MSc Cog

gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

MSc
c/Dip//Cert
CO
OGNIITION
N IN S
SCIEN
NCE & SO
OCIET
TY
PR
ROGR
RAMM
ME HAND
H DBOO
OK
201
14-20
015

S
School
of Ph
hilosophy, P
Psychology and Langua
age Sciencees
Unive rsity of Edin
nburgh

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

CONTENTS
Introduction / Contacts - Support

Page 3

Administrative Structure

Page 5

Programme Specification

Page 6

Assessment

Page 7

Special Circumstances

Page 8

School Postgraduate Group

Page 9

Examination Boards

Page 10

Feedback to the School & Complaints

Page 11

Graduations / Careers Service / Course Enrolments

Page 12

Dissertation

Page 13

Feedback to Students

Page 14

Submission Procedures

Page 15

Word & Page Limits on Coursework / Examinations

Page 17

Part Time Study / Common Marking Scheme

Page 18

Grade Descriptors / Extensions & Penalties

Page 19

Plagiarism / Peer Proof Reading

Page 21

Printing & Photocopying / Computing Labs / Library / Research Funds / Ethics Page 22
Attendance & Permission to be Off Campus / Students on a Tier 4 Visa

Page 23

Innovative Learning Week

Page 24

Updating Personal Details / Email Lists & Contact / Mail & Post / Timetables

Page 25

Useful Websites / Freedom of Information / Dissertation FAQs

Page 26

Student Representation

Page 28

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

INTRODUCTION
This handbook is designed to provide students with general information and guidance about
studyingintheSchoolofPhilosophy,Psychology&LanguageSciences(PPLS)andshouldbereferred
to in conjunction with the Universitys Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Students (issued
withyourmatriculationpapers).

ThishandbookdoesnotsupersedeUniversityRegulationsavailableonlineunderDegreeRegulations
andProgrammeofStudy(DRPS):http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/1415/.

It is each students responsibility to make themselves familiar with the contents of this handbook
and also the Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Students. Information provided in this
handbook may help you avoid unnecessary problems. Please do not hesitate to contact the
PostgraduateOfficeifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthishandbook.

Handbookswerecorrectatthetimeofprinting.

TheSchoolofPhilosophy,PsychologyandLanguageSciences(PPLS)
EstablishedinAugust2002,PPLSisoneof11SchoolsintheCollegeofHumanities&SocialSciences.
TheSchoolrunsbothtaughtMSc(oneyearfulltime,twoyearsparttimeMasters)programmesand
researchprogrammesinthreeSubjectAreas:
Philosophy
Psychology
Linguistics&EnglishLanguage(LEL)

Inaddition,theSchoolfostersstronglinksbetweenSubjectAreasandwithotherSchoolsacrossthe
Universitystructurefacilitatingcrossdisciplinaryresearchandnetworks.

CONTACTS - SUPPORT

SchoolPostgraduateOffice

TheSchoolPostgraduateOfficeissituatedintheDugaldStewartBuilding(1stFloor)

Office Hours
9.30am 12.30pm
1.30pm 5.00pm
Tel: 0131 651 5002
Email: pplspg@ed.ac.uk

AdministrativeSupport:ThePostgraduateOffice
PPLSPGAdministrator

PPLSPGAdministrationCoordinator
PhDAdministrationincludingexamination
PhDAdmissions

MissKatieKeltie

MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

PPLS PG
G Administraative MissT
ToniNoble
Secretarry

PPLLSPGPGTAd
dminCoordiinator
MSccPsychologyyandLELAdm
ministration
MSccPsychologyyandLELAdm
missions

PPLS PG
G Administraative MissLLynseyBuch anan
Secretarry

MSccPhilosophyyAdministrattion
MSccPhilosophyyAdmissionss
PPLLSPGOnlineProgrammeAdministrattion
PPLLSPGEventsCoordinatoor

The PPLS Postgrad

duate Office
e (PGO) p rovides adm
ministrative support foor all postggraduate
program
mmes,coursees,staffandstudentsinttheSchool.

provideadviceonallasppectsofpostggraduate
EachmeemberoftheePGOTeamisavailablettohelpandp
administtrationintheeSchoolhow
wevertheyddospecializeinparticularrareasasdettailedabove
e.

ThePosttgraduateOfficeoperate
esanopenddoorpolicy; ifyou
have an
ny questions about studyying in the sschool, please do
not hesitate to com
me to the office
o
during the office hours
describeed above. Occasionally
the office w
O
will be close
ed for
training ormeetingss.Ifyourenq
quiryisurgeentpleasecaallthe
number aboveand leaveamessage.Wewiillgetbacktoyou
assoonaspossible.
Program
mmeDirector

Sometim
mes referred
d to as Perssonal Tutor,, the Prograamme
Directorr is responsiible for the smooth runnning of the
e MSc
program
mme, includ
ding the re
esponsibilityy for admission,
curriculu
um development and the coordinaation of teacching inputs, examinatioons and pro
ogramme
evaluation.TheProggrammeDire
ectorisalso theretofacilitateyouro
orientationi ntheSchoolandthe
nthroughtheedegree,fro
ominitialind
ductionandccoursechoicce,tothe
Universiity,andyourrprogression
transitio
onintothedissertationstageandtotthecompletionofthede
egree.

Towardsstheendofthefirstsem
mesterstude ntsshouldsttartdiscussin
ngpotential dissertation
nprojects
withmeembersofstaaff.Earlyon intheseconndsemesterr(fourthsem
mesterforpaarttimestud
dents),at
the lateest, studentss should agree on a diissertation topic
t
and su
upervisor, w
with whom they are
expectedtokeepinclosecontacctthroughouuttheirreseaarchproject.

TheProggrammeDireectorisavaillableasafirsstlineofpasstoralsupportandadviceeforanysch
holarlyor
personalissues,whiichmayarise
ewhileyouaareonthep
programme.Itisyourressponsibilityttoinform
diatelyofanyyproblemstthatareinte
erferingwithhyourcourse
eworkor
theProggrammeDireectorimmed
progresssion through
h the progra
amme, incluuding any re
eligious or medical
m
requ irements that might
affectyo
ourparticipaationinanya
aspectoftheeprogramme
e.

Youshouldhaveat leastoneind
dividualmeeetingpersem
mesterwithyourPrograammeDirecttorinthe
taught p
part of yourr degree pro
ogramme, tyypically in week
w
1 of th
he semester,, and one in
ndividual
meetingginthedisseertationstage.Ifyouwo uldlikeaddiitionalmeetiingsyouare
ewelcometo
orequest
these.YYoucanrequ
uestameetin
ngthroughyyourMyEdp
portal,email orphonew
withyourPro
ogramme
4

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

Director directly. You should also get involved with group meetings arranged by your Programme
Directorastheywillprovideanopportunityforallstudentsinoneprogrammetogettoknoweach
other,andfurtherintegrateyouintoouracademiccommunity.

Ifyoucannot,ordonotwanttodiscussanissuewiththeProgrammeDirector,youshouldcontact
the PPLS Postgraduate Office. The Postgraduate Office staff will be able to direct you to the most
appropriatepersontoadviseyou.

OthersourcesofspecialistacademicandpastoralsupportarelistedintheCodeofPracticethatyou
willhavebeenissuedwithyourmatriculationpapers.

YourSchoolPostgraduateAdvisorisavailableasanalternativesourceofsupport.Theycanhelpwith
mattersnotdirectlyrelatedtotheMSc,suchastheprocessofapplicationforfurtherpostgraduate
study.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
Academic responsibility for the MSc/Dip/Cert in Cognition in Science & Society lies across all 3
subject areas within the School. The programme is taught by members of the School with
contributionsfromotherSchoolsintheUniversity.

Name
Tel.Ext
Room
Email
JointProgrammeDirector
DrHannahRohde
506802
2.06DugaldStewart
hannah.rohde@ed.ac.uk
Building

JointProgrammeDirector
DrAdamMoore
503369

ProgrammeSecretary
MissToniNoble

ExternalExaminer
DrAminaMemon

513188

S32,7GeorgeSquare

amoore23@staffmail.ed.ac.uk

1.06DugaldStewart
Building

Toni.Noble@ed.ac.uk

RoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon

StudentsmustnotcontactanyExternalExaminerdirectly.Ifastudenthas
anyqueriesorwantstoraiseamarkwithanExternal,studentsmustdosoby
contactingthePGOfficeinthefirstinstance.

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
TheMScinCognitioninScience&Societyismadeupofmodulestotalling180credits.120credits
are gained through coursework over two semesters; the remaining 60 credits are awarded for a
dissertation. Both parts of the programme have to be passed independently for the award of the
MSc.

The Diploma in Cognition in Science & Society is made up of courses totalling 120 credits,
comprisingthecoursework,butnotthedissertation,thatmakeuptheMSc.ADiplomamayalsobe
awarded if the coursework or dissertation submitted for the MSc is considered to be below the
standardnormallyrequiredforanMSc.

TheCertificateinCognitioninScience&Societyismadeupofcoursestotalling60creditsincluding
thefollowingcourses:

IntroductiontoStatistics&ExperimentalDesignORUnivariateStatistics&MethodologyUsingR
20creditsfromothernamedcompulsorycourses
10 credits from Cognition, Culture and Context OR Pragmatics of Linguistic Communication OR
PsychologyofPublicPolicy

A Certificate may also be awarded if the coursework submitted for the MSc is considered to be
belowthestandardnormallyrequiredforaDiplomaorMSc.

