Cognition and Culture Queen's University Belfast

Overview

This Cognition and Culture programme offered by Queen's University Belfast examines how patterns of stability and variation emerge across societies by integrating insights from multiple scientific traditions. Students learn to formulate and evaluate hypotheses, apply diverse methodological approaches, and build coherent explanatory frameworks that address complex questions concerning human thought and collective behaviour.

Course Structure

The PhD programme at the ICC runs for three years. During the first year of training, students develop their research proposals in consultation with their supervisors and receive group training in a wide range of research methods, alongside individual guidance on issues specific to their projects. This stage culminates in an assessment of the proposed research. Upon successful completion, students ‘Differentiate’, advancing to PhD candidate status.

The second year focuses on research and data collection, during which PhD candidates systematically test the hypotheses outlined in their research proposals. This typically involves two phases. In the first phase, PhD candidates conduct a research study, or a series of studies, using the ICC’s laboratory facilities. In the second phase, they apply their methodology within a distinct cultural context identified as suitable for addressing and refining key aspects of their theoretical models.

During the final year of postgraduate training, students analyse their research findings in consultation with their supervisors and other academic staff members. This process culminates in the preparation and submission of a thesis of up to 80,000 words.