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The Research Master's programme aims to train you to become an expert in your specific subfield of the Brain and Cognitive Sciences, with a clear understanding and appreciation of the contribution made by the other subfields. All students complete a core curriculum next to their chosen direction within the Research Master's programme in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. The core curriculum of this programme integrates various perspectives from within the discipline and includes an annual summer school, which focusses on innovative topics in an intensively interdisciplinary setting.

Disciplinary quality and interdisciplinary insights 

The goal is to provide a programme that is equal in disciplinary quality to monodisciplinary programmes but in addition trains you to be aware of and understand the separate contributions and research methods of the large number of disciplines that contribute to the field of cognition and thus not suffer the inadequacies of monodisciplines. This enables you to reflect on, interpret and answer complex questions arising in science nowadays and that arise in our modern society. Interdisciplinary thinking can not be learned from a book, but is a skill which develops from the learning process of combining insights of more than one discipline that can lead to new insights.

Entrance to the program is structured along three directions: 

  • Translational Neuroscience focuses on neurobiology and reduced systems, as well as their translation into (human) cognition.
  • Cognitive Neuroscience focuses on cognitive tasks and their neural determinants, with an emphasis on human studies.
  • Cognitive Science studies cognition proper and examines which formalisms and models can be employed to describe and understand cognitive processes.
  • Year 1

    In the first year, the research master Brain and Cognitive Sciences kicks off with an interdisciplinary introduction course (Milestones, Promises and Pitfalls), followed by domain-specific Entry Courses for the remainder of period 1. In period 2, students follow a self-chosen free-choice Elective and a restricted-choice Specialisation Course. From period 3 to the beginning of period 6, students conduct their Research Project 1 and period 6 is closed off with ABC Summer School 2025. In the meantime, all students are enrolled in Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research.

  • Year 2

    In the second year, students write a Literature Thesis Brain and Cognitive Sciences and conduct their Research Project 2, with standard one Elective and optionally an additional free-choice Elective.

  • Degree

    A Master of Science in Brain and Cognitive Sciences is awarded upon successful completion of all the courses in the curriculum, a literature thesis, and two written reports based on independent research projects. This translates into 120 ECTS credits.

  • ABC Summer School

    Every year, the Research Master Brain and Cognitive Sciences organises a Summer School around a topic in the research field of Brain and Cognition. The Summerschool takes place at the end of the first year and is open to students of the Master, as well as national and international students of similar Master's programmes. Every day features a lecture and active workgroups. The Summer School is presented by international experts, including a keynote speaker and concludes with a symposium about the topic of the Summer School.

  • Student Community

    There is a strong student community, with Cognito as the student association for students from the Brain and Cognitive Sciences programme. The association is very active and was founded by students in 2006. Cognito offers study-related and non-study-related events to create social cohesion and to support students in their scientific development. 

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Milestones, Promises and Pitfalls
    Period 1
    2

    This course is the kick-off of the research master Brain and Cognitive Sciences (MBCS). It's an intensive week that showcases the field, brings you to consider the future of neuroscience and cognitive sciences and prepares you to start the first year of your new programme.

  • Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    7

    In this academic skills course, you and your fellow students will develop interdisciplinary skills by exploring a given topic in the cognitive sciences via an interdisciplinary approach. You will learn how to work together with peers from different academic backgrounds and integrate various perspectives for a common research goal. Through this process you will develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, and science communication.

  • Higher Cognitive Functions (Entry Course 1 Cognitive Science)
    Period 1
    5

    The course Higher Cognitive Functions aims to showcase studies into some faculties that have classically been considered to be of a high level, such as language use, decision-making, and theory of mind. Students will learn how current insights on these topics have historically been constructed, what light they shed on the functioning of our minds, which debates are still ongoing and how theories of cognition are moving forward.

  • Brain Organisation and Cognition (Entry Course 1 Cognitive Neuroscience)
    Period 1
    5

    This course introduces the functional neuroanatomy of the brain and current approaches and theories in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience for students with a background in Behavioural Sciences (e.g. Economics, Psychology and Sociology). The goal of the course is to provide an overview of fundamental topics, research approaches, and theories which guide our current thinking in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in a format that is accessible to Behavioural Scientists.

