MA Cognitive Science (Humanities)
About this course
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind and how it works, bringing together philosophy, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, computer science, and artificial intelligence to address questions that none of these disciplines can fully answer alone. It asks how we perceive, learn, remember, reason, use language, and make decisions. It examines the relationship between brain and mind, between biological and artificial intelligence, and between individual cognition and social and cultural context. The humanities strand of cognitive science foregrounds the philosophical and linguistic dimensions of these questions. At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year, full-time programme with a year abroad is offered within one of the world's leading centres for cognitive science research. Edinburgh's School of Informatics and its philosophy and linguistics departments are all world-class, and the cognitive science programme draws on all of them. The humanities route is particularly suited to students who want to engage with the philosophical foundations of cognitive science, with the theory and diversity of human language, and with the implications of cognitive research for our understanding of the mind, consciousness, and reasoning. You will engage with philosophy of mind, the linguistics of cognitive and semantic systems, cognitive psychology, and the theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence, alongside the historical and cultural dimensions of how we have understood the mind across different traditions. The year abroad adds an international perspective. A typical entry tariff of 216 UCAS points reflects Edinburgh's position as a highly selective university for this programme. Cognitive science develops analytical precision, breadth of intellectual reference, and the ability to move between disciplines with genuine understanding of each. Graduates pursue careers in artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, data science, academic research, philosophy, linguistics, and education. Many proceed to postgraduate study in cognitive science, AI, philosophy of mind, or linguistics.
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