Cognitive Science BSc Honours

 

Clearing - How to apply

What is Clearing?

Each year, universities may have spaces left on their courses after the application window has closed in June. 

UCAS Clearing is your opportunity to snap up one of these places, even if you didn't apply to the university prior to the June deadline. 

It also gives you a second chance to go to university if you didn't get the grades you needed for your firm and insurance offers. 

How do I get in touch?

Our Clearing entry requirements may differ from those advertised – contacting our friendly advisers is the best way to find out if you’re eligible for a place. 

You can get in touch through live chat or our hotlines. Call us on 0800 073 5050, or if you're an International student calling from outside the UK, call: +44 191 222 5000.

Not available in Clearing

This course is not available in Clearing 2026.

This means there are no spaces available for Clearing 2026. If you can't find vacancies in your original course or subject area, try exploring other subjects in a related field.

Search our courses in Clearing

Course overview

Are you curious about how the human mind functions? Fascinated by how and why people communicate? Could the brain be a type of computer or is it nothing like a machine at all?

Cognitive Science, like Psychology, aims to understand the mind's structure and how the brain's mental processes translate into behaviour. The field emerged in the 1950s as a response to Behaviourism, which argued that behaviour is only shaped by past experience and conditioning. This theory became difficult to defend, especially for researchers studying language development, which Behaviourism couldn’t explain. 

Cognitive Science developed as an interdisciplinary field, bringing together insights from psychologists, linguists, computer scientists, mathematicians and philosophers. This approach led to key breakthroughs in understanding language, perception, memory, and decision-making. 

This degree explores key cognitive functions like perception, attention, memory and language. You’ll learn about the various methods used to explain the complexities of behaviour and come to understand the strengths and limitations of these different approaches. 

By studying modules from across the University, you’ll come to understand: 

• the structure and function of the human mind and brain 
• the development and evolution of human language and communication 
• what 'AI' really means and where its supposed 'intelligence' truly comes from

You’ll graduate with the ability to combine critical thinking and problem-solving skills with the knowledge and understanding to reshape our future.  

Download information about this course as a PDF

Quality and ranking

Professional accreditation and recognition

Professional accreditation review and recognition of professional qualifications in Europe

Professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by professional bodies to ensure they meet the latest industry practices and regulatory standards. This keeps your degree rigorous, relevant, and highly valued by employers, providing a clear pathway into your chosen career.

If you are studying an accredited degree and considering a career in Europe after graduation, it is important to stay informed about international standards. The best resource for current information is the UK Government's guidance on recognition of UK professional qualifications in EU member states.

This official resource provides essential details on:

• whether your profession is regulated in another country.
• the specific steps you need to take to practice abroad.
• which organisations you should contact to begin the process.

What you'll learn

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

You'll be introduced to a broad base of theoretical frameworks. They will set you up with a strong foundation for the rest of your degree. You'll explore cognitive psychology, language structure, philosophy, and basic skills for dealing with quantitative and computational data.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Quantitative Methods for Cognitive Science 1	20
Philosophical Approaches to the Humanities and Social Sciences and Critical Reasoning	20
Cognitive Psychology	10
Principles of Evolution, Genetics and Behavioural Development	10
Perception	10
Introduction to the Structure of Language 1: Phonetics, Phonology & Morphology	20
Introduction to Language Structure 2: Syntax, semantics and pragmatics	20
Introduction to Computing	10

You’ll delve deeper into language development, current theory and practice in psychological science, applied data analysis and the nature of computation.

You'll choose from a wide range of optional modules to focus in more depth on topics that interest you. Modules will include topics such as social psychology, second language acquisition, philosophy of science, and experimental methods in behavioural science. 

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Quantitative Methods for Cognitive Science 2	20
Cognitive Neuroscience	10
Cognitive Computations: Real and Artificial Intelligence	20
Experimental Methods in Linguistics	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Philosophy and Science	10
Foundations in Developmental Psychology	10
Developmental Psychology	10
Social Psychology	10
Individual Differences	10
Biological Psychology: Sex, Drugs, Rhythms and Blues	10
Psychological Enquiry 2: Principles of Psychology	10
Introduction to Comparative Cognition and Behaviour	10
Phonetics and Phonological Theory	20
Syntactic Theory	20
Sociolinguistics	20
Pragmatic Theory	20
CHiLD: Current Hypotheses in Language Development	20
Experimental Practicum	20
Philosophy of Linguistics	20
Being Human: debates, questions and conversations in anthropology	20
Brain and Behaviour across the Lifespan II: Neuropsychology	10

You'll put the knowledge and skills from Stages 1 and 2 into practice. You'll undertake your own research in an independent project with cross-disciplinary supervision. Alongside this, you’ll take advanced modules in linguistics and psychology, with the option of integrating modules from other disciplines.

