Teaching

AMU FPaCS offers five-year M.A. Programmes and four-year PhD programmes in Psychology and in Cognitive Science , and also related postgraduate studies.

Students majoring in psychology initially study obligatory subjects including, inter alia, general psychology, methodology of psychological research, psychological diagnosis, psychometrics, intervention and a number of complementary subjects. In subsequent semesters the student chooses an individual path in applied psychology (e.g. social psychology, adult clinical psychology , work and organizational psychology or educational psychology). The five-year course of study ends with two specific specializations in the field of two of the above mentioned areas of applied psychology. In the last two years the student is obliged to submit an empirical Master’s thesis, and in the course of study he/she participates in approximately 200 hours of field work in a variety of centers and institutions.

Psychology graduates gain thorough knowledge of: a) general psychology (including cognitive psychology, emotions and motivation, personality, individual differences, social and developmental psychology); b) research methodology (together with the methodology of statistics, psychometrics and psychological diagnosis); c) biological mechanisms of behaviour and psychopathology, as well as the skills required to conduct such activities as : a) providing support in crisis situations, b) prevention and prophylaxis of social pathology, c) negotiation, mediation and intergroup conflict resolution, d) selective research. As a result, the graduate is prepared both, theoretically and practically for independent and team research, diagnosing and providing psychological assistance in solving problems arising in various areas of life of the individual and social groups. Depending on the completed specialization the student knows the theoretical base of the chosen field within applied psychology and can critically refer to classical and contemporary research. He/she possesses fundamental diagnostic skills as well as the ability to assist in the chosen area of applied knowledge. The graduate is also expected to display ethical responsibility connected with the profession of public trust.

Cognitive science is a multidisciplinary science of mind and cognitive processes. It is the study aiming at explaining – among others – mental processes, such as perception, representation, emotions, consciousness, memory, reasoning, language or communication. Drawing on the achievements of a wide range of scientific disciplines cognitivists develop their own methods by means of which they try to solve fascinating mysteries of the mind, intelligence and consciousness. They search for answers to the question of what mechanisms – biological, computational, or others – constitute the basis of what we call “intelligence”; they investigate the role of the environment – including its physical, biological, as well as cultural and social aspects – in the development of cognitive processes and analyze the functions of language as an information medium and communication tool.

The source of inspiration and the basis for the development of cognitive science are, first of all, psychology, biology, computer science, theories of artificial intelligence, linguistics, logic and philosophy. However, due to its multidisciplinary nature, cognitive science, drawing on their achievements, analyzes problems from many different perspectives, and uses a much wider variety of methods. As a result, cognitive science is the study of a different nature than those traditional disciplines.

Therefore, the study of cognitive science has been designed in such a way that the graduate should obtain and demonstrate modern education, combining elements of humanities and social sciences with the knowledge of information technology and natural sciences, while crossing traditional boundaries among them. The course of study provides a unique and coherent body of knowledge, skills and competences, which embraces cognitive problems, so far dispersed among several disciplines, such as: the issues concerning the functioning of the mind, cognitive tools, fundamentals of communication among subjects (both – people and machines), from the perspective of phenomenological description of these phenomena, their neurophysiological basis, as well as from the computational (logical) perspective.

Cognitive science graduates are expected to become qualified for both – research work and working in institutions and organizations operating in different areas of public life – from civil service to industry. Cognitive knowledge is useful wherever tasks in connection with the issues related to stimulating cognitive development are tackled, or solutions for social communication are designed, or communication improvements in the human – computer relation are developed. The graduate of cognitive science can both benefit from the knowledge and skills acquired from its multitude of basic disciplines and work out solutions to multi-disciplinary problems, that would require, for example, the binding of psychological knowledge with computer science and artificial intelligence, or theories of linguistics with biology and philosophy.

PhD programmes:
PhD in Psychology
PhD in Cognitive Science

Postgraduate studies:
Psychology in Management
Psychological Assistance in the Field of Sexology
Mental Health Professional and Personal Consulting
Postgraduate Studies in Clinical Psychooncology
Postgraduate Studies in Clinical Psychology
Pedagogical Studies at IP AMU

Courses in English
AMU-PIE courses
Erasmus+ internships