Cognitive Science (MSc)

Cognitive science is a dynamic, interdisciplinary area of research. The driving questions within cognitive science focus on the theoretical understanding and empirical investigation of cognitive phenomena, e.g.: What are the basic mechanisms of learning, forgetting, and remembering? What are the principles of action guidance in humans, and how do we understand the actions of others? What is the role of emotions in cognitive processing? What are the neural processes underlying object recognition? What does it mean to possess concepts and to be rational? How did the cognitive capacities of humans and animals evolve? The two-year Master's programme in Cognitive Science at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) offers a unique opportunity to enter into the fascinating field of cognitive science. It combines systematic and empirical approaches from philosophy, psychology, neural computation, psychiatry and the neurosciences. Students will be trained to use and combine different methodological approaches in order to gain new insights into key problems in the field of cognitive science and generate interdisciplinary solutions to solve them. Key topics of research in the Master's programme in Cognitive Science at RUB are: social cognition learning and memory perception and action language, logic and categories Key methods of research in the Master's programme in Cognitive Science at RUB include: philosophical theory formation behavioural and neuroimaging studies statistical analysis/experimental psychology lab basic and advanced logic computational modelling The programme is formally hosted by the Faculty of Psychology, but relies on strong interaction between several departments. Therefore, we can offer interdisciplinary classes as well as hands-on research experience in philosophy, psychology, neural computation, psychiatry and the neurosciences. The two-year Master's programme in Cognitive Science at RUB is organised in six different module types. First semester Introduction: Introduction to Cognitive Science Soft Skills Module Basic methods (two or three methods modules must be taken, depending on the students’ academic background): Introduction to Philosophical Method Introduction to Programming Introduction to Statistics When two basic methods modules are sufficient, one additional module is taken in Free Choice. Second semester Core: Core Module Mind & Language Core Module Brain & Behaviour Core Module Computation & Artificial Intelligence Free Choice Third semester Focus (two out of three modules are selected): Focus Module Mind & Language Focus Module Brain & Behaviour Focus Module Computation & Artificial Intelligence Research: Research Module Free Choice Fourth semester Master's thesis PDF Download