Specific Course Schedule (Example of Academic Year 2005-07)
NOTE: The curriculum provided below is related to the academic years 2005-07. While the general course structure is similar in all years of study, the specific contents of the courses may undergo significant changes and modifications.
SEMESTER 1 (18 SWH*)
Orientation week Introduction (prior to start of course proper): one-week orientation program, finding one’s way round the university (meeting faculty, lab visits, etc.), managing daily life in Germany/Munich (accommodation, bank account, etc.).
Lectures and tutorials, obligatory, A & B Students have to attend two parallel lines of lecture and associated tutorial courses over two semesters on the topics specified below. Each lecture unit provides an overview of selected, classical and state-of-the-art, findings and theories within the various topics (e.g. “perception”). In accompanying tutorials, students meet with an assigned tutor in small groups. Tutorials involve revision of lecture material, discussion of related issues, lecture-related talks by students, and may include lab-based demonstrations and practical work.
Course A: Basic Neuro-cognitive Psychology 1 One lecture (2 SWH*) and one associated tutorial (2 SWH*)
(a) Perception, attention, memory and executive functions
(b) Neuropsychology Course B: Basic Neurosciences 1 One lecture (2 SWH*) and one associated tutorial (2 SWH*) (a) Functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology
Methodology courses, obligatory, C & D Students have to attend two parallel lines of methodology courses over two semesters, each course teaching basic empirical, mainly experimental, techniques at research level, with reference to specific research questions.
Colloquium, obligatory, Y Students have to attend weekly presentations (and accompanying discussions) on neurocognitive psychology delivered by invited, high-ranking international and national speakers. Course Y: Colloquium (2 SWH*) (a) Colloquium “Neuro-cognitive Psychology”
Research project 1, obligatory, E Supervised experimental work on an original research issue in one of the NCP labs at the LMU Munich, documented by a project report in the format of a scientific publication.
Course E: Research project 1 (7 weeks – within semester break)
Student-organized activities 1, voluntary, O A framework to students to initiate their own course-related activities which may also involve practical activities (such as NCP intranet design and maintenance).
Course F: Basic Neuro-cognitive Psychology 2 One lecture (2 SWH*) and one associated tutorial (2 SWH*) (a) Learning & memory, executive control, and motor control
Course G: Basic Neurosciences 2 One lecture (2 SWH*) and one associated tutorial (2 SWH*) (a) Neuropsychiatry, neurophilosophy, and computational modelling
Scientific debating club seminar, obligatory, Z Each student has to present and defend a recent influential, controversial journal paper on neuro-cognitive psychology.
Course Z: Scientific debating club (2 SWH*) (a) Current debates in Neuro-cognitive Psychology
Research project 2, obligatory, J The second project can be carried out in an NCP lab at the LMU Munich or in one of the partner laboratories in and outside Europe.
Course J: Research Project 2 (7 weeks - within semester break)
Course V1: Advanced research statistics (2 SWH*) Course V2: Scientific programming (2 SWH*) Course V3: Computer-based experimentation: An introduction with 'E-prime' (2 SWH*) Course V4: Introduction to neural network modeling (3 blocks of 4 hours) Course V5: Applied social psychology methods (2 SWH*) Course V6: Introduction to digital computers for experimental setups (3 blocks of 2 hours)
SEMESTER 3 (20 SWH*)
Seminars, obligatory, K, L & M The advanced-level seminar courses, K, L, and M, extend and deepen the material covered in the first-year lecture and methodology courses. Each seminar course consists of several seminar fields, for example, experimental psychology. In each of the three seminar courses (K, L, and M), one field has to be selected; and within each field, two option seminars (“Wahlpflichtseminare”) have to be attended.
Course K Basic Neuro-cognitive Research (2 x 2 SWH*) Two seminars within fields (1), or (2), with focus on basic research: (1) Selective Vision: Competition between top-down and bottom-up control (2) The integration of eye-tracking and looking time data in research on social-cognitive development
Course L: Clinical Neuro-cognitive Research (2 x 2 SWH*) Two seminars within fields (1) or (2), with focus on basic experimental clinical research: (1) Attentional and executive impairments in (adult) ADHD (2) Advanced EEG and ERP methodology
Course M: Applied Neuro-cognitive Research (2 x 2 SWH*) Two seminars within fields (1) or (2), with focus on applied research: (1) Sound, hearing and ergonomic design/ Driving and secondary tasks (2) Psychophysiology and behavioral medicine of the cardiovascular system
Course P1: Clinical cases from cognitive neurology (2 SWH*)
SEMESTER 4
Master thesis, obligatory, P Independent experimental work (supervised) on an original research issue, documented by a master thesis. Thesis supervisors can be selected only from teachers of study program.
Voluntary courses, R2 Learn to give a conference presentation, that is, learn to present in concise and comprehensible way the topic of the Master thesis, the currently available data and their interpretations.
