Cognitive Science MSc

Level: Postgraduate taught

Subject: Computing and Informatics

Year of entry: 2027

Study options

Mode of study

On campus

Part-time
  • MSc | up to 3 years | Start date: multiple dates
Full-time
  • MSc | 1 year | Start date: September 2027

Key facts

School

School of Informatics

College

College of Science and Engineering

Programme website
Study location

Central Area

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About the degree programme

Cognitive Science is an exciting and interdisciplinary area spanning fields including computer science, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

Edinburgh is a widely recognised leader in the area, and the School of Informatics has particular strengths in the computational study of higher cognition and reasoning, speech and language, and neuroscience, as well as related areas such as human-computer interaction, robotics, and computer vision.

The Cognitive Science degree offers courses in many of these areas, providing a strong grounding in the shared computational and mathematical foundations while also allowing students to pursue specialised courses in their particular areas of interest. Many students also take advantage of relevant courses offered in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences or other parts of the University.

Reputation

The University of Edinburgh consistently ranks among the world's top universities for Computer Science, including 22nd in the world and 5th in the UK in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 ranked our School 1st in the UK for research power in Computer Science and Informatics. This means you will learn from experts at the forefront of their fields, undertaking cutting-edge research in a wide range of areas.

Environment

You will be part of a large, vibrant department with around 2000 students across undergraduate, masters and research programmes and 150 academic staff.

You will study in the heart of Edinburgh city centre, regularly voted as one of the most desirable places to live in the world, and one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech hubs.

Learn about the Cognitive Science MSc in this presentation delivered by former Programme Director, Prof. Frank Keller.

Study options

This programme can be studied full-time over 1 year or part-time for up to 3 years.

Part-time study

Those studying the two-year part-time option take half of the taught credits in their first year, and the other half in the second year, followed by full-time work on the final project in the summer at the end of the second year.

There is also a three-year part-time option which spreads the final project over a third year.

Both options require flexibility during the semesters: our large course offering means that taught courses have contact times at irregular hours throughout the whole week.

Programme benefits

  • Tailor your experience to your interests and be in control of your learning: choose from a wide range of courses, from the theoretical to those that let you apply what you learn.
  • Benefit from research-driven teaching by internationally leading academics.
  • Gain a globally recognised master's degree from a world-leading university.
  • Join an active student community. Student societies based in our School host industry events, monthly student tech meetups, regular workshops and hackathons.
  • Edinburgh is a vibrant and multicultural city, ranked 2nd best student city in the UK and 15th in the world (QS Best Student Cities 2026).
  • We are the largest Informatics department in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. You will be part of a large, vibrant community of students and staff from over 100 countries.  

One of the things I enjoyed most about this MSc was its interdisciplinary nature, bringing together computer science, psychology and philosophy. This allowed me to explore a wide range of subjects, from AI-focused topics such as Robot and Reinforcement Learning to biology-related areas such as Computational Neuroscience. I also valued the diverse cohort, with students from backgrounds including computer science, mathematics and linguistics, making classroom discussions especially engaging.

This student was incentivised to tell their story. 

Rahmah Nurdini MSc Cognitive Science student
Student smiling at the camera in a University of Edinburgh lecture theatre.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees by award and duration

Tuition fees for full-time and part-time options are listed for one academic year.

Part-time
Full-time

Graduate discount

If you are a University of Edinburgh graduate, you will be eligible for a 10% discount on your tuition fees for this programme. You may also be eligible if you were a visiting undergraduate student.

Find out how to receive your graduate discount

Deposit

If you receive an offer of admission you will need to pay a deposit to secure your place:

  • £1,500 (this contributes towards your tuition fees)

How and when to pay the deposit

Costs

Accommodation and living costs

You will need to pay for your accommodation and living costs (such as rent, food and utility bills) for the duration of your programme.

For 2026-2027, we estimate that it will cost an average of £18,504 each year (£1,542 each month) to live in Edinburgh as a postgraduate.

The exact amount you spend will depend on different factors, especially the accommodation you choose.

Living costs: estimates explained 

Funding opportunities

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

  • borrowing money
    • taking out a loan
    • family support
  • personal savings
  • income from work
  • employer sponsorship
  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Search for other funding opportunities

You can find scholarships, bursaries and other funding you might be eligible for on our Scholarships and Student Funding site.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

These entry requirements are for the 2027-28 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2028-29 academic year will be published in early Oct 2027.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in informatics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, econometrics, electrical engineering, linguistics, mathematics, neuroscience, philosophy, physics or psychology.
 
Entry to this programme is competitive. You can increase your chances of a successful application by exceeding the minimum programme requirements.
 
You must have experience of computer programming equivalent to an introductory programming course in any language (e.g. C/C++, Java, Python, R, Matlab, Haskell, Julia).
 
During your degree you must have completed the equivalent of 60 SCQF credits or 30 ECTS credits of mathematics that have typically covered the following subjects/topics: calculus (differentiation and integration), linear algebra (vectors and multi-dimensional matrices), discrete mathematics and mathematical reasoning (e.g. induction and reasoning, graph theoretic models, proofs), and probability and statistics (concepts in discrete and continuous probabilities, basic parameter estimation).

International equivalent qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test (restrictions apply)
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English (restrictions apply)
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in three components and 6.0 in the remaining component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) before 21 January 2026: total 100 with at least 23 in three components and 20 in the remaining component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition) from 21 January 2026: total 5.0 with at least 4.5 in three components and 4.0 in the remaining component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in three components and 169 in the remaining component.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 8 with at least 7 in three components and 6 in the remaining component. We do not accept Oxford ELLT Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 155 with at least 145 in three components and 135 in the remaining component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

What you will study

You will follow two taught semesters of lectures, tutorials, project work and written assignments (September to May). During this time you will also learn research methods (such as literature review and project planning) to prepare for your final project and dissertation, which is completed during the summer.

This programme has flexible course options, however some courses have prerequisite requirements that you will need to meet if you want to choose them. You can check the course information in the Degree Programme Table to find out if the courses you want to take have prerequisite requirements.

Option courses are not guaranteed to run every year, and a few high-demand courses may limit enrolment to students on the most relevant degree(s).

Compulsory courses

All students on the programme take core courses in cognitive science. 

In addition to that, students typically follow one of two tracks, either focusing on: 

  • speech and language processing in humans and machines
  • more broadly on models of cognition, mind and brain 

Example courses offered recently in these areas include: 

  • Accelerated Natural Language Processing
  • Advanced Topics in Natural Language Processing
  • Automatic Speech Recognition
  • Computational Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Computational Cognitive Science
  • Computational Neuroscience 

Option courses

You will round out your degree with courses in related areas from the School of Informatics and the School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences (PPLS). Example courses offered recently include:

  • Human Computer Interaction
  • Computer Vision
  • Applied Machine Learning
  • Robot and Reinforcement Learning
  • Simulating Language (PPLS)
  • Speech Processing (PPLS) 

Find courses for this programme

Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed.

The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme.

Part-time
Full-time

We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Delivery

This is an in-person programme, and we expect you to be in Edinburgh.

Courses are taught on campus, both full-time and part-time, during teaching hours, which are currently 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. To succeed, you will need to maintain a consistent level of study each week.

Students are expected to stay in Edinburgh for the duration of their degree programme. This includes during the writing of the dissertation until the submission deadline (usually mid-August).

Class sizes 

The number of people in each class varies depending on the courses you choose as part of your MSc. Some of our more specialised courses could have around 30 students in the lectures, while some of the more in-demand courses (e.g. Machine Learning) could have 200+ students in lectures.

As well as attending lectures, it is common to have smaller group tutorials or labs connected with courses where you would be in smaller groups of around 10-20 students.

Assessment

Project

The project is an essential component of the master's degree. It is a substantial piece of full-time independent work supervised by a member of teaching staff.

You will have prepared for your research project in semester 2. The project is undertaken over the summer months, culminating in the submission of a dissertation.

Students typically choose from a wide range of projects proposed by our academic staff. Students who are sponsored by or have close contact with an industrial company may wish to undertake a project which relates to that company’s activities. Students who self-propose topics (including those in conjunction with industry) must find an interested supervisor from the School of Informatics.

You can find more detailed information about the dissertation course on our Open Course Materials webpage:

MSc dissertation course structure and schedule

This guidance is for the current academic year only and information is subject to change in future years.

For a better understanding of the sort of projects conducted by our MSc students, view our MSc projects archive:

Outstanding MSc projects archive

Support for your studies

Student Adviser

All students have a named Student Adviser who you can visit in Appleton Tower. Student Advisers provide general support and guidance to students who are encountering difficulties with any aspect of University life.

Where appropriate they will liaise with other University Support Services, so they are able to provide the best possible support and advice for you. They can also help with a wide range of administrative and practical issues to do with your degree programme.

My Student Adviser

Academic support

Your Academic Cohort Lead works closely with your teaching team and Student Advisers to provide you with study support and guidance.

My Cohort Lead

Where you will study

Study location

You will be based in the School of Informatics’ main teaching building, Appleton Tower. The building provides purpose-built facilities and dedicated learning and teaching spaces, all located in the University's Central Area.

In the project phase you will also have access to Appleton Tower's floor 9 (accessed only by master's students at this time) which has computing labs, private study spaces and beautiful panoramic views across Edinburgh.

The Informatics Student Experience Team is based in Appleton Tower.

If you take courses from other Schools, these might be delivered in the Nucleus building, on the University's Kings Buildings Campus.

Academic facilities

In Appleton Tower, IT facilities include computer labs with more than 200 high-spec machines and comprehensive support provided by dedicated computing staff.

You will have access to the University's facilities across all University sites.

For example:

  • libraries
  • study spaces (some of which are open 24 hours)
  • computing facilities
  • social spaces
  • leisure facilities

Career opportunities

This programme will give you a deep understanding of the expanding domain of cognitive science through formal study and experiments. It is excellent preparation for a rewarding academic or professional career.

The quality and reputation of the University, the School of Informatics and this programme will enhance your standing with many types of employer.