Coursework
Yourcourseworkcomprisescoreandoptioncourses.Youmustobtainatotalof120creditpointsto
fulfilyourcourseworkfortheMScdegree.

Therearefourcorecoursesforthisdegree:http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/1415/dpt/ptmsccscso1f.htm.

Allcorecoursesarecompulsory,althoughthosewhocandemonstratethattheyhaverecentlytaken
an equivalent course as part of a previously awarded recognised qualification may be allowed to
substituteanappropriateoptioncourseforacorecoursewiththeProgrammeDirectorsapproval.

Optioncourses
All students in MSc Cognition in Science & Society must take option courses totalling 70 credit
points,whichtheycanchooseaccordingtotheirinterests.Youwillbeassessedonthesecoursesand
themarkswillbepartofyouroverallcourseworkassessment.

Teachingarrangements
Teaching on the programme takes a number of different forms. Most core courses consist of
lectures, some courses having associated tutorials. Some of the option courses follow a similar
lecture/tutorial format but others take the form of seminars and workshops. The following
descriptionsmaybeofusetothoseunfamiliarwiththeterminologyoftenusedinMSccourses:

Lecture
Traditionalplenarysession.Thelecturerpresentstotheclass
Tutorial
Smallgroupsessiontypicallydiscussingpreparedreadingorasetofexercises
Workshop
Typicallyataskbasedsessionwiththestaffactinginanadvisorycapacity
Seminar
Usuallyinvolvesshortpresentationsbystudents

A description of each course can be found on the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study
(DRPS)websitehttp://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/.

Reading lists will be assigned during the lectures and material will be made available through the
libraryand/orthroughLearn.
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MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

ASSESSMENT
Assessment differs between courses. Students will normally be required to submit some
coursework, attend an examination, or some combination of the two. In addition to the formal
assessments above, students may additionally be expected to carry out other assignments (for
example,presentationstotheclass).

Therewillbetimesduringthecoursewhenmorethanonepieceofcourseworkwillbedueonthe
sameday.Itisyourresponsibilitytoorganiseyourtimesothatthevariouspiecesofcourseworkcan
besubmittedbythedeadline.

All PPLS courses will have a submission deadline of 12 noon. Please note that, due to technical
reasons,thesubmissiontimeonLearn(theonlinecourseportal)issetto12.01.Nonethelessyou
stillhavetoturninyourworkby12.00sharporyoursubmissionwillberecordedaslate.

GuidanceonWritingAssignments
Therearemanykindsofwrittenworkfordifferentmodulesandmarkersmayapplyslightlydifferent
criteria,butthefollowinglistsummarisesthemajorcriteriausedinassessingmostwrittenwork:

aclearstatementofaims
evidenceofadequateandappropriatebackgroundreading
accurateunderstandingofkeyconcepts,issuesandframeworks
rigorousmethodology
evidenceofsystematicandindependentthinking
criticalstanceininterpretationandevaluationofliteratureanddata
soundargumentation
sensibleplanningandorganisation
clarityandcoherenceofexpression

Pleasealsopayattentiontothefollowingpoints:

Bearinmindthatyourreadershavetogetthroughafairlylargenumberofprojectsonsimilar
topics. Makesureyou describeyouraimsandobjectives clearlyatthe beginningandbringthe
worktoacloseefficientlyattheend.
Beconcise.Judiciousconcisionindicatesunderstanding.
Make your work as accessible and easy to read as possible. For instance, make good use of
sectionheadings,overviews,previews,summaries,welllabelledfigures,etc.
Do not swamp the reader with everything you know. Select and discuss information that is
relevanttothemainaimsofthepaper.
Donotsimplysummarisewhatyouhavereadorwhatyouhaveheard.Regurgitation(nomatter
howaccurate)willnotgetyouahighmark.Yourworkshouldbuilduponwhatotherpeoplehave
done,notrestateit.
Youmustclearlyreferenceanysourcesthatyouhaveused;seePlagiarismsectionbelow
Do not forget to proofread. Its impossible to catch all the slips, but frequent, glaring errors
createaverybadimpression.Theuseofwordprocessingequipmentmakestheneedforproof
reading more, not less, urgent. Although spelling checkers catch spelling mistakes, they do not
noticenonsense.
Do not try to write literary essays. Clarity and concision are the first qualities we look for in
scientificwriting,notelegance.

Furtherinformationcanbealsobefoundonlinehere:
http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/taught_research_masters.php#Assessment.
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MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

MarkingandModeration
Thereisnorequirementforcourseworktobedoublemarked,butnosinglemarkershouldbeable
to influence unduly a students overall assessment result. In line with College guidance, written
coursework is to be moderated by a second marker who inspects a sample of work sufficient to
verifythatanappropriateandconsistentstandardhasbeenappliedbytheprimarymarkerinterms
of:

marksawarded
writtencommentsprovidedtostudentsbywayoffeedback

There is no requirement for moderation to take place prior to work being returned to students,
providedthat:

moderatorshaveaccesstoasecondcopyoftheworkandtheprimarymarkersmainfeedback
students are informed that marks are subject to change until confirmed by the Board of
Examiners

Themoderator'ssampleshouldamounttonolessthan10%ofthetotalnumberofsubmissions.It
shouldnormallyinclude:

atleastoneexampleofworkfromeachmarkingband
mostorallexampleswherefirstclassorfailmarkshavebeenawarded
atleastoneexamplefromeachborderlinethreshold

Whereamoderatorhasconcernsaboutthemarkingstandardormarksprofileofthecourse,they
may:

electtodoublemarkeachpieceofwork
recommendanacrosstheboardshiftoftheprimarymarksupwardsordownwards.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If you have any questions or concerns about any aspects of your academic life in the MSc
programme,youshouldfeelfreetoconsultrelevantmembersofstaff.TheProgrammeDirectoris
available as a first line of support and advice for any scholarly or personal issues which may arise
while you are on the programme. It is your responsibility to inform the Programme Director
immediatelyofanyproblemsthatareinterferingwithyourcourseworkorprogression,includingany
religious or medical requirements that might affect your participation in any aspect of the
programme.

Ingeneral,itismostimportantthatyouletusknowofanyconcernsyouhave,whethertheseaffect
the programme generally or yourselfpersonally. Do not bottle up any problems or anxieties that
mayinterferewithyourprogressontheprogramme.Sharethemwithusatanearlystage,andwe
willdoourbesttohelpandadviseyou.

For certain matters, the Programme Director may direct you to the School Postgraduate Director.
Othersourcesofspecialistacademicandpastoralsupportavailable:

EUSATheAdvicePlacehttp://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/adviceplace/
StudentCounsellingServiceshttp://www.studentcounselling.ed.ac.uk/

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

SCHOOL POSTGRADUATE GROUP

The School Postgraduate Group (sometimes referred to as the Postgraduate Studies Committee)
dealswithallpolicyissuesforpostgraduatestudentsintheschool.

TheProgrammeDirectorsandPostgraduateAdvisorsineachsubjectareaactasaliaisonbetween
subjectareastaffandthePostgraduateSchool.ThePGGroupalsoapprovesallnewprogrammes
andcourses.

Membership2014/15
Convenor
ProfJesperKallestrup(PPLSPostgraduateDirector)
DrMitsOta(PPLSDeputyPostgraduateDirector)
Secretary
PGAdvisors

ProgrammeDirectors

MissKatieKeltie(PPLSPostgraduateAdministrator)
MissToniNoble(PPLSPostgraduateAdministrativeSecretary)
Philosophy
DrMichelaMassimi
Psychology

ProfMartinPickering

Linguistics&EnglishLanguage

ProfAliceTurk(Sem1)
ProfNikGisborne(Sem2)
DrInnaKupreeva

AncientPhilosophy
Epistemology,Ethics&Mind(Online)

Student
Representatives

Philosophy

ProfDuncanPritchard
DrSuilinLavelle
DrAlasdairRichmond

Mind,Language&EmbodiedCognition

DrAlistairIsaac

HumanCognitiveNeuropsychology

DrElenaGherri

PsychologyofLanguage

DrManteNieuwland

PsychologicalResearch
PsychologyofIndividualDifferences

ProfMartinPickering(Sem1)
DrAlexaMorcom(Sem2)
ProfTimBates

AppliedLinguistics

DrJosephGafaranga

DevelopmentalLinguistics

DrMitsOta

EnglishLanguage
EvolutionofLanguage&Cognition

DrWarrenMaguire(Sem1)
ProfBettelouLos(Sem2)
DrKennySmith

Speech&LanguageProcessing

ProfSimonKing

CognitioninScience&Society

DrHannahRohde
DrAdamMoore

MSc

PhilosophyStudentTBC

Research

LELStudentTBC

The School Postgraduate Director is the convenor of the Postgraduate Group and liaises with the
School and the College on behalf of all students and staff in the Postgraduate School. The PG
AdvisorsandProgrammeDirectorsareresponsibleforcommunicatingbetweensubjectareaandPG
Grouplevel.

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

EXAMINATION BOARDS

Examinationboardmeetingstakeplacetwiceayear,inJuneandOctober.AnExternalExamineris
appointedforeveryMScprogrammetomoderateandadjudicatemarking.

StudentsmustnotcontactanyExternalExaminerdirectly.Ifastudenthasanyqueriesorwantsto
raiseamarkwithanExternal,studentsmustdosobycontactingthePGOfficeinthefirstinstance.

SpecialCircumstances
Studentsarerequiredtosubmitmedicalevidence,oranyotherpaperwork,insupportofanyspecial
circumstancethatmayhaveaffectedtheirstudies.Thispaperworkiskeptanonymousandtheboard
will ensure that circumstances are taken into account when considering progression or degree
awardingcriteria.

Whereanextensionhasbeengrantedforanyspecialcircumstancethroughouttheacademicyear,
thesamespecialcircumstancecannotbereconsideredattheexaminationboard.

Interimboard
Held in June, this board meeting approves the coursework results for MSc programmes and
recommends progression to the dissertation stage of the programme. Coursework results are
provisionaluntilthefinalexamboardbutwillbepublishedtostudentsfollowingtheinterimboard.

TheExternalExaminerwillmeetsomeorallstudentsontheprogrammetheyareexternalfor.These
meetingswithstudentshavetwopurposes:

Toassessthegeneralstandardsoftheprogramme
To provide students with an opportunity to express their comments and suggestions on the
degreeprogramme

Detailsofprogressionrequirementstothedissertationelementareasfollows:

Passatleast80creditswithamarkofatleast50%ineachofthecourseswhichmakeupthese
creditsAND
Attainanaverageofatleast50%forthe120creditsofstudyexaminedatthepointofdecision
forprogression

Ifastudentdoesnotmeettheserequirements,buthasacourseworkaverageof4049,anawardof
Diplomamaybemade.

DetailsofAwardofDiploma

Passatleast80creditswithamarkofatleast40%AND
Attainanaverageofatleast40%forthe120creditsofstudyexaminedfortheDiploma

Ifyoudecidetofinaliseyourstudiesafterthecourseworkelement,youcanrequesttobeawarded
theDiploma.

IfastudentdoesnotmeettheserequirementsanawardofCertificatemaybemade.

DetailsofAwardofCertificate
40creditsofcorecoursesmustbepassedwithamarkofatleast40%eachinordertobeeligible
forthisawardAND
Attainanaverageofatleast40%forthe60creditsofstudyexaminedforthecertificate

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MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

After the interim examination board meets, students will be issued with an official progression
letter. This will detail their coursework results and confirm whether or not they have been
progressedtodissertation,awardedDiploma,CertificateorFailed.

FinalBoard
This meeting is held in October following the marking of the dissertation element. The board
approvesallmarkingandrecommendsawardsatthisstage.Followingthis,studentswillreceivean
officialletterofawardfromtheUniversityRegistrypriortothewintergraduationceremony.

InordertobeawardedtheMasters,thefollowingrequirementsmustbemet:

HavesatisfiedanyrequirementsforprogressionAND
Attainanadditional60creditsbyachievingamarkofatleast50%forthedissertationorresearch
component

InordertobeawardedDistinction,thefollowingrequirementsmustbemet:

Amarkofatleast70%forthe60creditdissertationorresearchcomponentAND
Passallothercourseswithanaverageofatleast70%
Borderlines for both dissertation and course average elements are considered for
distinctions

AnystudentwishingtoprogresstoPhDstudyandbeseriouslyconsideredforentryattheUniversity
ofEdinburghmustmeetthefollowingrequirements:

Anoverallmarkof50+awardedoverthefull120creditsofcourseworkAND
Anagreedmarkof65+forthe60creditdissertation

ExamBoardMembership
Convenor
ProfJesperKallestrup(PPLSPostgraduateDirector)
Secretary

MissToniNoble(PPLSPostgraduateAdministrativeSecretary)

PGAdvisors

ProfMartinPickering

ProgrammeDirectors

DrHannahRohde
DrAdamMoore
DrElenaGherri

MScCognitioninScience&Society

ProfTimBates

MScPsychologyofIndividualDifferences

ProfMartinPickering

MScPsychologicalResearch(Sem1)

DrAlexaMorcom

MScPsychologicalResearch(Sem2)

DrAminaMemon

MScCognitioninScience&Society

ProfOliverTurnbull

MScHumanCognitiveNeuropsychology

DrAndrewCooper

MScPsychologyofIndividualDifferences

DrChristophScheepers

MScPsychologicalResearch

DrChristophScheepers

MScbyResearchPsychology

ExternalExaminers

MScHumanCognitiveNeuropsychology

FEEDBACK TO THE SCHOOL AND COMPLAINTS

TheUniversityofEdinburghiscommittedtoenhancingtheexperienceofourstudents.Weaimto
ensurethatourteaching,supportservicesandstudentunionactivitiesprovidepositiveexperiences
11

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

andopportunitiesforourstudents.Ifwearetoachievethataim,itisimportantthatweknowwhat
isandisnotworking.Wewelcomebothpositiveandnegativefeedbackfromstudentsonallaspects
of their experience. We endeavour to listen to concerns and to ensure they are dealt with
appropriately.

Complaints
Guidance on the students complaint procedures can be found online here:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/studentacademicservices/studentcomplaint
procedure/studentcomplaintprocedure.

GRADUATIONS

ForinformationonGraduations:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/student
administration/graduations/overview.

CAREERS SERVICE
The Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help students and recent
graduates explore different career options and make decisions for the future:
http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/undergraduate/careers/index.php.

Talktoacareersadviser
Findoutaboutdifferentcareers
Explorefurtherstudy
Lookingforajob
AdviceonCVs,applicationformsandinterviews
CareerServiceworkshopsandevents

COURSE ENROLMENTS
Taught MSc programmes are made up of courses totalling 180 credits. 120 of these credits are
gained through coursework completed over two semesters (or four for part time students); the
remaining60creditsareawardedforyourdissertation.

You will normally be required to submit coursework, attend an examination or a combination of

bothforassessment.Inadditiontotheformalassessmentyoumaybeexpectedtocarryoutother
assignments,suchasclasspresentations.Detailsofparticularassessmentrequirementsaregivenin
detailintheDRPSandduringlectures.

Youshouldcompleteyourcourseregistrationnolaterthantheendofweek2ofteachingineach
semester.

Studentsaresolelyresponsibleforensuringthattheircoursechoicesdonotclashandthattheyare
fully aware of when and where each course will take place. Failure to complete a course through
nonattendanceornoncompletionoftheassessmentwillresultinafailingmarkbeingachieved.

AuditingCourses
You can be assessed only on 120 credits of courses but if you wish to take another course for
auditingpurposesonly(attendoutofinterest,notforcredit),thiscanbearranged.Youmustgetthe
permission of your Programme Director and also the relevant organiser of the course you wish to
audit.

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MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

Asanauditor,youwillnotobtainamarkforthecoursebutyoumaybeaskedtotakepartinthe
assessment required for the course. As an auditor you are committing to attending all lectures. If
you wish to only get access to the online materials you can request to be enrolled through Learn
only.

DISSERTATION

Studentswhohavebeenprogressedtothedissertationelementoftheirprogrammearerequiredto
write a dissertation of up to 810,000 words. By the middle of the second semester (or fourth for
parttimestudents),atthelatest,youshouldhavediscussedyourpotentialdissertationprojectwith
relevant members of staff, and should be on the way to agreeing a dissertation supervisor. Some
MScProgrammesmayrequirestudentstoselectadissertationtopicearlier;inthiscase,theexact
timingwillbecommunicatedtoyoubytheProgrammeDirector.Youareexpectedtokeepinclose
contactwithyourdissertationsupervisorthroughoutyourresearch.

Parttimestudentsmustcompletetheirdissertationinthesametimeallottedtofulltimestudents
it is therefore recommended that you start discussions with potential dissertation supervisors
throughout your second year of study. Progression will only be confirmed in the second year of
study but all students (FT or PT) are expected to commence work on their dissertation before
confirmationofprogression.

On completion, the dissertation is worth 60 credits. The dissertation should demonstrate that you
areabletotakeprimaryresponsibilityfortheplanning,completionandpresentationofaresearch
project.

You may wish to give a draft of your dissertation to your supervisor for comments prior to
submission;ifyouagreetodoso,pleasenotethefollowingpoints:

Supervisorsmustbegivenaminimumofaweektoprovidecomments
Supervisors will comment on only one draft of the dissertation. They will not comment on
multiplerevisions
Itisnotnormalfortheretobemorethan10hoursofsupervision(timetoread/commenton
drafts,respondingtoemailsandmeetings).Arrangementsaremadebyindividualstudentsand
supervisors

Dissertationsupervisorscanofferadvice,buttheycannotbeexpectedtoguaranteeanything;they
arenotresponsibleforyourworkyouare.Supervisorscanalsoofferadviceonwritingacademic
English,buttheywillnotproofreadyourdissertation.PleaserefertotheCodeofPracticeforfurther
information.

The deadline for handing in completed dissertations to the Postgraduate Office is Thursday 13th
Augustby4.00pm.

Pleaseseebelowforthedissertationformatguidelines,theguidelinesarealsoavailableonthePPLS
PGwebsite
(http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/taught_research_masters.php#Dissertation).

DissertationssubmittedinearlieracademicyearsmaybeavailablethroughtheEdinburghResearch
Archive website through the Library: http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/154. You can view
these dissertations for information on layout etc, but please note that if you use any part of a
dissertationthatyouhaveviewedwithinyourowndissertation,youmustacknowledgethisasper
usualguidelines.

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MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

SupervissionStyles
Although your disseertation supervisor will guide you through
t
the research prrocess, you will find
yourselff having to learn a number of skills (depending on your ressearch intereests) throughout the
courseo
ofthedisserttation.Yoursupervisorisstheretohe
elpyoubutw
willnotbeabbletodotheworkfor
you.You
ushouldalsobearinmindthatheoorshemay notbeavailableatalltiimesthroughoutthe
summerrduetoconfferences,internationalcoollaborationsandholidays.

