Welcome to the Cognitive Science Master's Programme

The Master's programme focuses on conveying in-depth, research-orientated knowledge in the field of cognitive science. Social science and psychology are combined with IT and biology/neuroscience to create a broader field of science from which qualifications for cognitive science are acquired. The combination of those separate fields gives us the ability to precisely use the knowledge already acquired within those sciences to further examine the aspects of humans, technology, economy, organisation, communication and social behaviour, which are all interconnected. This multi- and interdisiplinary approach to the topic of the "man machine" interface and/or "human intelligence and artifical intelligence" interface has become necessary because isolated approaches no longer lead to satisfactory findings or results in many cases.

The Master in Cognitive Science is made up of several different interdisiplinary modules which can be completed within four semesters, and most of the lectures are held in English. Internships also form a vital part of this course of studies. The master's degree in Cognitive Science is very attactive as it leads not only to the possibility of embarking on a doctorate degree, but also to career opportunities in a great number of exciting occupational areas.

Structure of the Programme

The first semester is made up of one introductory course module selected in a subject that was not part of the bachelor's degree and another module on methodolgy. After completing these two modules, the student selects three of five main thematic modules:

1. Perception,

2. Cognition and Knowledge,

3. Language and Linguistics,

4. Cognitive Neurosience and

5. Computation.

In addition to the lectures, the thematic modules include a "lab rotation" and methodology programme, which takes place in labs at the university and other institutes and allows to students to put the knowledge they are acquiring to use immediatley. The final semester consists of writing the master's thesis and an internship.

Where will this take me?

After completing the Master's degree, there is the possibility of a doctorate, but there are also numerous exciting professional fields that make the course very attractive. Cognitive science is a fairly new science. And cognitive scientists are very much in demand. In addition to science, the fields of robotics, screen design, work process design, ergonomics, machine learning, education and training, human-machine interaction, software development, biomedical and clinical research and medical technology are highly interesting for our graduates.

Life in KL/Network

Kaiserslautern is an attractive place to study cognitive science. Being the only technical university in the region, it is located right next to the Max Planck Institut for Software Systems, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), as well as the Fraunhofer Institutes for Experimental Software Engineering IESE and Industrial Mathematics ITWM, making it unique within Germany. Furthermore, the department cooperates with the two biggest hospitals in the region, the Westpfalz Klinikum and the Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg.