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Contact: College of Humanities & Social Science Undergraduate Admissions Office

Email: hssug@ed.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)131 650 3565

Web: www.ppls.ed.ac.uk

Introduction

Philosophers and scientists have long speculated about the nature of the human mind and the role of language in making the human mind what it is.

Recent developments – in fields as diverse as robotics, brain imaging and speech technology – bring a host of new perspectives to our quest to understand our own inner workings. Cognitive Science (Humanities) brings together scholars from Psychology, Philosophy, Neuroscience and Informatics.

The Cognitive Science (Humanities) degree requires you to undertake a selection of basic courses in linguistics, philosophy and either psychology or informatics.

At honours level you may choose from a wide variety of courses in the subject areas you cover in your pre-honours choices. The goal is to help you come to a broader understanding of issues such as the relationship between language and thought, the relationship between mind and brain and the philosophical implications of our increasing ability to look inside the working brain and to model its activities in computers and robots.

What you'll study

Year 1

Students from both degrees study together in a general cognitive science course that gives an overview of perception, memory, motor control, language and reasoning, as well as introducing experimental, neural and computational methods. Students also choose two or three introductory courses from Informatics, Philosophy, Psychology and Linguistics. Courses aim to introduce students to philosophical, linguistic and psychological approaches to studying the nature of language and the mind.

Year 2

You choose among more specific courses in the sub-disciplines such as: Processing Formal and Natural Languages (Informatics) and Knowledge and Reality (Philosophy), as well as second-year courses from Psychology and Language Sciences.

Year 3

You can choose from informatics courses in language processing, neural computation, robotics and vision or machine learning; or from linguistics courses in language evolution, language acquisition or speech processing; or from philosophy courses in ontology of mind, theories of mind, theories of truth or ethics; or from psychology courses in psycholinguistics, memory and perception, attention, development or neuropsychology. In third year you will participate in a group project.

Year 4

Same as Year 3. In fourth year you will undertake an individual research project.

Learning and assessment

Courses are taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and other small-group project work.

You will be assessed by exams and coursework.

Careers

Graduates with degrees in Cognitive Science have excellent prospects of employment in fields that will shape our society – those which depend on computers, such as economics, entertainment, technology, mobile systems, manufacturing and health, to name but a few – and also those thought of traditionally as more arts orientated, such as the Civil Service, management, finance, journalism, social work and teaching.

Our facilities

You will be taught in the new Dugald Stewart Building, located within the University’s Central Area, and you will have full access to the libraries, computer facilities and specialised laboratories in psychology and linguistics, as well as the facilities available across campus.