Individual superviso
ors differ greatly in thheir styles of
o supervisio
on. Some pprefer very frequent
meetinggsandmore structuredttasksfortheestudent;otthersprefer moreinform
malwaysof working.
Somearremoredirecctive,whileo
othersseethheirrolemorreasencouragingandennabling.

Whateveerthepatterrnofsupervisionthatdeevelops,itisvitalthatitb
besuitedto thespecificneedsof
the partticular studeentsuperviso
or pairing att the time, and
a that botth parties d iscuss and negotiate
n
howbessttowork.W
Whatworks wellforoneestudentsu
upervisorpaiiringmaynootbeapprop
priatefor
another.Moreover, whatstudentsneedfroomtheirsup
pervisorsmaywellvaryooverdifferen
ntstages
ofthedeegree.

FEEDBACK TO
O STUDEN
NTS
ortant way to
t learn during your Ma sters studiess is to obtain feedback on your work. Some
An impo
typesofffeedbackw
willbeautom
maticallyproovided(forexample,you
umayreceivvewrittenco
omments
oncoursseworkyou handin)buttitisimport anttoremembertheothersources offeedbackkthatare
availabletoyou,includingaanswerstoq
questions
in class and durring office hoours, advice
e on how
to approach
a
asssignments oon Learn and in the
hand
dbooks, and informal d iscussions with
w your
teacchers and peers. Makinng good use
e of the
vario
ous sources of feedbackk available to
t you is
anim
mportantaca
ademicskill.

Feed
dback events will be co nfirmed durring your
first lecturefor eachcoursee.TheDRPS entryfor
each
hcourseshouldalsoconffirmthedateforyou
to submit your assessment,, as well as the date
you can expect your summaative feedba
ack to be
returned.Where
ethisinform
mationisnotavailable
pleasecontactth
herelevantCCourseOrganiser.

HowtoUseFeedbacck
Perform
mancefeedbaack,inthefo
ormofconsttructivecriticism,comesstostudentssfromtheir tutorsin
threebrroadforms.TTheseare:
informalremarkssandadvice
formalmarks
writtencommenttsonassesse
edwork

Informaalfeedback
Itisimp
portanttostrressthatassessmentanddfeedbackaarebynome
eansconfineedtoformalmarking;
ndpeer)resp
ponsestoth
hethingsyouusayinclassandinform
malchatswitthstaffoutssideclass
staff(an
are partt of 'feedback' too, and
d should hellp you gauge your perfo
ormances annd understa
anding of
course material. Please visit your tutors dduring theirr consultatio
on hours if you have questions
q
relatingtoyourperfformancesin
nclass.

14

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

Formalmarks
The marks you are given reflect a range of considerations. They are in accordance with the
Universitys100pointextendedcommonmarkingscale.Thescaleincludesdescriptorswhichwill
helptoindicatewhyamarkinaparticularmarkingBandwasassigned.TheSchoolemploysseveral
meanstomonitortheconsistencyofthemarkingstandardsbeingappliedtostudentwork.

Writtencomments
Asameansofprovidingfurtherfeedback,markersshouldprovideindividualcommentshighlighting
what they consider to be the key aspects of students work that relate to the mark awarded.
Moderators consider the amount and character of such feedback as part of their role. The School
employs several means to monitor the consistency of the marking standards being applied to
studentwork.

Usingyourfeedback
Comments are normally provided on a standard form which explicitly highlights strengths,
weaknesses and ways to improve your work. Some markers also annotate written work with
marginalcomments.

Itistobestressedthatacombinationoftimeandspaceconstraintsmaylimittheamountofwritten
feedbackamarkercanprovideinthefirstinstance.Thisandotherfactorscan,additionally,leadto
differentmarkersvaryinginwhattheirfeedbacktendstofocuson,whichcansometimescreatethe
impressionofinconsistenciesintheirexpectations.

Please pay close attention to comments you receive on your work and visit your marker(s) during
theirofficehoursifyouarepuzzledbytheircomments,orifyouneedalittlemorefeedbackonhow
to improve. It is usually possible via your MyEd, email or telephone to arrange an alternative
appointment.

Staff value meeting with students to discuss the feedback they provide, because these meetings
provide useful case studies in how their comments are received / understood by students (which
may differ from what was intended). Please do not wait to be summoned or invited to such a
meeting:taketheinitiativeintheinterestsofyourowneducationandfuture.Studentsshouldnote,
however, that marks are nonnegotiable and that disagreement with your markers academic
judgementdoesnotconstitutegroundsforappealunderUniversityregulations.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
All PPLS coursework submissions are electronic and must be submitted through Turnitin on Learn,
you do not submit a hard copy of your coursework. Occasionally you may be required to submit
throughtheLearnGradeCentreorapapercopythisinformationwillbeprovidedtoyouaspartof
yoursubmissionproceduresforeachassessment.

FortheelectronicsubmissionyouneedtologintoLearnandclickonthecourselinkforthecourse
you are submitting an assessment for. On the courses content page you will see an assessment
coversheetthatyoumustreviewandagreetheworkyouareabouttouploadisyourown.Onceyou
havemarkedthecoversheetasreviewed,thesubmissionfolderwiththeTurnitinlinktouploadyour
assignmentwillbecomevisible.

WhentheTurnitinlinkappearsyouwillbeabletosubmityourcoursework.Youwillseeaprefilled
formwithyournameautomaticallyfilledinandmustonlyaddyourexamnumberandwordcount
to the submission title box do not add your essay title here. Your essay title should be at the
beginningofyourassignment.Touploadyourassignmentclickonthebrowsebuttontoopenyour
computersfilebrowserandselectthedocumentyouwanttosubmit.Pleasemakesurethatyouare
15

MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

careful and choosee the correcct file for suubmission as you can only
o
upload one single file per
submission.

When yyou successfully submit your assign ment you will

w receive a
a confirmatiion receipt from
f
the
system.Youcanalso
ocheckyour submissionssbyviewingyourTurnitinassignmenntinbox.

Ifyouhaaveanyprob
blemsusingthesystemppleasecontaactthePostg
graduateOffficeinadvanceofthe
submissiondeadlineetoletthemknowofyouurissue.

All courrsework asseessments should be anoonymous in order to maintain fair marking. Yo

our exam
number must be att the top off every pagee and the page
p
number at the botttom. Your name or
matricullationnumbeermustnotbeonanyoffyourassign
nments.

The Po
ostgraduate Office will check all coursework
submitteed to ensure it meets the
t requirem
ments stated
d
for each
h submission
n. If a piece of coursewoork does no
ot
meettherequiremeentsitwillbe
edeletedanddthestuden
nt
informed to resubm
mit. The Postgraduate O
Office is no
ot
required
d to check the coursew
work until tthe deadline
e
applies so this can result in la
ate submissiion penalties
being ap
pplied to your work; ple
ease ensure that you are
e
aware o
of any requirrements for each piece of work you
u
submit.

Pleasen
notethatsub
bmissionofccourseworkiistakenfrom
m
thedateeandtimereecordedonLLearn.

On com
mpletion of marking,
m
eve
erything will be returned
d
to the P
Postgraduatee Office whe
ere we will ttake note off the mark awarded
a
andd you will re
eceive an
email to
o your univversity email account letting you know whe
en to collecct your assignment.
AlternattivelymarksmaybereturneddirectlyyonLearn;aagainyouwilllreceivean emailtocon
nfirm.
Any student enrolleed in a classs out with PPLS must ensure that they checck with the relevant
submissionofficetofindouthow
wtosubmit; procedurescanvaryacrrosstheUnivversity.

Layouto
ofAssignments
ThePsycchologysubjjectareareccommendsthhattheirstudentscompleteallcoursseworkbase
edonthe
APAform
mat,furtherrinformation
ncanbegathheredfromyyourProgram
mmeDirectoorifyouareenrolled
onaPsyychologyprogramme.

e
for a coourse then you
y must
Where tthe layout reequirements have been specified on the DRPS entry
followth
hoseinstructtions.Othersubmissionsscanbemad
deusingthefollowinggeenericinform
mation:

TypeorPrint

Conssistent and clear

c
type off laser print quality shou
uld be used for all copiees for both text and
illustrations

CharacteerSize&Styyles/Fonts

uldbeatleasst11points,withbodyteext(textothe
erthanhead
dings)notexcceeding12p
points
Shou
Wherethereisachoiceofch
haracterstyleeorfont,aseriffonte..g.TimesNew
wRomanorrPalatino
ouldbeused
dforthemaintextandasanseriffon
nte.g.HelvveticaorAriaalforhead
dingsand
sho
labellingdiagram
msetc

16

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

WordSpacing&Division

Textshouldbesettoensureanevenspacingbetweenwordsforanyparticularline
Linespacingshouldbesetfor1.5

Anonymity
Assessedworkismarkedanonymouslywhenpossible.Therewillbeoccasionswhenitisnotpossible
tomarkapieceofworkanonymously,e.g.aperformedpiece,anoralpresentation,adissertation
wherethespecialisednatureofthetopicidentifiesthestudent,whereanassignmenttitlehasbeen
agreed with the Course Organiser. However, marks are anonymised for other markers and
examiners.

AttendanceMonitoringthroughCoursework
All students attendance must also be recorded in compliance with the UK Governments Points
Based Immigration rules. It has been agreed that any student within the College of Humanities &
SocialSciencesmusthavetheirattendanceconfirmedthroughcourseworksubmission.