Career Outcomes

Job titles of our recent graduates include:

  • AI Project Manager
  • Research Engineer
  • Data Scientist
  • Senior Accessibility Consultant
  • Machine Learning Researcher

Recruiting companies for recent graduates include:  

  • Microsoft
  • Google DeepMind
  • Thymia  
  • HubSpot
  • User Vision
  • Merantix Momentum  

Many of our MSc graduates go into research, teaching and further study. 

Start-ups and spinouts

The University of Edinburgh has a long track record of start up companies and innovations, including key players in the industry set up by Informatics master’s alumni:

  • FanDuel, a unicorn company
  • Robotical
  • RISE Nutrition
  • Carbon Glance
  • Predictiva
  • PlayerData
  • Speech Graphics
Edinburgh Innovations – start-up opportunities

We have fantastic resources through the University’s commercialisation service, Edinburgh Innovations, to help you successfully nurture your entrepreneurial ideas and launch your own enterprise.

Further study

After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.

Applying for research degrees

Moving on to a PhD (advice from the University's Careers Service)

Graduate profiles

Snigdha Ramkumar

Degree: MSc Cognitive Science

Year of graduation: 2022

Current work: Senior Accessibility Consultant at User Vision

I chose the MSc because of its interdisciplinary nature and the opportunity to explore Human-Computer Interaction alongside a wide range of relevant topics. The combination of technical and soft skills, with electives in psychology, statistics and philosophy, helped me develop a unique skillset. I now work in digital accessibility at a user research agency and loved living in Edinburgh so much that I decided to stay in the city after graduating.

This student was incentivised to tell their story.

Discover what it is like to study at the School of Informatics with our series of videos featuring 'A Day in the Life', 'Transitions' and 'Alumni Perspectives'!

Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service plays an essential part in your wider student experience at the University, providing:

  • tailored advice
  • individual guidance and personal assistance
  • internships and networking opportunities (with employers from local organisations to top multinationals)
  • events such as the annual Careers in Tech and Data Fair, giving you opportunities to meet recruiters actively looking to recruit our students
  • access to the experience of our worldwide alumni network

We invest in your future beyond the end of your degree. Studying at the University of Edinburgh will lay the foundations for your future success, whatever shape that takes.

How to apply

You apply online for this programme. After you read the application guidance, select your preferred programme, then choose 'Start your application' to begin.

If you are considering applying to more than one programme, you should be aware that we cannot consider more than 3 applications from the same applicant.

When to apply

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines.

We strongly recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications may close earlier than the published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand.

We may make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis. However, the majority of applications will be held until the advertised deadline.

We aim to make the majority of decisions within eight weeks of the selection deadline.

If we have not made you an offer by a specific selection deadline this means one of two things:

  • your application has been unsuccessful, in which case we will contact you to let you know
  • your application is still being considered, it will be carried forward for consideration in the next selection deadline, and we will be in touch once a decision is made

The final deadline may be extended if any places remain on the programme.

If the final deadline is extended, we encourage you to apply at least one month prior to entry so that we have enough time to process your application. If you are also applying for funding or will require a visa then we strongly recommend you apply as early as possible.

Selection deadlines

RoundApplication deadlineDecisions made or applications rolled to the next deadline
131 March31 May
231 May31 July

When to submit your supporting documents

You must submit all supporting documents by the application deadline, or we will be unable to consider your application. Regardless of when you apply, you have 28 days from submitting your application to supply any supporting documents through the Application Hub, after which we will automatically reject your application.

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

As part of your online application, you will need to provide: 

You will also need to submit some or all of the following supporting documents:

When you start your application, you will be able to see the full list of documents you need to provide.

References

You must submit one reference with your application.

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

Once you have applied for this programme, you will be able to track the progress of your application and accept or decline any offers.

Checking the status of your application

We will notify you by email once we have made a decision. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it might take a while until you hear from us.

Receiving our decision

What to do if you receive an offer:

What our students say

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of studying on Central Campus.

Our community

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of the School community.

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single postgraduate taught students from outside the UK and new, single postgraduate research (typically PhD) students who:

  • apply for accommodation by 31 July in the year when you start your programme
  • accept an unconditional firm offer to study at the University by 31 July
  • study at the University for the whole of the academic year starting in September

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

We also offer accommodation options for couples and families.

Accommodation for couples and families

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

Our active student societies, such as CompSoc and Hoppers, offer skills building, networking and industry events.

Recent speakers include:

  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • Meta

Find out more about CompSoc and Hoppers:

The city of Edinburgh

Scotland's inspiring capital will form the background to your studies — a city with an irresistible blend of history, natural beauty and modern city life. 

Find out more about living in Edinburgh

Hear from Informatics students and staff as they share their experiences of living in Edinburgh.

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include: 

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustments

Health and wellbeing support services 

Disability and Learning Support

General enquiries

Lines open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm

Admissions 
School of Informatics
11 Crichton Street
Central Campus
Edinburgh
EH8 9LE

College of Science and Engineering Admissions Enquiries
Phone:+44 (0)131 650 5737

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