Research in Cognitive Science

Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Studies

Level of studies: second-cycle studies

Type of studies: full-time

Duration: 2 years

Language of instruction: English

Professional title: master (magister)

Educational profile: general academic

About the programme

Programme description

Cognitive Science at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań has the longest tradition in Poland, almost 20 years, and the Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science is recognized as one of the leading Polish centers for cognitive research and education in this field. It is a course with a general academic education profile, so its program is closely related to scientific research in the disciplines of psychology and social communication and media sciences. Graduates of complementary master’s studies in cognitive science are particularly prepared to conduct research and implementation work related to the issues of the mind and cognitive processes, as well as to solve multidisciplinary problems, both independently and as part of team work. Cognitive knowledge and skills are used wherever tasks related to stimulating cognitive development, creating solutions in the field of social communication, designing research tools or improvements in human-computer communication are implemented. Completion of cognitive science allows you to acquire skills to use both the resources of individual basic disciplines and creative problem solving requiring, for example, linking psychological knowledge with computer science, theories of artificial intelligence and logic or biology with linguistics and philosophy. This set of knowledge and skills allows you to find yourself perfectly in multidisciplinary project and research teams and also to coordinate them.

Example of courses

Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience
Problem Solving
Conceptual Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
Academic Writing

Graduate competencies

The objectives of education in the field of cognitive science include: • shaping research maturity, skills of conscious designing and implementing plans for personal development, and at the same time sensitivity to ethical and cognitive challenges of the modern world • implementing to conduct scientific research at the highest level by implementing significant research projects together with academic staff • upbringing in a sense of responsibility for strengthening the principles of democracy and respect for human rights and social responsibility of science • developing skills of disseminating and communicating scientific achievements, as part of shaping cooperation between the academic world and the socio-economic environment • building interdisciplinary and international cooperation, in the context of unity of knowledge and creating conditions for sustainable development.

Career prospects

Conducting research and implementation projects related to issues of the mind.
Designing solutions for social communication.
Designing improvements in human–computer communication.
Solving multidisciplinary problems that require integrating psychological knowledge with computer science, theories of artificial intelligence and logic, or biology with linguistics and philosophy.

Additional information

Faculty website of the programme

Admission to the programme

Information about enrollment deadlines for this programme will be provided at a later date.

Detailed admission rules

Selection procedure

for graduates of first-, second- and long-cycle studies

Elements of selection procedure	Minimum required	Max points	Weight of element	Max result
1) grade on the higher education diploma	-	5	5	25
2) project	3	5	9	45
3) cover letter	3	5	6	30
Maximum number of points to be scored during the selection procedure				100

Ad 2. Additional information:

The candidate submits the outline of their master's thesis project, with indication and approval from a potential supervisor, within the given deadline. The master’s thesis project should be prepared in close collaboration with the potential supervisor. Therefore, we suggest establishing contact before starting to prepare the outline. The supervisor’s consent to collaborate should be confirmed by their signature on the project.

Receiving fewer than 3 points for the master's thesis project results in a negative assessment of the project and non-admission to the program – regardless of the points earned for the diploma evaluation and motivational letter.

Failure to submit the master's thesis project results in non-admission to the program – regardless of the points earned based on the diploma evaluation and motivational letter.

The master’s thesis project should include the proposed title of the thesis and the supervisor’s consent, and consist of at least three basic parts:

An expanded abstract (1–3 A4 pages),
An outline of the thesis (approximately 1 A4 page),
A bibliography in APA7 format (1–2 A4 pages).

In the abstract, the following information should be included:

The aim of the thesis and reference to the current state of knowledge in the field of the issue,
Hypotheses (if any) along with their justification,
Proposed methodology (e.g., for empirical studies: research plan, research group, planned tools and methods),
A schedule of planned activities (in relation to the outline),
Analysis of potential risks and ways to minimize them.

The outline should be an expanded table of contents of the future master’s thesis (chapter titles along with a brief description of their content), which should clearly stem from the Abstract.

Ad 3. Additional information:

Obtaining fewer than 3 points for the motivational letter results in a negative assessment of the letter and non-admission to the program – regardless of the points earned for the diploma evaluation and master's thesis project.

