Brain and Cognition (interdisciplinaire minor)

Introduction

This interdisciplinary minor emphasises the diversity and complementarity of various cognitive neuroscience approaches to understanding the human brain.

• Aspects of (bio-)medical sciences, biology, pharmaceutical sciences, linguistics and psychology will be connected
• You will gain insight in the anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system, neuropharmacology and behavioural sciences.
• You will acquire knowledge of cognitive psychology and neuro- and psycholinguistics.

This minor is offered by the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), an interfaculty center for interdisciplinary research on brain and cognition, based on collaboration between the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the Faculties of Humanities, Science, and Social and Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University.

This minor follows the rules and regulations as specified by the board of examiners of Psychology. The board of examiners of Psychology is responsible to guard compliance of the rules and regulations of this minor.

Please be informed that the participating faculties may have different approaches to their education. This can result in differences with regards to the relation between contact hours and hours of self-study, different use of Brightspace, large- or small-scale education, practicals and other educational support. Some courses may require mandatory presence in practicals, tutorials and/or symposia. The courses that form part of this minor will inevitably differ from one another. This can be challenging, but forms a vital part of interdisciplinary education. Of course you will be supported.

For whom?

The minor is accessible for students from the universities in Leiden, Delft, and Rotterdam. The minor is primarily intended for third year students in Biomedical Sciences, Medicine Psychology, Pedagogical Sciences, Linguistics, Biology, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, and related fields. Please note that this minor is not open to Psychology students from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam due to significant overlap in content with their regular Bachelor programme.

Please note that this minor is not open for HBO-students (university of applied sciences).

Students from other study programs can also register for the minor, provided that there is enough space, but they have to be aware that this minor might be challenging for them. For students who miss background in both neurosciences and psychology/linguistics, we give access to materials from both introduction courses. Students follow one of the two as a mandatory course; materials for the second introductory course can be studied and lectures can be followed on a voluntary basis: no exam can be made for a second introductory course, and no EC’s are given for it.

Note that the minor is full-time, so students are advised to not follow any other courses during the period of the minor (Sept-Jan). Students that have less than 90 credits in their main study program are strongly discouraged to apply.

Brain and Cognition is not a typical ‘neurosciences-minor’ in the (bio)medical domain, as considerable attention will be given to cognition, linguistics and animal cognition in this minor.

Minor or electives

The 30 EC minor consists of three parts:

1. Introduction course (for alpha/gamma students: in Neuroscience; for beta students: in Linguistics and Neurocognitive Psychology) (5 EC)
2. Specialisation courses (4 x 5 EC = 20 EC)
3. Internship (5 EC)

The 15 EC minor consists of two parts:

1. Introduction course (for alpha/gamma students: in Neuroscience; for beta students: in Linguistics and Neurocognitive Psychology) (5 EC)
2. Specialisation courses (2 x 5 EC = 10 EC), you can choose your own courses from the 4 specialisation courses mentioned below.

Course periods

The entire minor is a full-time study programme spread out over one semester from September till the end of January. Exams for every course take place at the end of the 3-week course period. Courses will be offered in the following weeks:

• Week 36-37-38: Introduction to Linguistics and to Neurocognitive Psychology (lectures at FSW)
• Week 36-37-38: Introduction to Neuroscience (lectures at LUMC)
• Week 39-40-41: Neurochemistry (lectures at FSW)
• Week 42-43-44: Human and Non-Human Cognition (lectures at FSW)
• Week 45-46-47: Brain Diseases (lectures at LUMC)
• Week 48-49-50: The Linguistic Brain (lectures at FSW)
• From week 51: Internship Minor Brain and Cognition

Admission and registration

Students at Leiden University can register for this minor in EduXchange between 19 May and 30 June 2026. Students at TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam can register in the same portal. More information about registration and deadlines can be found here.

Note: after registration, you will be placed on a waiting list. Confirmation on placement will take place in June or July.

Students that want to follow a 15 EC Brain and Cognition minor also need to apply in uSis for the 30EC Brain and Cognition minor. Only after admission to the minor, students opting for the 15EC minor can indicate which specialization courses they want to follow by emailing the OSC.

The minimum amount of participants for the minor is 30. The maximum amount of participants is 60. All applicants will be put on a waiting list. You can find out yourself in uSis if your waiting list status has been changed into a confirmed admission. When over 60 students apply, we will apply a first come, first serve policy, with the condition that students with an alpha/gamma and beta background are divided approximately 50/50 over the minor.

Language of instruction

All courses and exams are offered in English.

Reading list

For information about literature used in each course, please refer to the course-specific study guide pages for each course.

Contact

• For your questions about the overall minor organisation, contact the overall coordinators: Dr. Z. Sjoerds and Dr. F. Bouwer via bcminor@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
• For your questions about registration, contact the Onderwijs Service Centrum
• For questions about the content of the individual courses, contact the individual course coordinators