Cognition and Computation

Aimed at graduates of either the computational sciences or the psychological sciences, the MA/MSc in Cognition and Computation is an ideal foundation for a research career in the cognitive sciences.

It studies the cognitive processes and representations underlying human thought, knowledge and behaviour, and integrates a wide range of disciplines and methodologies with the core assumption that human cognition is a computational process, implemented in neural hardware.

Key topics include: the nature of computational explanation; general principles of cognition; methodology of computational modelling; theories of the cognitive architecture; symbol systems; connectionism; neural computation; and case studies in computational cognitive modelling.

The programme involves intensive training in experimental design and methodology, building computational models, and carrying out a substantial piece of original research.

• The Department of Psychological Sciences has an outstanding research tradition, with an international reputation in all aspects of cognitive neuroscience, especially developmental cognitive neuroscience. You will have the opportunity to interact with world-class researchers and attend research seminars organised by the Department and a number of other local research centres and institutes.
• Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck were ranked fifth in the UK in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) and we achieved 100% for a research environment conducive to research of world-leading quality.
• Psychology at Birkbeck is ranked third best in London, ninth in the UK and 85th globally in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject.
• ESRC funding may be available in conjunction with PhD study.
• Watch Professor Rick Cooper give a detailed description of what this course entails.