Diploma Thesis and Examination Guidelines

Choosing a Thesis Supervisor and Topic

• Master’s thesis topics and supervisors must be approved by the CogSci Board of Studies (the Didactic Council).
• Co-supervision by an external specialist is possible if approved by the CogSci Board, but requires an internal (UW-based) supervisor.
• The topic must fit the profile and interdisciplinary character of Cognitive Science and students are asked to name two research areas relevant to their project to help the Board verify this requirement.
• Submissions to the CogSci Board should be made no later than by the end of classes in the second semester of the programme.
• In justified cases, it is possible to change the thesis topic and/or supervisor(s), subject to the CogSci Board approval.

What Is Expected from an MA Thesis in CogSci?

The MA thesis should demonstrate the ability to independently conduct scientific research.

Depending on the project, the thesis may take one of the following forms:

• experimental,
• computational,
• programming-oriented, or
• analytical.

Theoretical Part

• A thorough and up-to-date literature review.
• A clear theoretical background for the research questions or hypotheses.
• An interdisciplinary perspective drawing from different areas of cognitive science.

Research Part

• A method described precisely enough to allow replication.
• Appropriate and advanced analytical methods.
• A clear presentation of results and observations.

Discussion and Conclusions

• A coherent interpretation of results.
• Verification of hypotheses or assumptions.
• Discussion of possible future research directions.

Formal Requirements

• The MA thesis must be written in English.
• The required length is determined individually with the supervisor.
• The thesis should follow editorial standards appropriate for the relevant area of cognitive science.
• In addition to the main text, the thesis must contain:
  • a title page,
  • an abstract (100–200 words),
  • a table of contents,
  • a bibliography,
  • optional appendices.
• The first pages of the thesis must follow official UW formatting guidelines (see the template below).

Supervision and Feedback

• Supervisors are expected to meet with students regularly.
• The supervisor oversees the scientific, methodological, and formal quality of the thesis.
• The supervisor is required to read the thesis draft at least twice, providing detailed feedback.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Any use of generative AI tools in thesis preparation must comply with current University of Warsaw regulations and programme guidelines.

The use of AI tools must be properly disclosed in the thesis.

Thesis Evaluation

• Each thesis is reviewed and graded by the supervisor and by an independent reviewer, formally appointed by the Dean for Student Affairs.
• The final grade for the thesis is an average of their grades.
• Reviews are made available to the student no later than 3 days before the diploma exam.

Diploma Examination (Defence)

• The defence is conducted orally before a committee.
• The committee typically includes the supervisor(s), the reviewer, and a chairperson delegated by the Dean for Student Affairs.
• The examination consists of:
  1. a short presentation of the thesis by the student,
  2. answers to three questions prepared by the committee.
• One question concerns the thesis directly; the remaining questions concern broader areas related to the thesis topic and cognitive science.