Book your open day visit nowClick to book open day
Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience MSc

Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience MSc

Different course options

Full time | Keele University | 1 year | SEP

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

SEP

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MSc - Master of Science

Subject areas

Neuroscience / Neurobiology Cognitive Psychology

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

COURSE SUMMARY

Designed specifically to enable you to specialise in cognition and cognitive neuroscience, our MSc explores some of the most exciting challenges facing the scientific and clinical communities – how the brain and nervous system relate to human consciousness, decision making, attention, perception, memory, motor skills and more.

You will engage in research methods training, learning to design experiments, collect data using neuroscience methods, such as EEG (electroencephalogram), and analyse it using appropriate statistical methods. Familiarising you with contemporary issues in cognition and cognitive neuroscience, you'll be in a position to progress to further study, for example, Clinical Psychology training or a PhD, or pursue professional roles, such as a data analyst or technical consultant.

Bridging the disciplines of psychology and neuroscience, you will learn from world-leading researchers across two of Keele’s academic Schools, whose broad and diverse expertise spans cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neural engineering, neurobiology, molecular biology, biomedical science and even zoology. They will share news about their cutting-edge research through research-led teaching and our research seminar series.

The research apprenticeship and dissertation provide two opportunities to broaden or deepen your contemporary research experience, depending on personal preferences or professional interests. Working closely with relevant specialists, you can choose a different focus for each project or master one specific area. Dissertation topics chosen by past students have, for example, examined how to decode different types of mental images from patterns of brain activity, eye-movement behaviour in real-world scene processing, recognition memory in brain-damaged patients and the effect of alcohol hangover on response inhibition.

Teaching is very much linked to practice, capitalising on our state-of-the-art facilities, expertise and strong industry connections.

Wet and dry lab work covers everything from EEG, eye tracking and brain stimulation, to computational modelling and case demonstrations of neuropsychological patients.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

The world’s understanding of cognition and cognitive neuroscience has progressed rapidly in recent years with more computational modelling of behaviour and more precise mapping of brain circuits, improved imaging techniques and new sensor technologies to better monitor behaviour and response.

On this course, you will consider the different, complex ways in which the mind and body process, react and interact to various physical and emotional stimuli, consciously and unconsciously, voluntarily and involuntarily. This includes studying structural and functional brain differences between individuals and clinical populations, for example, brain injury and repair, as well as predicting cognitive performance in complex real-world situations and understanding theories of perception, attention, memory and other cognitive processes.

You will learn to measure objective responses (for instance, response times and eye movements, measured with high-precision devices) and subjective responses (for instance, ratings and post-recognition judgments), as well as event-related potentials (ERP) - the measured brain response that is the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.

Modules

You will work with staff as part of their research teams, gaining valuable experience of working on an active research project alongside an experienced research mentor. Apprenticeships are offered across a range of subjects, fields, and activities and represent the diverse expertise of our academic staff. These will support and extend your research skills. Projects could involve designing and preparing full or partial research reports, systematic literature reviews, grant proposals and ethics applications, with the real possibility that research findings may eventually be published.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£10,000

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£18,800

Entry requirements

This course is open to graduates with a first or upper second-class degree in psychology or neuroscience (or a cognate discipline with some psychology study) or equivalent.