If you miss any deadline for a piece of coursework owned by the School of PPLS you will be
contactedbythePGOstaff.Ifyouaresimplyrunninglatethenpleasedoreplyassoonaspossible;if
youdonotreplypleasebeawarethatarecordiskeptandthiscouldtriggeryoubeingexpelledfrom
theUniversity,andtheUKifyourequireavisatostudy.

WORD / PAGE LIMITS ON COURSEWORK

Word/pagelimitsareimportantfortwoprimaryreasons.First,academicandprofessionalwriting
willtypicallyrequireyoutoproducepiecesofaspecifiedlength,andsoitisanecessarypartofyour
training to be able to do so. Second, a standard word / page length for each assessment ensures
fairnessbetweenstudents.

Word / page counts MUST be stated as part of your assignment title when submitting. The word
countexcludesthereferences,themaintitle,tablecontentandtable/figurelegends,butincludes
all other material. Footnotes cannot therefore be used to include extra material, and the use of
footnotesisdiscouraged.

EachcourseDRPSentrywillnotewhatword/pagelimitsareapplied.Anycourseworksubmitted
that exceeds these limits will be returned to the student for reducing their words / pages,
resubmissionpastthedeadlinespecifiedwillincurlatesubmissionspenaltiesasdetailedbelow.

EXAMINATIONS
ExaminationstakeplaceinDecemberandApril/Mayeveryyear.Ifanyofyourcoursesareassessed
by examination, timetables detailing the time and venue of exams are available online at:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/studentadministration/exams.

Studentsarerequiredtoattendallexaminationstheyareduetotake;absencefromexaminations
withnospecialcircumstancesubmittedpriortotheexamwillresultinamarkof0beingrecorded.

ExamplesofpastexaminationpaperscanbefoundintheMainLibrarywebsite:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/informationservices/librarymuseumgallery/exam
papers.

Students are required to be oncampus throughout their entire studies, and this is important for
anycourseyoutakethatisassessedbyexam.Reschedulingofexamdates/timesmighttakeplace,
so any student who has made arrangements to be away from Edinburgh will not have special
17

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

circumstances considered for this reason. Similarly, students cannot request an exam to be
scheduledtofittheirpersonalpreferences.

PART-TIME STUDY

ParttimestudentstaketheMScovertwoyears,workingonthedegreeapproximately50%ofthe
time worked by fulltime students. The usual pattern of study is to take 60 credits of courses
between September and April of the first year, and an additional 60 credits in the second year.
Although planningforthedissertation canbeginearly,pleasenotethatitislikelythatthebulkof
dissertationworkwillneedtobecompletedbetweenAprilandAugustofyear2.

AlthoughwetrytomaketheMScprogrammesasaccessibleaspossibletoparttimestudents,and
keepflexibilitywherewecan,thereareinevitablerestrictionsonwhatispossible.Forexample,itis
never possible to reschedule courses or deadlines to fit in with the demands of external
employment,anditisyourdutyasaparttimestudenttoarrangematterssothatyoucanmeetyour
studyobligations.Similarly,itisnotpossibletoarrangesupervisionforyourdissertationbeforeyear
2 at the earliest, because supervisors are heavily committed to projects and dissertations each
summer.

Finally, we should note that an early agreement to supervise a dissertation does not guarantee
progression. Progression is based on performance over 120 points of coursework, and the earliest
pointatwhichadecisioncanbemadeforparttimestudentsisattheJuneexamboardinyear2.

COMMON MARKING SCHEME

Mark%
90100
8089
7079
6069
5059
4049

Grade
A1
A2
A3
B
C
D

3039
2029
1019
09

E
F
G
H

Description
Anexcellentperformance,satisfactoryforadistinction

Averygoodperformance
Agoodperformance,satisfactoryforamastersdegree
Asatisfactoryperformanceforthediploma,butinadequateforamasters
degree
Marginalfail
Clearfail
Badfail

18

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

GRADE DESCRIPTORS

Mark
90100%(A1)

8089%(A2)

7079%(A3)

6069%(B)

5059%(C)

4049%(D)

3039%(E)
2029%(F)
1019%(G)
09%(H)

Description

FulfilsallcriteriaforA2.Inadditionworkhasexceptionalinsightandindependent
thought,andpossiblypublishablequality.Couldchangeconventionalunderstanding
ofthetopic.
Outstandingwork.Insightanddepthofanalysisbeyondusualparameters.Sustained,
fluentandauthoritativeargument.Comprehensiveknowledge,andconvincing
commandofthetopic.Accurateandconciseuseofsources.
Focused,clearandwellstructuredwork.Effectivelyandconvincinglyargued.Critical
understandingofconflictingtheoriesandevidence.Excellentpresentationand
referencing.
Substantialknowledgeandunderstandingofconcepts,theoriesandevidencerelating
tothetopic.Answersthequestionfully.Nosignificanterrorsoffactorinterpretation.
Goodpresentationandreferencing.
Accurateknowledgeoftopic.Satisfactoryinterpretationandusesofsourcesand
evidence.Somegapsinknowledge,orlimiteduseofevidence.Overlydescriptive.
Possibleconfusionorlackofclarity.Writing,referencingandpresentation
satisfactory.
Diplomalevelperformance.Someknowledgeofthetopic,anduseofrelevant
sources.Likelytohavesignificantdeficienciesinargument,evidenceoruseof
literature.Likelytocontainfactualerrors.Mayfailtoanswerthequestion.Writing,
referencingandpresentationmaybeweak.
Fail.Flawedunderstandingoftopic.Poorawarenessoftheory.Poorapproach.Poor
coverageofthetopic.Writing,referencingandpresentationlikelytobeveryweak.
Fail.Seriouslyinadequateknowledgeofthesubject.Littleawarenessofrelevant
issuesortheory.Majoromissionsandinaccuracies.
Fail.Short,unclear,factuallyinaccurate.Lackofunderstandingofkeyreadingand
academicconcepts.
Fail.Noacademicmerit.Noindicationthatthecoursehasbeenfollowed.

EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES

Studentsareexpectedtomonitortheirworkload,beawareofalldeadlinesandbeabletoorganise
themselvesaccordingly.

Extensionrequestsshouldbesubmittedbeforethesubmissiondeadline.Theymustbesubmittedto
thePGOfficeforapproval,andmustincludedetailsofthecourse(s)affectedandlengthofextension
requested,togetherwithsupportingevidenceifrequired.

Otherthaninexceptionalcircumstances,extensionswillonlybegrantedincasesofillnessorfamily
emergency. For illnesses lasting longer than seven days (including weekends), medical evidence
shouldbesubmittedatthetimeoftherequest.

Extension requests due to work commitments, conference attendance, time mismanagement,

personalcomputingproblemsorignoranceofdeadlinewillnotbeaccepted.

The PG Office will email the student to tell them whether the extension has been granted. The
decision conveyed in this email is final; if students feel that they have been unfairly denied an
extensiontheyshouldmakeacasetothespecialcircumstancescommitteefortheremovalofany
latesubmissionpenaltiesattheexaminationboard.

19

MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

Retrospeectiveextensionswillno
otbegrantedd.However,latesubmisssionpenaltieesmaybewa
aivedifa
studentrequestsanextensionbutcannotgeetmedicalevvidenceuntilsomedays later.

Forany onecourse,themaximu
umallowableeextension willbetwo weeks.Ifstuudentsfeeltthatthey
need more time thaan this to co
omplete theeir work, the
ey should discuss the poossibility of a formal
concessiontotheir programme ofstudies((intheform ofanextensionorinterrruption)witheither
thePGO
OfficeortheirProgramm
meDirector.

Although every effo

ort will be made
m
to retuurn marks fo
or work subm
mitted follow
wing an exte
ension as
quicklyaaspossible,rreturnwithin
naspecifictiimeframecaannotbegua
aranteed.

Studentsmustnotethatnoexte
ensionwillbeeapprovedfforanystudentawaitinggfeedbackfrromtheir
proofreeader.

DissertaationExtensiions
Requesttsforextensionstodisse
ertationdeaddlinesmust besupportedbyevidencce,andmustinclude
a statem
ment of supp
port from th
he dissertatioon superviso
or. Extension
ns of more tthan four weeks can
only be obtained via
v a formal concessionn to a stud
dent's progra
amme of sttudies (extension or
interrup
ption),whichshouldbere
equestedbyytheirdisserttationsupervvisororProggrammeDire
ector.

Students should note that conccessions to

study off 4 weeks orr more may result in a
latergraaduationcerremonydate
efromtheir
fellow colleagues,, and po
ossibly an
on fee forr entering the next
extensio
academicyear.

StudenttswithAdjusstmentSchedules
Extensio
on requestss from stud
dents with
adjustment schedu
ules that allow short
notice extensions will be
e treated
sympath
hetically where possible
e. Students
should however bee prepared to give a
reason for the exteension request; simply
citing an adjustmen
nt schedule is not an
adequattereason.Fo
orextension
nsoflonger
thansevvendays,supportingevidencemay
be requ
uested; as for all students, the
maximum allowablee extension for any onee course will be 2 weekss. If studentts are seekin
ng longer
ons,theysho
oulddiscussthepossibiliityofaform
malconcessio
ontotheirprrogrammeo
ofstudies
extensio
(inthefo
ormofanexxtensionorin
nterruption) witheitherthePGOfficeortheirPrrogrammeDiirector.

