Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence
Entry requirements
A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in psychology, neuroscience, computer science, engineering, mathematics or a related discipline.
Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.
Months of entry
October
Course content
This postgraduate cognitive science and artificial intelligence course gives you the opportunity to focus on understanding intelligence across humans, machines and other agents. You will grapple with compelling questions such as, what is intelligence? How important is having a brain for having intelligence? What are the limits, dangers and values of artificial intelligence?
Why choose this course?
- This course is designed for graduates of computational sciences, engineering, philosophy or behavioural and psychological sciences, and is an ideal foundation if you are interested in a research career in the cognitive sciences.
- Depending on your interests and career aspirations, you can choose to study this course as either an MA or an MSc.
- It is a core initiative of Birkbeck’s Centre for Cognition, Computation and Modelling and you will be taught by world-leading researchers in the field.
- Our School of Psychological Sciences contributes to this interdisciplinary course which also benefits from co-teaching with the computer science and philosophy teams to help ensure you receive the highest levels of expertise.
What you will learn
This course allows you to study the cognitive processes and representations underlying human thought, knowledge and behaviour. It 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; AI; neural computation; Bayesian approaches; case studies in computational cognitive modelling; ethics of AI.
You will be able to follow your interests with option modules emphasising cognitive neuroscience, AI and data science, or philosophy and ethics. You will gain from intensive training in experimental design and methodology and will build computational models and carry out a substantial piece of original research.
How you will learn
This course is available to study full- or part-time. It is taught through lectures and seminars with classes taking place mostly during the daytime, which may help you organise this as a day study release from work. Please note, however, that two of the compulsory modules are taught only in the evening.
You will complete the MA by undertaking a dissertation based on a critical scholarship of existing published works. The MSc requires you to write a dissertation report on an experimental or computational project that has generated new data.
- This course is designed to be flexible in its structure, while also remaining rigorous and as up-to-date and cutting edge as possible.
- We have an outstanding research tradition in psychological sciences, with an international reputation in all aspects of cognitive neuroscience, especially developmental cognitive neuroscience.
- You will have the opportunity to attend research seminars and meet and network with world-class researchers at leading research centres and institutes at Birkbeck and in the Bloomsbury area.
- In the 2023 National Student Survey, Birkbeck's School of Psychological Sciences ranked 5th in the UK for teaching.
- We are consistently regarded as one of the top instititutions teaching psychological sciences in the UK. In the most recent 2021 Research Excellence Framework, and for the third time, we were ranked in the top ten universities in the UK.
- ESRC funding may be available in conjunction with PhD study.
On successfully graduating from this cognitive science and artificial intelligence course, you'll have developed an array of important transferable skills, including in:
- critical reading
- writing argument-based pieces
- the ability to critically evaluate AI and other computational systems
- understanding the history of intelligence research
- coding/programming skills in a common language, such as Python, with specific relevance to AI and machine learning.
Graduates can pursue career paths in behavioural and psychological sciences and other disciplines in which computer simulation is used, such as in data science and social policy. Possible professions include:
- scientific researcher
- data scientist
- AI scientist
- policy adviser
- higher education lecturer.
Some of our graduates from this course have gone on to employment at Nesta, ITV, Google DeepMind, Cambridge University and the University of Westminster.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
Information for international students
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MA
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- MSc
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Student Advice Service
- studentadvice@bbk.ac.uk
- Phone
- +44 (0)20 3907 0700