A warm welcome to our new students and welcome back to our returning students!  We’ve missed you!   To celebrate Welcome Week, we’ve asked members of our School community to provide you with a top tip or recommendation for making the most out of your university experience. Watch the videos and check out the resources section below for further information and inspiration!  Monika Komar, PPLS Student Community Council (previously PPLS Intersocietal Council), on vintage shopping Monika recommends Armstrongs Vintage ..read more

A warm welcome to our new students and welcome back to our returning students!  We’ve missed you!   To celebrate Welcome Week, we’ve asked members of our School community to provide you with a top tip or recommendation for making the most out of your university experience. Watch the videos and check out the resources section below for further information and inspiration!  Itamar Kastner, MA Cognitive Science Programme Director, on bookshops in Edinburgh Itamar think it’s a great idea to support your local bookshops. Ch ..read more

Experiencing an academic year like no other, our four student bloggers Ané, Quinn, Dakarai & Safeera share their personal journey, reflecting on the last few months and highlighting the highs and lows of student life amid a pandemic. Join them on their journey of reflection by sharing your own experiences of how this academic year has impacted you using the hashtag #MyPPLSjourney Reflections Part I September to November 2020Reflections Part II December 2020 – April 2021 The post My PPLS Journey – Reflections 2020/2021 appeared first on ..read more

I hope you’re all well – staying safe and keeping calm during these worrying times. I don’t know about you, but I sure have been struggling a little to find my footing after spontaneously moving back home for the remainder of the semester. So, here are three things I am working on to make the most of my time at home. 1. Get back into a routine First and foremost, it seems like the day has lost all semblance of structure. I have talked about finding a productive routine before and I’m sure this will be easier once lectures are happening online. But at the moment – why would I leave my bed in th ..read more

Three reasons why I chose to study Cognitive Science and what I wish I knew beforehand. 1. I wasn’t sure what to study Basically, going into university I had no idea what I wanted to study or do later in life. I was interested in psychology and languages; and I was really curious about philosophy. But also, I hadn’t studied any of these previously, at least not at a level that would make me confident to “commit” to, say, single honours linguistics. Plus, I wanted to know more about how the human mind works. So Cognitive Science seemed like a great choice because it had so much to offer: There ..read more

Going into my fourth semester at university, one would sort of expect I had things figured out… at least somewhat. And that’s true to a certain extent – I’ve made it through three exam seasons just fine, found some nice study music… but what am I even doing? How should I go about finding a productive routine? So in the spirit of this academic confusion, I thought I’d share some things that have helped me increase (or at least made me feel like I have increased) my productivity – as well as some things I want to give a try this semester. Tried and true Sleep schedule The best thing to probabl ..read more

In your third year at Edinburgh, you can opt to spend your year abroad! You might find yourself studying while exploring a new culture in New Zealand or working as a teacher in Japan. Thanks to our long history and reputation, the University has a variety of destinations to offer. You will find plenty of practical information on the Student Exchange website: Our exchange programmes | University of Edinburgh Seminars are also held by our School (Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences) and the University throughout your first semester. Therefore, I intend to offer a more ‘personal’ insight ..read more

One of the things some people haven’t quite worked out when applying to Edinburgh is the difference between a Scottish MA and an English MA. This article will hopefully clear up any confusion! When I first visited the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS) PPLS in Year 12, I didn’t even realise that an undergraduate degree was called Master of Arts (MA) and not Bachor of Arts (BA) at the University of Edinburgh. Even worse, some of my friends only realised this when they were already in Edinburgh! A Scottish MA is not a Masters degree A lot of people think that our MA ..read more

5 Reasons why you should consider Cognitive Science for your degree at Edinburgh In my lower sixth form year, I was very intent on doing Linguistics for my undergraduate degree. I didn’t know that Cognitive Science existed then. On one of my uni tours, I met with someone at the University of Edinburgh who recommend Cognitive Science to me! After I got accepted by the uni, I decided to ask them to change me from MA Linguistics to MA Cognitive Science. And I didn’t regret it at all. It’s such a diverse and interesting degree that I really want to share this and encourage you to consider doing C ..read more

Image source: https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2018/03/22/university-pension-row-14-days-of-strike-action-across-the-uk/   A breakdown in talks between the University College Union (UCU) and Universities UK (UUK) has resulted in confirmed strikes over the next few weeks. This can be a confusing time for many students left wondering what impact the strikes will have on them directly. Before casting evil glances towards our lecturers as we exit class let’s give a little thought to why the strikes are necessary. First of all, teachers and tutors do actually want to teach their student ..read more