Failure to submit the motivational letter results in non-admission to the program – regardless of the points earned for the diploma evaluation and master's thesis project.

In the motivational letter, it is important to describe in detail personal expectations, professional and academic goals, and the motivations that led to the choice of this field. The candidate should emphasize how their previous experiences and scientific interests relate to cognitive science and what aspirations they have in terms of contributing to the preparation of their master’s thesis. It is also worth mentioning specific skills or achievements that may distinguish the candidate from others and how they plan to utilize the knowledge gained after completing their studies.

Selection procedure steps

1. Creating an account

The candidate creates an individual account in the Online Admissions System by providing the necessary personal data. Subsequent admission-related operations can only be made after logging in to the created account. All steps taken by the candidate after logging into the system are saved and archived. The candidate is obliged to keep the password to access the account secret.

2. Enrolling in the programme

The candidate chooses a programme/major and type of studies. It is recommended that the candidate thoroughly read the admission requirements for a given programme as well as the admission schedule.

3. Paying the enrollment fee

The candidate pays an admission procedure fee in the selected programmes/majors. Failure to pay the fee for a given programme means the candidate is not included in the selection procedure in this programme. The enrollment fee is PLN 85.

4. Attachment of documents obtained abroad

The candidate with the documents obtained abroad attaches scans of these documents for the purpose of their verification.

5. Complement of information about the diploma

The candidate enters information about the diploma: final grade on the diploma, diploma issuance date and diploma number.

6. Uploading a photo

The candidate uploads a high-resolution photo which will be used when generating the personal questionnaire. The photo of the admitted candidate will also be used in the student identification card.

Notice: if you do not upload a photo, system will not be able to generating the questionnaire!

7. Lodgment of all required documents by electronic means

Upon enrolling into the programme and paying the enrollment fee, the candidate is obliged to lodge of all required documents scans by electronic means within the specified time limit.

8. Final results of the selection procedure

The results of the selection procedure will be provided via the Online Admissions System. Upon logging into his/her account, the candidate will see information on admission or denial of admission.

List of documents

Set of documents

photo file which will be used when generating the personal questionnaire
a scan of university diploma
a document confirming knowledge of English at B2 level
project
letter of motivation

English language command (B2 level)

All applicants applying for admission to this program are required to attach a document confirming their knowledge of the English language at the B2 level.

Starting from August 1, 2025, foreigners who are not citizens of the EU must attach one of the documents specified in the Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of July 30, 2025, on the types of documents confirming proficiency in the language of instruction at university studies to confirm their knowledge of the English language at the B2 level.

Applicants who are citizens of the EU (including Polish citizens) and do not possess a document specified in the above regulation are required to take an online English language proficiency test.

Preparation of the documents

During the recruitment process, candidates do not submit any paper documents.

Each of the required documents should be scanned to a separate file in PDF format. A document (e.g. certificate or diploma) that has more than one page should be scanned into one multi-page PDF file.

Scanning documents can be carried out on its own with the use of a scanner or with the use of dedicated applications for devices with Android or iOS. The document scanning service is also available at most copy shops.

Attestation of documents

Document certification is a process in which a university employee confirms the conformity of attached document scans with their original (paper) versions.

Document certification involves presenting the original documents for inspection at the Student Office at the faculty immediately after the start of studies, but no later than: October 31 – for winter semester admissions, March 31 – for summer semester admissions, under penalty of initiating proceedings to remove the student from the list.

Documents obtained abroad

Candidates with documents obtained abroad also provide:

a scan of a foreign document, which is legalized or accompanied by an apostille, entitling the candidate to take up higher education studies in the country where the document was issued
a scan of translation of the document into the language of the studies undertaken by the candidate, performed by a sworn translator entered into the list of sworn translators maintained by the Polish Minister of Justice, or certified by a Polish consul in the country where the document was issued
a scan of the document recognizing the foreign certificate as equivalent to the Polish Matura certificate – in the case of candidates for first-cycle or long-cycle master's studies to whom this applies
a scan of the document recognizing the foreign diploma as equivalent to the Polish diploma – in the case of candidates for second-cycle studies to whom this applies
a scan of a document confirming the entitlement to study tuition-free – in the case of the foreigners concerned