  • Neuroscience: From Cell to Behaviour (Entry Course 1 Translational Neuroscience)
    Period 1
    5

    The course Neuroscience: From Cell to Behaviour provides students with up-to-date insights into fundamental aspects of brain function in various organisms, predominantly rodents and humans, and whether these insights can be translated to clinical practice. The course focuses on theory, experimental approaches, and interpretation and translatability of findings to the human situation.

  • Introduction to Computational Cognitive Neuroscience (Entry Course 2 Cognitive Science)
    Period 1
    5

    Reverse engineering the mind, or understanding the computational principles that give rise to cognition, is a common goal of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience. Despite this shared goal, these three disciplines largely developed independently of one another, using different languages, concepts and tools. This course will present the study of cognition from the perspective of each of these disciplines and provide an overview the various empirical approaches used in each.

  • Neurophysiology: Introduction to Electrophysiology and Imaging (Entry Course 2 Cognitive Neuroscience)
    Period 1
    5

    This course gives an overview of common methods used to answer research questions in cognitive neuroscience. These methods exist at various levels of description in the brain, from the cellular, regional, inter-regional to the systems level. At these various levels we are using in vitro methods, animal models, human subject and mathematical models. Each method will be explained from the ground up: starting from the principles of the signals we are recording in the brain, to the raw data we acquire, and the extraction of relevant data from these.

  • Experimental Neurobiology (Entry Course 2 Translational Neuroscience)
    Period 1
    5

    During this course, students will get hands-on experience with various commonly used research methods in the field of neuroscience and learn to critically evaluate the (dis)advantages of each of these techniques for answering specific research questions. The course will also address important ethical considerations when using animal models to study cognition.

  • Specialisation course
    Period 2
    6

    In this semester you can choose one of six Electives: 1. Advanced Neural and Cognitive Modelling 2. Cognitive Data Science: Genes, Brains and Behaviour 3. Foundations of Neural and Cognitive Modelling 4. Introduction to Python Programming for Neuroscientists 5. NeuroImaging: Bold MRI 6. Research Design and Statistics

  • Elective
    Period 2
    6

    Electives are courses that broaden your preparation as a researcher in brain and cognitive sciences. A list of courses that have been pre-approved as Electives can be found in the programme-specific section of the Course Catalogue. MBCS students typically do one Elective in block 2 of the first year and one or two Electives in the first block(s) of the second year.

  • Research project 1
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    26

    One of the capstones of the research master Brain and Cognitive Sciences (MBCS), Research Project 1 is a module in which the students receive hands-on training in setting up, performing, analysing, interpreting and discussing a scientific experiment. Students contact a researcher who does work that they find interesting and agree on a research question and overall approach. You can choose from 26-32 ECTS. The combined value of the Research Projects is flexible and can be 62 or 68 ECTS.

  • Summerschool
    Period 6
    3

    The Summer School is a two-week, multidisciplinary exploration of a topic that is tied to the Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center. Experts from ABC, as well as international experts, join to show how the topic is addressed in the different subfields of brain and cognitive sciences. It starts with a series of lectures and seminars and closes off with the ABC Symposium, a festive event that also marks the end of the academic year.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Electives
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    6

    You can choose from a wide variety of elective courses, such as: Bayesian Inference for Psychology, Complexity Science, Learning & Motivation in Psychopathologies, Professional Skills - Scientific Writing or Network Analysis.

  • Research Project 2
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    36

    One of the capstones of the research master Brain and Cognitive Sciences (MBCS), Research Project 2 is a module in which the students receive hands-on training in setting up, performing, analyzing, interpreting and discussing a scientific experiment. If students did not perform data acquisition during Research Project 1, they must do so during Research Project 2. The combined value of the Research Projects is flexible and can be 62 or 68 ECTS.

  • Literature Thesis
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    12

    The Literature Thesis of Brain and Cognitive Sciences is an opportunity for students to practice and develop the skills that are necessary to give a state-of-the-art overview of existing research, on a topic of the student’s choosing. The Literature Thesis should not reflect original research by the student (unless it is already published in a peer reviewed journal), but instead collect and integrate existing work.

Compulsory course
Elective
Specialisation