Why study Cognitive Science at Edinburgh

An interdisciplinary degree programme, drawing on expertise from across the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences.

To study cognitive science at Edinburgh is to immerse yourself in the life of one of the world’s great cultural cities, consistently voted one of the most liveable, and known globally for its annual arts festivals, rich history, and seasonal celebrations.

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind through psychology, philosophy, linguistics and informatics. You will be taught by the researchers who laid the foundations of the subject and who continue to advance this unique and growing field.

Why study Cognitive Science at Edinburgh?

• The University of Edinburgh is ranked 22nd in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024).
• We are the only university in Scotland to offer Cognitive Science at undergraduate degree level and are one of the largest centres in Europe for the study of human cognition.
• Diverse range of courses - you can study a wide variety of course options such as Computational mind, Language pathology and Human personality. 
• Innovative teaching methods - we offer an interactive and collaborative learning environment so that you are learning from peers as well as your tutors.
• State-of-the-art research facilities - including EEG, non-invasive brain stimulation and eye and motion tracking equipment. You will have the opportunity for hands-on laboratory work for training in transferable skills like computer programming.

What do our students think?

“I love that Cognitive Science encompasses so many different fields of study. It gives me the option to cater my learning to the areas that truly captivate me. Attempting to understand things like cognition, the relation between mind and body, how language works and just generally, what it means to be human, are the things I want to know more about. Taking lots of different courses in different subject areas has been really interesting and has broadened my perspective a lot. You can really see different opinions and theories from Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology and Informatics intertwine and link. This interdisciplinary approach is what I’ve enjoyed the most while studying Cognitive Science.”

Ané van der Merwe

MA Cognitive Science, Class of 2023