LateSub
bmissionPen
nalties
Foraperiodofonew
weekafterthedeadlinefoorsubmission
nofanygiven
npieceofcouursework,fivvemarks
arededu
uctedforeveerydaybyw
whichthesubbmissionoftheworkisdelayed.Afterroneweeko
ofdelay,a
mark of
f zero is reco
orded for an
ny work receeived. The PG
GO will ensu
ure that the mark relatin
ng to the
academiicqualityoftthework,and
danydeducttionsfromth
hismarkduetolatesubm
mission,arese
eparately
identifiedintheworkk.

StudentswillreceiveeanemailfromthePGO
Oremindingtthemofthemisseddeaddlineshortlyafterthe
deadlineehaspassed
dwiththeda
atesrelevannttoamark of0beingrecorded.Iffyoudonottwishto
receivettheseemailss,pleaseema
ailthePGOttorequestth
hatwedono
otsendyourreminders.

20

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarismisaveryseriousoffenceandwillbedealtwithseverely.

Plagiarismistheactofcopyingorincludinginonesownwork,withoutadequateacknowledgement,
the work of another for ones own benefit this includes your own work previously submitted.
Plagiarism is academically fraudulent, and is viewed by the University as a serious disciplinary
offence. It may be intentional or unintentional: the innocent misuse of material without proper
acknowledgement can still constitute plagiarism whether or not deliberate intent to cheat is
involved.

All work submitted must comply with the University of Edinburgh Plagiarism regulations:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/academicservices/staff/discipline/plagiarism.

Ifyoudonotunderstandthedetailsoftheplagiarismrulesyoumustaskinadvanceofsubmission.
Ignoranceofourregulationswillnotbeseenasdefence.

Ifplagiarismissuspected,areportandsupportingdocumentationissenttotheSchoolandCollege
Academic Misconduct Officers (SAMO and CAMO). The CAMO will contact the student directly in
ordertocompletethereportingprocessandconfirmtheoutcomewiththestudent.

TurnItIn
All coursework is submitted through TurnItIn which provides the PG Office with a report on any
plagiarismthatmayhaveoccurred.

OtherTypesofAcademicMisconduct
Plagiarism is the most common type of academic misconduct; however there are other types of
misconduct that will also not be accepted such as collusion, cheating, deceit and personation.
FurtherinformationcanbefoundontheAcademicServiceswebsite:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools
departments/academicservices/students/postgraduatetaught/discipline/academicmisconduct.

Collaboration
Studentsmaybeabletocollaboratewiththeircolleagueswhensubmittingcourseworkintwoways:

Jointcollaborationonresearchandwritingup.Onegroupmemberneedstotakeresponsibilityfor:

Submittingoneelectroniccopythatincludesexamnumbersofallstudentsinvolved
Reviewthecoversheetonbehalfofeachstudentinvolvedpriortosubmission

Jointcollaborationonresearchbutseparatewritingup:

Eachstudentmustsubmittheirownwritingupbutacknowledgethattheirresearchhasbeenin
conjunctionwitheachstudentinvolved

StudentsshouldnotethecollaborationonprojectsisonlypossiblewhentheCourseOrganiserhas
confirmedthattheassessmentallowsit.

PEER PROOF READING

ProofreadingthroughtheEUSAAdvicePlaceisavailableonafirstcomefirstservedbasistostudents
whosefirstlanguageisnotEnglish.

Pleasenotethatrestrictionsapplytothisservice,youcansearchalltherelevantinformationonline:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/english/languagesupport/proofreading.
21

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

Studentsmustnotethat,asexpressedonthewebsiteabove,noextensionwillbeapprovedforany
studentawaitingfeedbackfromtheirproofreader.

PRINTING AND PHOTOCOPYING

PhotocopyingisnotavailableforMastersStudentswithintheDugaldStewartBuildingor7George
Square.StudentsareaskedtousethefacilitiesavailableintheMainLibrary,orelsewhere.

StudentscanobtainprintcreditfromtheMainLibrary.

DUGALD STEWART BUILDING COMPUTING LAB

Allstudentshavedayaccess(9amto5pm)totheDugaldStewartBuildingcomputinglab(1stfloor).
InordertogainoutofhoursaccessstudentsmustcompleteaDSBBuildingInductionTour.

Any student who did not attend the relevant tour during Induction Week, or only now requires
access,cancontactthePPLSPGOfficefordetailsonhowtoactivatetheircardfor24houraccess.

APPLETON TOWER COMPUTING LAB

Allstudentshavedayaccess(9amto5pm)totheAppletonTowercomputinglab(3rdfloor).Inorder
togainoutofhoursaccessstudentsmusthavecompletedanInductionTourofDugaldStewartor7
GeorgeSquare.

Any student who did not attend the relevant tour during Induction Week, or only now requires
access,cancontactthePPLSPGOfficefordetailsonhowtoactivatetheircardfor24houraccess.

PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY

In order to gain access students must have completed an Induction Tour of Dugald Stewart or 7
George Square. Any student who did not attend the relevant tour during Induction Week, or only
nowrequiresaccess,cancontactthePPLSPGOfficefordetailsonhowtoactivatetheircardfor24
houraccess.

RESEARCH FUNDS
ProgrammeDirectorsmayinformstudentsiftheyhaveanyfundsavailabletosupportdissertation
costsincurredinstudentsresearch,forexamplethepaymentofparticipants.

Anystudentrequiringfundsforotherexpensessuchasconferenceattendance,buyingequipment
etccanapplytotheSchoolResearchSupportGrants:
http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/research_training.php#Research.

Anyapprovedfundscantakeupto6weekstobereimbursed.

ETHICS
Foryourdissertationresearch,youmayrunexperimentsand/orcollectdatethroughothermeans
fromhumanparticipants.YouareexpectedtofollowtheethicsguidelinesadoptedbytheSchoolin
carryingoutsuchresearchprojects.

22

MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

Bydefau
ultyoushouldfollowthe
ecodeadopttedbythesu
ubjectareath
hatyouaressupervisedb
by.

LEL:http
p://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/faccilities/howtoo/ethics/1.sh
html
Psycholo
ogy:http://w
www.psy.ed.ac.uk/psy_reesearch/rese
earch_ethicss.php

Ifappliccable,collecttinformedconsentfrom
myourparticcipants.Exam
mplesofinfoormedconse
entforms
canbesseenonthellinksabove((Seeunder'W
Whatisanin
nformedcon
nsentform?'ontheLELp
pageand
under'EEthicalReview
wProcess'onthePsychoologypage).

Askyourrsupervisortoapprovettheethicssuubmissionforryou:

LEL:http
ps://archive.lel.ed.ac.uk//ethics/indexx.php
Psycholo
ogy:https:///www.psy.ed
d.ac.uk/psyetthics/

phyexperimeentsdonotttendtorequuireethicsap
pproval.How
weverifyouaareaPhiloso
ophy
Philosop
studentrequiringthisapprovalp
pleaseconta ctthePPLSP
PGOfficeforrfurtherguiddance.

ATTEN
NDANCE AND PERMISSIO
ON TO BE OFF CAM
MPUS
Attendaance
Ifyouneedtobeab
bsentfroma
alectureor tutorialfor anyreasontthenyoumuustnotifyth
hecourse
organiseerandyourP
ProgrammeD
Directorina dvance,andprovidedoccumentaryevvidenceifne
ecessary.

ents to attennd all their University

U
classes, lecturres and tuto
orials etc,
The University expeects all stude
whetherr or not these are described as coompulsory by
b
the Sch
hool. This includes participating
p
fully in th
he
requirem
ments of all coursess, includingg submittin
ng
assignments, contributing to tu
utorials and workshops or
laborato
ories, attend
ding meetin
ngs with Pe rsonal Tuto
ors
andsittingexaminattions.
YouratttendancewilllbemonitoredbytheSSchool,sothat
staff can
n help you to
t manage your
y
progresss through th
he
courses..Wewilldo
othissowe canbequiccklyalertedtto
any add
ditional pastoral or acad
demic suppoort needs an
ny
studentmightrequire,andsoth
hattheSchooolcanprovid
de
advice, guidance or
o support in a timelyy and usefful
manner.

PermissiontobeOfffCampus
If you aare intendingg to be off campus for
r more than one week at any timee during you
ur taught
studies, (twoweekssduringthe summermoonths)please
ecompletetherelevant permission tobeoff
campusformavailab
bleonthePP
PLSPostgradduatewebsite:
http://w
www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/stude
ents/postgra duate/StudyyOffCampus.php.

All studeents attend

dance must be
b recordedd in complian
nce with the
e UK Governnments Poin
ntsBased
Immigraation rules. It has been agreed that any student within the
e College of Humanities & Social
Sciencessmusthavetheirattendanceconfirm
medthroughcourseworkksubmission .

