In a method and apparatus for acquiring magnetic resonance (MR) data, comprising an MR data acquisition scanner is operated, while a subject is situated therein, to acquire calibration data, and raw data for conversion into image data, by executing an accelerated echo planar imaging data acquisition sequence. The calibration data are acquired by executing a simultaneous echo refocusing sequence in which multiple slices of the examination subject are simultaneously excited. The calibration data and the acquired raw data are entered into an electronic memory during operation of said MR data acquisition scanner, and made available from a processor in electronic form, as at least one data file.