Cognitive Studies MA - University of S

Tuition Fee

GBP 23,110

Per year

Start Date

Medium of studying

Duration

12 months

Program Facts

About Program

About University

Admission Requirements

Gallery

Easy Apply

Program Facts

Program Details

Degree

Masters

Major

Cognitive Science | Psychology

Area of study

Social Sciences

Timing

Full time

Course Language

English

Tuition Fee

Average International Tuition Fee

GBP 23,110

About Program

Program Overview

The Cognitive Studies MA program at the University of Sheffield is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that explores the cutting-edge field of cognitive science, combining knowledge from philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology. Students develop a comprehensive understanding of how the mind works and gain valuable research skills through independent dissertation writing and participation in a diverse range of optional modules tailored to their interests.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Cognitive Studies MA program at the University of Sheffield is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program designed to explore the cutting-edge field of cognitive science. It brings together philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology to understand how the mind works.

Objectives:

The program aims to:

Introduce students to major theoretical issues in cognitive science.
Help students understand how empirical evidence from different disciplines is relevant to key issues in cognitive science.
Equip students with an understanding of the philosophical importance of cognitive science.

Description:

Students are based in the Department of Philosophy but can take relevant modules in other departments, including psychology, linguistics, human communication sciences, archaeology, and music. The program offers an extensive program of events and research seminars, excellent facilities, and over 20 expert cognitive scientists working across the University.

Outline:

Core Modules:

Cognitive Studies Seminar: This module introduces students to major theoretical issues in cognitive science, explores how empirical evidence from different disciplines is relevant, and emphasizes the philosophical importance of cognitive science.
Dissertation: Students conduct independent research and write a dissertation on a chosen topic.

Optional Modules:

Students can choose from a wide range of modules offered by the Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, Human Communication, Archaeology, and Music Departments. Some examples include:

Society and Culture in the Later Middle Ages: This module explores the archaeology of later medieval Europe, focusing on theoretical issues and problem-solving strategies within the discipline.
The history of the human animal relationship: This module examines the evolution of the human-animal relationship from the Palaeolithic to modern times, covering ecological, economic, social, ritual, and symbolic aspects.
Investigating ancient environments: This module focuses on the methods archaeologists use to reconstruct past environments, exploring various contemporary and ancient environments and enhancing students' understanding of environmental reconstruction techniques.
Children's Learning: This module explores theories of cognitive development, how they inform our understanding of children's learning and educational practice, and the interaction of learning and language.
Applied Music Psychology: Education, Community and Health: This module explores the psychology of music in various settings, focusing on the use of music psychology to solve practical problems and understand music as a social phenomenon.
Philosophical Foundations: This module introduces students to key ideas and arguments in philosophy, covering moral and political philosophy, logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language.
Reference and Truth: This module is an introductory course in the Philosophy of Language, focusing on the notion of meaning and investigating different accounts of the meanings of linguistic expressions.
Guided Reading: This module allows students to develop a research project under the guidance of a supervisor.
Advanced Political Philosophy: This module investigates a broad range of topics and issues in political philosophy, exploring both historical and foundational matters and recent research.
Utopia, Reform and Democracy: This module examines theories of change and the relationship between social theory and political practice, exploring different visions of a good society.
Ancient Chinese Philosophy: This module introduces students to ancient Chinese philosophy through a study of classical texts.
Topics in Social Philosophy: This module explores contemporary issues in social philosophy.
Moral Theory and Moral Psychology: This module examines the relationship between moral theory and moral psychology, exploring psychological arguments for and against familiar moral theories.
Philosophy of the Arts: This module introduces students to a broad range of issues in the philosophy of art, examining theories of art, cultural appropriation, pictorial representation, aesthetic experience, and the link between artistic creativity and madness.
Free Will & Religion: This module focuses on philosophical questions about the relationship between free will and religion, examining historical and philosophical conceptions of human agency and religious states of affairs.
Political Philosophy Research Seminar: This module involves weekly seminars where students read and discuss key texts in political philosophy and develop a writing project.
Fundamentals of Cognition: This module provides an overview of fundamental issues in cognitive neuroscience and its contributory disciplines, covering topics like memory, attention, learning, and language.
Fundamentals of Neuroscience: This module introduces core aspects of contemporary neuroscience, covering neural signalling, sensation, movement, and complex brain functions.
Neural Dynamics and Computation: This module covers various modelling approaches in computational neuroscience, from biologically plausible to abstract-level models of neurons.
Scientific programming in computational and cognitive neuroscience: This module develops practical skills in scientific programming in the context of computational and cognitive neuroscience, covering techniques like data analysis and simulations.
Human Evolution: Theory and Practice in Research: This seminar module presents historical and current issues in the study of human evolution, including new hominid fossil descriptions, debates over interpretations, and theoretical and practical advances in early hominid fossil and archaeological interpretation.
Confession: This module interrogates confessional acts in literature and culture across a wide historical span, exploring confession and related forms in various contexts.
Memory and Trauma in Contemporary Literature: This module examines representations of memory and trauma in contemporary narrative, discussing how narrative form is affected by historical events, memory loss, and delayed recovery.
American Nightmares: Socio-political Discourses in American Gothic Literature: This module explores how American Gothic literature expresses and negotiates social anxieties, such as racial identity, patriarchy, and class antagonism.
Murderers and Degenerates: Contextualising the fin de siècle Gothic: This module examines accounts of Joseph Merrick, the Whitechapel murders, and the trials of Oscar Wilde, exploring how the Gothic infiltrated medical, criminological, and legal discourses.
Quantitative Research Techniques: This module provides research training in quantitative research techniques relevant to the study of musical behaviour, including statistical techniques and a group project involving an empirical study.
Qualitative Data Collection: This module provides research training in qualitative research data collection relevant to the study of musical behaviour, covering techniques like ethical consideration and evaluation of methods.
Statistics in Music Psychology: This module provides research training in quantitative research techniques relevant to the study of musical behaviour, covering statistical techniques.
Living Well, living badly: This module introduces students to topics within the philosophy of well-being, covering conceptual, theoretical, historical, and applied topics relating to well-being.
Guided Reading: This module allows students to develop a research project under the guidance of a supervisor.
Philosophy of Law: This module investigates philosophical questions raised by life under a legal system, exploring the nature of law, the relationship between law and individual rights, and the justification of punishment.
Pain, Pleasure, and Emotions: This module discusses the nature of affective states like pleasures, pains, and emotions, focusing on their constitution, distinction, and phenomenal character.
Phenomenology: This module introduces students to Phenomenology, a philosophical tradition that seeks to understand the human condition, focusing on consciousness as embodied and situated in a particular environment.
Moral and Other Values Research Seminar: This module involves weekly seminars where students read and discuss key texts in ethics and aesthetics and develop a writing project.
Philosophy of Psychology: This course provides an in-depth look at issues in contemporary philosophy of psychology, exploring the structure and organization of the human mind, cognitive capacities, and the nature of the self.
Neurocognitive Modelling: This module concerns inferring and modelling neural and cognitive processes underlying human behaviour using computational means, covering normative models and cognitive models.
Language and Communication: This module describes children's development of language and communication, including aspects of social and emotional development, spoken language, and individual differences in language and communication skills.
Communication Diversity & Difficulties: A: This module allows students to select up to three topics in the field of children's language and communication for more detailed study, covering topics like autism spectrum disorders, language and communication in the early years, and literacy difficulties.

Assessment:

Assessment varies depending on the module. For philosophy modules, students typically write a long essay for each module. They also write a final dissertation. Students going on to a PhD may choose to write a PhD proposal.

Teaching:

Students learn through lectures, seminars, and tutorials. The program is taught by a diverse faculty of experts in their respective fields.

Careers:

The Cognitive Studies MA program prepares students for a variety of careers, including:

Research
Teaching
Journalism
Policy analysis
Consulting

Other:

The program is committed to making its philosophy modules conceptually and demographically decolonized.
The program accepts medical students who wish to intercalate their studies.
The Department of Philosophy offers postgraduate training seminars on PhD funding and non-academic jobs for philosophers.
The Department of Philosophy runs a thriving Philosophy Society and a Centre for Engaged Philosophy that pursues research into questions of fundamental political and social importance.

Home (2024 annual fee) : £10,240
Overseas (2024 annual fee) : £23,110