STUDENTS ON
N A TIER 4 VISA

AsaTier4student, theUniversityofEdinbuurghisthessponsorofyo
ourUKvisa. TheUniverssityhasa
number of legal responsibilities, including monitoring your attend
dance on yoour program
mme and
reportin
ngtotheHom
meOfficewh
here:

23

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

You suspend your studies, transfer or withdraw from a course, or complete your studies
significantlyearly;
Youfailtoregister/enrolatthestartofyourcourseoratthetwoadditionalregistrationsessions
eachyearandthereisnoexplanation;
You are repeatedly absent or are absent for an extended period and are excluded from the
programme due to nonattendance. This includes missing Tier 4 census points without due
reason.TheUniversitymustmaintainarecordofyourattendanceandtheHomeOfficecanaskto
seethisorrequestinformationaboutitatanytime;

As a student with a Tier 4 visa sponsored by the University of Edinburgh, the terms of your visa
requireyouto,(amongstothers):

EnsureyouhaveacorrectandvalidvisaforstudyingattheUniversityofEdinburgh,which,ifa
Tier4visa,requiresthatitisavisasponsoredbytheUniversityofEdinburgh;
Attend all of your University classes, lectures, tutorials, etc where required. This includes
participating in the requirements of your course including submitting assignments, attending
meetings with tutors and attending examinations. If you cannot attend due to illness, for
example, you must inform your School. This includes attending Tier 4 Census sessions when
requiredthroughouttheacademicsession.
Makesurethatyourcontactdetails,includingyouraddressandcontactnumbersareuptodate
inyourstudentrecord.
Makesatisfactoryprogressonyourchosenprogrammeofstudies.
ObservethegeneralconditionsofaTier4GeneralstudentvisaintheUK,includingstudyingon
the programme for which your visa was issued, not overstaying the validity of your visa and
complyingwiththeworkrestrictionsofthevisa.

PleasenotethatanyemailrelatingtoyourTier4sponsorship,includingcensusdatesandtimeswill
besenttoyourUniversityemailaddressyoushouldthereforecheckthisregularly.

Further details on the terms and conditions of your Tier 4 visa can be found in the Downloads
sectionatwww.ed.ac.uk/immigration.InformationoradviceaboutyourTier4immigrationstatus
can be obtained by contacting the International Student Advisory Service, located at the
InternationalOffice,33BuccleuchPlace,EdinburghEH89JS.Email:immigration@ed.ac.uk

INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK

Innovative Learning Week (ILW) is a weeklong programme of creative and experiential learning
eventsthatgivesyouagreatchancetodevelopnewskills.DuringILW,regularlecturesandtutorials
arereplacedwithexcitingopportunitiesto:

gainanewperspectiveonyourdegreesubject
learnnewskillsandinspireyoutothinkaboutyourfuturecareer
exchangeideasandstimulatedebate
meetstaffandstudentsfromdifferentSchoolsandColleges
networkandfindnewopportunitiesforresearchorrevision

Gotanideaorwanttorunanevent?
In2015,ILWwilltakeplacefrom1620February2015.Theweekisagreatopportunityforyouto
shape the way you learn. Events led by students and/or student societies are encouraged. If you
haveanideaorwanttorunaneventforILW2015,pleasegetintouchonilw@ed.ac.uk.

24

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

UPDATING PERSONAL DETAILS

StudentshavebeengivenfunctionalitytomaintaintheirownpersonaldetailsintheirMyEdStudent
PersonalDetailschannel.Youcanmaintain:

Personalemailaddressandmobilephonenumber
Preferredfirstname(thenameyouliketobeknownas)
Currentandfuturehomeandsemesteraddresses
DetailsofwhotheUniversityshouldcontactintheeventofanemergency

Theuserguideforstudentselfserviceisavailableat:
http://www.euclid.ed.ac.uk/student/Student_Self_Service.htm

EMAIL LISTS AND CONTACT

When you enrol at the University you will get an email account, this is the default email contact
address that we will use to get in touch with you. If you would prefer to continue using another
email address, it is your responsibility to reroute any emails from the University account to your
personalone.ItisUniversitypolicythatanyemailsenttoastudentsuniversityemailaddressisseen
asadequatecontact.

Your university email address will also be added to the PPLS Postgraduate mailing list ppls
postgrad@lists.ed.ac.uk. This will be used to inform you of any events happening in the School,
which may be of interest to you. You may also use this list to communicate with all other
postgraduates within the School (please limit this to academic use). If you have any queries
regardingthelist,pleasecontactthePostgraduateOffice.PleasenotethatthePostgraduateOffice
are the administrators for all postgraduate mailing lists and therefore have access to all messages
sent.

Inanattempttominimisespamonthemailinglists,wehaverestrictedaccesstoemailscomingfrom
the@ed.ac.ukdomainemailsfromexternalaccountsbouncetotheadministratorforapproval/
deletion.Ifyouareusingthemailinglistspleasedosousingyouruniversityaccountoritwillnot
beapproved.

MAIL / POST

YoucanusethePGOfficeaddressforreceivingpostthatisrelevanttoyourstudiesonly,thoughitis
preferredthatyoudouseyourtermaddress.Ifanymailisreceivedforyou,thePGOwillemailyou
tocollectit.

Please note that mail is kept for 3 months only, after the date of the email sent to you. You can
arrangeforafriendtocollectthemailforyoubutthismustberequestedinwritingtothePGOffice.

TIMETABLES
Studentsshouldnotethatallcoursedays,timesandvenuesaresubjecttochangeandmustcheck
their personalised timetables via MyEd. Specific course timetabling information can be viewed on
eachcourseentrywithinDRPS.

Studentsaresolelyresponsibleforensuringthattheircoursechoicesdonotclashandthattheyare
fully aware of when and where each course will take place. Failure to complete a course through
nonattendanceornoncompletionoftheassessmentwillresultinafailingmarkbeingachieved.
25

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

USEFUL WEBSITES
PPLS Postgraduate pages check this website regularly for news updates and access to the
relevantformshttp://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/index.php

Open Access Computing Labs full list of computing labs open to all students
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/informationservices/services/computing/desktop
personal/openaccess

CHSS Postgraduate pages http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/humanitiessoc

sci/postgraduate

CampusMapshttp://www.ed.ac.uk/maps/

StudentAdministrationhttp://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/studentadministration
TheAdvicePlacehttp://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/adviceplace/

StudentCounsellingServiceshttp://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/studentcounselling

EdinburghUniversityStudentsAssociationhttp://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/

Institute for Academic Development: Learning Resources http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools

departments/instituteacademicdevelopment/postgraduate

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives a general right of access to all types of
recorded information held by Scottish public authorities except where an exemption legitimately
applies. Section 23 of the Act requires Scottish public authorities, of which the University of
Edinburgh is one, to adopt, maintain, publish and review from time to time a publication scheme.
The scheme must set out the sorts of information (or "information classes") that the University
intends to publish as a matter of routine, how the information will be made available, and any
chargesthatwillbemadefortheinformation.

TheUniversityofEdinburghiscommittedtoopennessandtransparency.TheUniversityCourtand
theUniversitysseniormanagementfullysupporttheaimsandobjectivesoffreedomofinformation
and are committed to implementing the legislation. The publication scheme is intended to assist
staff, students, prospective students and members of the general public to help them find
themselves,asfaraspossible,theinformationthattheyareinterestedin.TheUniversityhopesthat
thepublicationschemewillbecomeoneoftheprincipalmethodsofaccessinginformationaboutthe
University.

DISSERTATION SUBMISSION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WordCount
810,000words
Bibliography,appendices,abstract(ifyouhaveone),acknowledgementspage(ifyouhaveone),
tableofcontentsandtitlepagearenotincludedintheoverallwordcount
Main text of the dissertation, footnotes, section headings, captions, figures / words in tables /
diagramsareincludedintheoverallwordcount

26

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

Appendices
Ifappendicesareused,theyshouldnotbeexcessive,andshouldnotbeessentialreading.

Whattosubmit
2hardcopiesbothboundwithacetatecoverandcardboardback,submittedtothePGOffice
Printingshouldbedoneononesideonly
StudentsshouldnotethatthedissertationdeadlineisapplicableacrosstheUniversitysoshould
leaveenoughtimeforbindingtotakeplace
As per all coursework submission, only your examination number must be on dissertation to
maintainanonymity
Each page must be numbered but you do not need to put your examination number on every
page
Bindingmustbecompletedbeforesubmissionisrecorded
SubmitdirectlytothePostgraduateOffice

Electronicsubmission
Emailtopplspg@ed.ac.uk;thePGOfficewillthenuploadittotheERA
PreferablytheelectronicsubmissionshouldbeinPDF

Coversheets
Available online and from the PG Office. It should not be bound with your dissertation but
handedintothePGOfficeloose

Wheretogetitbound
PrintingServices,CentralCopyCentre,13InfirmaryStreet
Kings Buildings Copy Centre, Room 2300, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Kings Buildings,
Edinburgh,EH93JF
Variousothercopyshopsaroundthecitycentre

Earlysubmission&LatePenalties
Youcansubmitearly
Thedeadlinemustbemetunlessyouhaveanextension
Penaltiesaspertheguidanceprovidedaboveapply

Margins&Layout
Defaultmarginsonyourprocessorwilldofine,aslongasthereisappropriatespaceforreading
ontheinsideafterbinding

Penaltiesforbeingoverwordcount
Penaltiesaspertheguidanceprovidedaboveapply

Titles
Aslongasyoudiscussachangeoftitlefromyourresearchproposalwithyoursupervisor,itwill
beoktodoso

Abstracts
Notrequired

Size&ThicknessofPaper
BothhardcopiesmustbeinA4(min70gsm)

27

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

TypeorPrint
Consistent and clear type of laser print quality should be used for all copies for both text and
illustrations

CharacterSize&Styles/Fonts
Shouldbeatleast11points,withbodytext(textotherthanheadings)notexceeding12points
Wherethereisachoiceofcharacterstyleorfont,aseriffonte.g.TimesNewRomanorPalatino
shouldbeusedforthemaintextandasanseriffonte.g.HelveticaorArialforheadingsand
labellingdiagramsetc

WordSpacing&Division
Textshouldbesettoensureanevenspacingbetweenwordsforanyparticularline
Linespacingshouldbesetfor1.5

TitlePage
TitleofThesis
ExaminationNumber
NameofDegree
TheUniversityofEdinburgh
YearofPresentation

STUDENT REPRESENTATION
The School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences has a wellestablished system for
postgraduate representation, enabling students to raise general issues of concern about their
programme.

