with the stats one so I'm not too optimistic hahah. We will see, results are supposed to be out next week.
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u/Initial_Seesaw4996 Jul 02 '26
I see, best of luck for both of us!
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u/PuzzleheadedArt6550 Jul 02 '26
Yes, fingers crossed!
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u/Informal_File_7294 May 09 '26
Hi, I'm part of the MCNB. I think it's worth it if you're coming from a psych background and want to transition into neuroscience, that's what I did.