COVID-19 UPDATE

Dear prospective student,
This is an update regarding the changes in training and working conditions following the COVID-19 pandemics. Besides other possible limitations, laboratory research in the 2020-21 academic year is likely to suffer particularly strong restrictions due to limited access to laboratories and testing human participants. This will affect behavioural and neuroimaging experimentation, both with adults and infants, and animal research. Studens who plan to perform empirical research as part of the master thesis (TFM, or 'Treball Final de Master') should be aware of these likely restrictions. Alternatives, such as online experiments or data analyses can be available as options. Other types of master theses, such as those based on computational modelling or theoretical work will not be affected.

MBC coordination

One of the greatest challenges in science is to explain the human mind. Thanks to the advent of revolutionary brain research methods, great progress in behavioural research techniques and the incredible inventiveness of many researchers, cognitive and neural sciences are finding ways to better approach this problem. The master's programme in Brain and Cognition will guide students through the latest and most exciting findings brought about by the interaction between cognitive research and brain research, furnishing them with the theoretical and practical means to actively participate in this exciting enterprise.

The core of the master's programme is composed of the research groups at UPF's Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC). These groups are directed by renowned scientists in areas such as computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistics, vision, multisensory perception, human development and comparative cognition. Students will thus be exposed to the ongoing research projects at the CBC and will be integrated in one of its main research lines, where they will conduct original research for their final project.

The master's programme can be of interest to graudate psychologists, biologists, engineers (biomedical, audiovisual), MDs, philosophers, linguistics, mathematicians, or physicists seeking to pursue a career doing research about the fascinating question of how the relationship between the mind and the brain enables cognitive functions. While the programme is thus particularly apt for students who want to be trained to do research in cognitive neuroscience it is also strongly recommended for individuals seeking to enrich their careers by obtaining a solid basis in cognitive neuroscience.Given its research orientation,the level of this one-year master's programme corresponds to the second year or a two-year master's in other international programmes. Students who are interested in the programme but do not have sufficient credits to enroll in a second.year master should contact the coordinator for further information.

MANDATORY DOCUMENTS

  • Official university bachelor's or master's degree from the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) or equivalent foreign degree allowing access to a postgraduate degree in the country that issued the degree. Should the applicant have not finished yet their studies at the time of application, they will be asked to sign a statement certifying that they will have completed them before the start of the master degree program. 

    Degrees in any academic field of study will be accepted.
  • Academic transcript with the average grade at the university of origin.
  • Curriculum Vitae in English.
  • A letter of motivation in English, stating the candidate's expectations and interest in participating in the master's programme (600 to 800 words). 
  • Two letters of recommendation sent directly by referees with a good knowledge of the candidate. 
In order to optimise the treatment and security of the recommendation letters, the candidate will have to request those via the online application system, where he/she will need to indicate the e-mail adress of the person/the persons he/she wishes to be recommended by. That person will receive an e-mail indicating that the candidate wishes a recommenation letter from him/her. The letter will be uploaded by the referee in the online application system. Non-institutional addresses such as *yahoo, *gmail, *hotmail, etc... will not be accepted.
  • It is required to prove sufficient knowledge of English equivalent to a B2 level.   
In case you would like to be exempted from accrediting any language because you are a native speaker or you have studied in that language, it is necessary for you to upload a brief letter justifying the reasons why you request to be exempted from this requirement.

 

If you can't submit an official certificate of your English level, you can take an online English level test through the UPF School of Languages. 
 
  • Identity Card or Passport

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS

  • Additional academic training in areas related to the master's programme.
  • Research experience.
  • Professional experience in any of the fields related to the master's programme. 

In addition, the selection committee Department may decide to interview the candidate.

The undergraduate degree/diploma and the academic transcript 

If you have finished your Bachelor's degree when you submit your application, you will need to send us the following documents:

  • A photocopy of your undergraduate degree/diploma or certification/proof of degree completion.
  • A photocopy of your completed official undergraduate transcript.

However, if you have not yet completed your undergraduate studies when submitting the application, you will need to provide us with the following documents:

  • A signed declaration that the degree will be obtained before beginning the master's programme. 
  • A photocopy of the provisional undergraduate transcript. 
If the diploma or the academic transcript are not written in Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Portuguese or Italian, you will also have to include the respective sworn translations into Catalan or Spanish.

Graduates of this master's programme will be well positioned to enter a PhD programme in Cognitive Neuroscience or a related field and to join other Spanish or international research teams (including UPF's own).

Fee

  • Students UE: 1,800 €
  • Non EU Students: 5,749.8 €

Calendar

From September to June, Timetable Monday to Friday, variable hours

Duration

1 academic year full time, 2 academic years part time (60 ECTS credits)

Language

English

Places

25

Course type

Research

PhD to which it grants access

Phd in Information and Communication Technologies

Internal Quality System