Compulsory Modules

Compulsory modules	Credits
Empirical Project for Cognitive Science	40

Optional Modules	Credits
Career Development for final year students	20
Clinical Sport & Exercise Psychology	20
The Damaged Brain: Case Studies in Neuropsychology	20
Decision Making and Cooperation: Understanding Our Choices	20
Shared Minds: Culture, collaboration, and creativity in humans and other animals	20
Psychology of Education: Learning, Teaching and Neurodiversity	20
It's not what you say, it's how you say it: Prosody and intonation	20
Advanced Second Language Acquisition	20
From Input to Output: The Blackbox of Child Language Acquisition	20

You can also take the following modules:

• Origins and Evolution of Language (20 credits)
• The History of Linguistic Ideas (20 credits)
• It's not what you say, it's how you say it: Prosody and intonation (20 credits)
• Comparative Syntax: English in a cross-linguistic context  (20 credits)
• From Input to Output: The Blackbox of Child Language Acquisition (20 credits)

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2025-26.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

How you'll learn

Teaching methods

You'll be taught through a combination of: 

• lectures 
• seminars 
• workshops 
• computer-based lab sessions 
• practical sessions 
• field work 

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Case studies

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Group work

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Reflective report/journal

• 

  Reports

• 

  Seminar tasks/exercises

Skills and experience

You'll learn to integrate and apply theoretical perspectives from core disciples of cognitive science including:

• psychology
• linguistics
• philosophy
• computer science

You’ll hone skills in:

• persuasive and scientific writing
• effective presentation of cross-disciplinary research
• quantitative analysis and data visualisation
• basic computer programming

Research skills

In Stage 3, you'll undertake an independent research project. This will be a cross-disciplinary collaborative project with supervision from at least two core cognitive science disciplines. It will give you the chance to integrate critical and technical skills to address open questions in cognitive science. This will allow you to produce new and innovative interdisciplinary research. This independent research project enables you to show your learned knowledge, as well as developing your skills, techniques and understanding.

Our staff have world-leading expertise in:

• comparative approaches to human cognition and behaviour 
• machine learning and analysis of large-scale behavioural/language datasets 
• evolutionary and developmental approaches to human language 
• intimacy, sexuality, family, childhood and education 
• digital labour, platform economies and neoliberalism 
• media ethics 

Support

You will have an academic member of staff as an academic adviser throughout your degree. They can help with academic and personal issues.

All first-year students join a study group of approximately 15 students, led by an experienced and trained final-year Psychology student who will also act as your Peer Mentor for your first year.

Opportunities

Placements

Subject to eligibility, students can apply for a professional placement between Stage 2 and Stage 3 of their programme. Professional placements are organised by the School of Psychology. They are an excellent opportunity for students to apply the psychology knowledge and skills they have learned in a practical, workplace context, and gain an advantage in a competitive job market.

The School of Psychology placement team secure and advertise a wide range of placements. Examples of previous placements include:

• local NHS Foundation Trusts
• Northumbria Police
• university research institutes
• local mental health support charities

National placement opportunities are also advertised, for example, at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

If their application is successful, students are supported by the placement team whilst preparing for and undertaking their professional placement.

Study Abroad

As part of your degree, you have the opportunity to study abroad for a year at a university in a different country. Currently, we have partnership agreements with universities across the world, including Europe, North and Central America, Asia and Australasia.

The international study year takes place between Stages 2 and 3. To join the international study you need to apply for a place and numbers are limited.

Find out more information on studying abroad. Further information will also be provided during your course.

Your future

Opportunities for diverse career paths

The multidisciplinary nature of this degree will result in a broad and versatile set of skills. The critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills you’ll develop will make you an attractive hire in almost any graduate job in the contemporary job market. Cognitive Sciences graduates will be well suited to work in a variety of sectors including:

• artificial Intelligence
• data science
• user experience testing or human computer interaction
• technical and educational consulting
• assistive technology
• healthcare roles in technology, mental health services or administration
• government policy
• behavioural science or research

Many of our graduates embark on further study, including Master's degrees and PhDs. Some go on to pursue careers in academia and research.

Careers support

Our Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Facilities and environment

Facilities

As a Cognitive Sciences student at Newcastle University, you'll be based in the School of Psychology's Dame Margaret Barbour Building. This is located on the University's city-centre campus.

The School of Psychology is around a ten minute walk from Newcastle city centre. It also has great access to libraries, the student union and sports centre facilities.

You'll also have access to our excellent practical facilities in the School, such as:

• a forensic interviewing suite
• a media and behaviour lab
• medical consultation rooms
• psychological testing cubicles

You'll also have access to the linguistics lab in the School of English Literature, Languages and Linguistics. The linguistics lab includes:

• a sociolinguistic interview suite
• a child language acquisition lab
• ultrasound tongue imaging
• state of the art recording equipment

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for academic year 2027-2028

Qualification: BSc Honours
Home students full time 3-4 years	Tuition fees (Year 1) £10,050
International students full time 3-4 years	Tuition fees (Year 1) 31,950

Home Fee Students

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course. These fee limits can change each academic year and are set by the government.  

Our 2027/28 full-time undergraduate fees for home-fee paying students are £10,050. 

These fees apply to new and continuing students in each academic year. 

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

International Fee Students

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

International students can apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages