Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience

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.

You will be taught by multidisciplinary staff involved in an exciting and diverse portfolio of research projects. These range from using EEG and eye tracking to investigate how our visual system makes sense of ambiguous images (e.g., face/vase) and real-world visual scenes, to the development of implantable materials to promote repair following spinal cord injury. Other research expertise includes physical and emotional states, visual and auditory perception, memory, trust, swearing, cognitive development, ageing, and neurological disorders.

Other courses you may find interesting include:

• MSc Applied Child Psychology
• MSc Psychology and Health Inequalities

All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from Group C.

Your career

The advanced research and practical skills you will be able to demonstrate as a graduate of this programme will stand you in good stead for a wide range of careers in research, academia (research or teaching), military or industry – in fact anywhere there is a need to understand and predict behaviour, thought or performance.

Cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists conduct research and work in areas as diverse as user interface design, human factors and ergonomics, artificial intelligence, computer-human interaction, linguistic analysis, speech synthesis and voice recognition, product testing, sales and neuromarketing, behavioural science, government departments, and biotechnology.

Several students join us with a desire to work with people with brain injuries, in support roles or with charities. Some use their insight to follow the technology route, working for companies that develop the specialist computational software and equipment the profession uses. Others use our MSc programme as preparation for further studies (such as a PhD) or further training in Clinical Neuroscience or Clinical Neuropsychology.

There is always the option of consultancy and policy development for the public, private and third sector, as well in the emerging fields of behavioural and data science.

Should you wish to continue your studies, you will be well placed to pursue PhD study in psychology and/or neuroscience. The course is also excellent preparation for further clinical psychology or neuropsychology training should you wish to enter a medical setting long-term.

Roles you may find interesting:

• Researcher (in academia, industry, government)
• Behavioural scientist
• Data analyst
• Data scientist
• Brain injury support worker
• Assistant Psychologist (NHS)
• Technical Consultant
• Clinical Neuropsychologist (after further training)
• Clinical Psychologist (after further training)