QUALIFICATION RULES

Recruitment is a two-stage process. The first stage verifies knowledge of the contents of selected textbooks in Cognitive Science, and the second stage verifies understanding and critical analysis of selected scientific texts (articles). A candidate’s score below the eligibility threshold in either stage of the recruitment procedure results in the final total score of 0 (zero) points.

 

1. Written exam

Candidates take a written qualifying exam in the form of an online test in English. The written exam covers the content of the following readings:

• Bermudez, J. L. (2014). Cognitive science: an introduction to the science of the mind (2nd edition or newer). Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Online introductory Python programming course: https://cogsci.uw.edu.pl/admissions/python-intro/

The maximum possible score in the test is 100. Candidates with best results, whose number does not exceed twice the current quota of places, will be qualified for the next stage, with the requirement of obtaining at least 50% in the test.

 

2. Oral exam

The oral exam is conducted online in English and concerns one of the following scientific articles:

• De Baene, W., Duyck, W., Brass, M., & Carreiras, M. (2015). Brain Circuit for Cognitive Control Is Shared by Task and Language Switching. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27(9): 1752–1765, https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00817.
• Jafari Malali, M., Sarbaz, Y., Zolfaghari, S., & Khodayarlou, A. (2024).  The influence of mental calculations on brain regions and heart rates. Scientific Reports, 14(18846), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69919-x.
• Sixtus, E., Lindner, N., Lohse, K., & Lonnemann, J. (2023). Investigating the influence of body movements on children’s mental arithmetic performance, Acta Psychologica, 239(104003), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104003.

The examination board can award a maximum of 50 points for each of the following aspects of the candidate’s performance:

• comprehension of the paper;
• its critical analysis.

To assess whether candidates have read the paper with understanding, the examination board will ask questions requiring the candidate to explain the hypotheses posed in the paper, their grounding in theory, the research methods used, or statistical analyses applied.

In order to assess whether candidates are able to reflect critically on the text they have read, they will be asked to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the study presented in the paper and to formulate a personal opinion on it, together with arguments to justify the candidate’s opinion.

The maximum score in the oral exam is 100. Within the current quota of places, candidates with the highest total scores (written exam score plus oral exam score) will be admitted to the programme, with a minimum of obtaining at least 60% in the oral exam.