IIT Gandhinagar invites applications for Interdisciplinary Programs in Cognitive Science & Society and Culture

Last date to apply is 20th January 2022. Entrance tests and interviews will be conducted online due to COVID-19

The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar is inviting applications for its Masters in Cognitive Science and Society and Culture programs.

The M.Sc. (Cognitive Science) and M.A. (Society and Culture) programs highlight the necessity of interdisciplinary studies.

Cognitive Science is a fast-growing emerging field that works at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence while the Society and Culture program provides exposure to key disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences including, history, culture studies, literature, translation studies, sociology, political science and anthropology.

Highlighting the unique qualities of these two courses, Prof Jaison. A. Manjaly, Head, Discipline of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar, said, “The interdisciplinary nature of all the courses at IIT Gandhinagar makes a student's learning experience highly enriching. The M.A. in Society and Culture offers students diverse perspectives on social and cultural factors with a nuanced and more in-depth understanding of their context. The M.Sc. in Cognitive Science, on the other hand, offers a deeper understanding of mind, brain, and cognition. These programs are also uniquely aligned to the IITGN's vision to enable lifelong learning among the students.”

For financial support, eligible candidates admitted to the M.Sc. (Cognitive Science) and M.A. (Society and Culture) programs can apply for the ‘On-Campus Employment Opportunities Program’. The Institute also encourages the M.Sc. (Cognitive Science) and M.A. (Society and Culture) students to present their research work at national and international conferences, and provides travel scholarships of up to Rs. 60,000/-.

The deadline for both M.Sc. (Cognitive Science) and M.A. (Society and Culture) is 20th January, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both admission tests and interviews for the courses will be conducted online.

The Institute has established a state-of-the-art Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, which conducts high-quality research in the frontier areas of cognitive science on various cutting-edge topics like perception, curiosity, attention, motor learning, decision making, robotics, cognitive rehabilitation, consumer behavior, multisensory perception, music cognition, and tactile perception, among other areas.

Respecting the multidisciplinary spirit, this course offers students the flexibility to tailor the course according to their interests. Students are encouraged to take courses from other disciplines, creating a vibrant learning environment.

The students of M.Sc. in Cognitive Science come from a variety of disciplines ranging from psychology, physics, engineering, life sciences, and philosophy, among others, creating an atmosphere of curiosity and collaboration throughout the course.

The Institute is also calling for applications for the M.A. in Society and Culture. Successfully running since 2013, students of the M.A. program have made their careers in diverse job sectors ranging from prominent media and communication houses, leading NGOs to doctoral students, currently pursuing their PhDs in India, the United States, Canada, and Europe.

The M.A. in Society and Culture provides for fundamental learning, debates, and methods in the disciplines of literature, sociology, anthropology, political science, and history. The two-year master’s program emerges from a conviction that students need to be trained to understand the social and political context they are part of.

It brings theoretical and cutting-edge formulations on societies and nations that are necessary and must also be learned in tandem with real-life observation and fieldwork. The program helps students understand intersections between disciplines so that recurring themes such as identity, democracy, tradition, modernity, citizenship, selfhood do not get restricted to a narrow disciplinary focus. This is further developed and tested through rigorous research projects.

In both programs, students will have unique research experiences like conducting field-work, conducting ethnographic research in the old city of Ahmedabad, visiting historical and archeological sites in Gujarat, conducting experiments in the state of the art cognitive science lab, traveling across the country through the IIT Gandhinagar Explorer Fellowships, taking advantage of the national and international academic and industrial internship opportunities and much more. Exposure to international faculty is another highlight of these programs.

The Master’s thesis that also allows them to work in their preferred field of specialization while receiving hands-on supervision by faculty members will prepare the students for higher studies and future challenges in life.

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