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Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh

Masters in AI or Cog Sci

Hi,

I've just done my BSc in Computer Science and I'm thinking about applying for an MSc in the Informatics school at Edinburgh. I'm undecided between either Artificial Intelligence or Cognitive Science, I'm not sure which but I know I'd like to specialise in Natural Language processing. Has anyone done these courses and know the differences, or anyone else applying for September?

Also what's it like studying there, how's the courseload and what's your experience with applying?
Hey,

I've got an offer for cognitive science and will be specialising in Natural Language Processing. I just finished a Linguistics degree so they told me cognitive science was a better option since it assumed less programming knowledge (this won't be a problem for you I'm guessing). That said, since you can choose essentially the same modules I don't think there's really a noticeable difference. But do check the module lists to make sure you get all the modules you want in the one you apply for.

Also, you can apply for both if you can't decide and they consider your applications separately.

I had a good experience applying and heard back from them in just over a week!
Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Reply 2
If you are keen on university of edinburgh..apply for both
Reply 3
Original post by JamieHolding
Hey,

I've got an offer for cognitive science and will be specialising in Natural Language Processing. I just finished a Linguistics degree so they told me cognitive science was a better option since it assumed less programming knowledge (this won't be a problem for you I'm guessing). That said, since you can choose essentially the same modules I don't think there's really a noticeable difference. But do check the module lists to make sure you get all the modules you want in the one you apply for.

Also, you can apply for both if you can't decide and they consider your applications separately.

I had a good experience applying and heard back from them in just over a week!


Yeah I thought about applying for both, but I sorta have the feeling that it might just be a different name at the end of the day, since the module options look very similar. Looks like options are more dictated by the specialism than the programme itself, at least for NLP anyway.

I think I'm just more worried about actually getting accepted really, it was only recently I decided to it was worth trying for the Masters. And by some miracle I managed to get a First, which is beyond my wildest dreams really!

If I get in, we might be doing some of the same modules I guess! How was your Linguistics course, that's part of the reason I wanted to apply to Edinburgh cos there's a mix of options in both areas. I've never really studied it, but doing a dissertation with some NLP really opened my eyes to it.
Original post by khal_
Yeah I thought about applying for both, but I sorta have the feeling that it might just be a different name at the end of the day, since the module options look very similar. Looks like options are more dictated by the specialism than the programme itself, at least for NLP anyway.

I think I'm just more worried about actually getting accepted really, it was only recently I decided to it was worth trying for the Masters. And by some miracle I managed to get a First, which is beyond my wildest dreams really!

If I get in, we might be doing some of the same modules I guess! How was your Linguistics course, that's part of the reason I wanted to apply to Edinburgh cos there's a mix of options in both areas. I've never really studied it, but doing a dissertation with some NLP really opened my eyes to it.


If you want to maximise your chances then apply to both I guess. I was going to apply for artificial intelligence as well but once I got the offer for cognitive science I decided there wasn't any point since as you say they're only really different in name.

I really liked Linguistics (which I've just finished at York) - especially the Semantics and syntax areas which are used extensively in NLP as well. I think the NLP at Edinburgh seems to be the best in the country from my research - the choice of modules is amazing. I also think the option to take machine learning modules alongside it is very valuable careerwise. My dissertation supervisor also said very good things about the department and some of the lecturers he'd met.

Good luck with your application(s)!

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