Representatives are usually selected at the beginning of each academic year, and their role is to
communicate the views of the students on programme to the academics responsible within the
School.

TheRoleoftheProgramme/SubjectAreaRepresentative
Eachtaughtprogrammewithineachsubjectareawillselectitsownstudentrepresentativeandeach
subjectareawillselectoneortwostudentstorepresenttheresearchstudents.TwoSchoolstudent
representativessitontheSchoolPostgraduateGroup(PGGroup)andareavailabletoraiseissuesat
PGGrouponthebehalfofsubjectarearepresentatives.Ifyouareunsurewhetherornottheissue
shouldberaised,pleasedonothesitatetocontactthePostgraduateOffice(PGO).

AnyissuesraisedatthePGGroupmeetingthatarerelevanttoyoursubjectareawillbefeddown
forinformationfromSchoolrepsanditisyourresponsibilitytorelaythesetoyourfellowstudents.

Responsibilities
MakeyourselfavailabletofellowstudentsandtheSchoolStudentRepresentativestoraiseissues
andreceivefeedback,includingpreexamboardmeetingswithExternalExaminers
Makeyourselfavailable,whereapplicable,tovisitingstudentstotheSchooltoprovideastudents
perspective of life in the University of Edinburgh and in particular, the School of Philosophy,
Psychology&LanguageSciences
Programme and Subject Area Representatives will be nominated by the first week of semester
one,furtherinformationwillbeavailablefromyourProgrammeDirectororPGAdvisor

28

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

College Postgraduate
Studies Committee
Rep

School Postgraduate
Group Rep
1 Taught Student
1 Research Student

Programme / Subject
Area Reps

Taught Masters
Students

Research Students

WhybeaProgramme/SubjectAreaRepresentative?

Sothatyoucanmakeapositivedifferencetothewayyourprogramme/subjectareaisrun
Todevelopyourinterpersonal,communicationand negotiationskillsandhavesomething new
andvaluabletoaddtoyourCV
Toensurethatstudentrepresentationcontinuestobetakenseriously

SubjectAreaSpecificRoles
Philosophy
Programme / Subject Area Representative(s) will be invited to attend subject area meetings to
representviewsofallPhilosophyPGstudents
Programme / Subject Area Representative(s) will be invited to attend StaffStudent PG
CommitteetorepresentviewsofallPhilosophyPGstudents
Both Programme / Subject Area and PhD representative(s) to report to the School PG
representativestoensureissuesareraisedattheSchoolPGGroup

Psychology
Representative(s) will be invited to attend the StaffStudent Liaison Committees to represent
viewsofallPsychologyPGstudents
Programme / Subject Area representative(s) to report to the PhD representative(s) to ensure
issuesareraisedatthePsychologyTeachingCommittee
PhDrepresentative(s)willbeinvitedtoattendthePsychologyTeachingCommitteestorepresent
theviewsofallPsychologypostgraduates
Both Programme / Subject Area and PhD representative(s) to report to the School PG
representativestoensureissuesareraisedattheSchoolPGGroup

Linguistics&EnglishLanguage
PhDrepresentative(s)willbeinvitedtoattendthesubjectareameetingstorepresentviewsofall
LELPGstudents
Both Programme / Subject Area and PhD representative(s) to report to the School PG
representativestoensureissuesareraisedattheSchoolPGGroup

29

MSc Cog
gnition in Scien
nce & Society 2014/15

TheRoleeoftheScho
oolRepresen
ntative
TheSchoolPostgrad
duateGroupdealswithaallpolicyissuesforpostgraduatestuudentsinthe
eSchool.
TheProgrammeDirectorsandP
PostgraduateeAdvisorsin
neachsubje
ectareaact asaliaison between
subject areastaffan
ndthePostggraduateSchhool.TheGrroupalsoapprovesallneewprogram
mmesand
courses..

One tau
ught and on
ne research student reppresentative is selected on a rotatiion basis within the
School. For the accademic yea
ar of 2014//15 a Progrramme Representative from a Ph
hilosophy
(MSc/Dip/CertMind
d,Language &EmbodieddCognition) taughtmastersprogram
mmeanda research
student fromLinguisstics&EnglishLanguageewillbechosen.Therole
eoftheSchooolRepresen
ntativeis
tocomm
municatetheeviewsofth
hestudents onprogrammetotheacademicsreesponsiblew
withinthe
School.TThismightin
ncludegenerralfeedback ontheproggrammeiftheyareataugghtstudent,andalso
more sp
pecific conceerns, for example difficuulties in acce
essing resourrces, commeents on the teaching
methods/supervisio
on.

Students are selected to sit on

n the PG Grroup, made up of the School
S
PG D
Director, Pro
ogramme
DirectorrsandPGAd
dvisors.The PGGroupis theplaceto
oraiseconce
ernsanddeaalwithissuesthatgo
beyondaspecificsubjectarea.

As a sch
hool represeentative you have a pos itive role
toplay,byenablingcommunicattionandconnstructive
change.

YourroleasaSchoo
olStudentRepresentativveonthe
PG Gro
oup is to ensure thatt your felloow MSc
Program
mme Reprresentatives and Research
Represeentativesareeawareofw
whoyouare andhow
you can be contacteed. The Scho
ool PGO wil l provide
you witth contact details of all program
mme and
research
h representtatives when they havve been
selected
d(earlySemeester1).

Each taught prograamme within

n each subjject area
will seleect its own student
s
reprresentative aand each
subject areawillselectoneortw
wostudentsstorepresen
nttheresearrchstudentss.Thesestud
dentswill
be inforrmed to let you know of any issuees raised att subject are
ea level thaat is relevan
nt to the
Postgrad
duate Group
p. If you are
e unsure wh ether or not the issue should be raaised, please
e do not
hesitateetocontacttthePGO.

eeting that you

y feel thee students sh
hould be
If any isssues are raised at the Postgraduatte Group me
awareo
of;youshould
dinformtheprogrammee/researchrrepstofeed
dtheinform
mationdown.

Responssibilities
Makeeyourselfavvailabletoprrogramme/ researchrep
presentativesstoreceiveffeedback
RaiseeissueswiththeSchoolP
PostgraduateeStudiesCommittee
Proviidefeedbackktotheproggramme/reesearchreprresentatives onwhatyouuaredoing andhow
theSSchoolhasreesponded
Makeeyourselfavvailable,whe
ereapplicablee,tovisitingstudentstotheSchoolttoprovideastudents
persp
pective of life in the Un
niversity of Edinburgh and
a in particcular, the Scchool of Philosophy,
Psych
hology&Lan
nguageScien
nces
Makeeyourselfavvailabletoth
heCollegeo fHumanities&SocialScciencesrepreesentativeto
oreceive
feedb
backandraisseissueswitththeColleggePostgraduateStudiesC
Committee

30

MSc Cognition in Science & Society 2014/15

WhybeaSchoolRepresentative?

SothatyoucanmakeapositivedifferencetothewaythePostgraduateSchoolisrun
Todevelopyourinterpersonal,communicationand negotiationskillsandhavesomething new
andvaluabletoaddtoyourCV
Toensurethatstudentrepresentationcontinuestobetakenseriously

TheRoleoftheCollegeRepresentative
RepresentativesfortheCollegePostgraduateStudiesCommittee(CPGSC)areselectedonarotation
basis.Forthe2014/2015academicsessionarepresentativeoutwithPPLSwillbeselected.

Theroleofthecollegerepresentativeistocommunicatetheviewsofthestudentstotheacademics
responsible within the College. This might include general feedback on the programmes and also
more specific concerns, for example difficulties in accessing resources, comments on the teaching
methods/supervision.

TheremitoftheCollegePostgraduateStudiesCommitteeis:
ToberesponsibleforthegovernanceofpostgraduateactivitiesintheCollege
Toadviseonmanagementobjectivesastheyrelatetopostgraduateactivity
Totakeaproactiveapproachtothedevelopmentandimplementationofpostgraduatestrategy
andactivity,includingtheharmonisationofoperationsatSchoollevel
Todeterminecurriculaforpostgraduatedegrees,diplomasandcertificates
Toapprovepostgraduatecurriculumchanges
Tomonitortheeffectivenessofpostgraduateteachingandsupervision
ToidentifyandpromotegoodpracticeinlearningandteachingintheCollege
To consider and respond to any appropriate documentation or issues requested by University
committeessuchasAcademicPolicyCommitteeorSenatusPostgraduateCommittee
Toapprovenominationsofexternalexaminersforpostgraduateexaminations
ToreceivereportsfromtheCollegeInternationalCommittee
ToreporttotheSenatusPostgraduateStudiesCommittee

TheCollegerepresentativehasapositiveroletoplay,byenablingcommunicationandconstructive
change.

TheCollegeRepresentativeontheCollegePostgraduateStudiesCommitteeshouldensurethattheir
fellowPostgraduateRepresentativesacrosstheCollegeareawareofwhotheyareandhowtheycan
becontacted.TheCollegePostgraduateOfficecanprovideyouwithcontactdetailsofallprogramme
andresearchrepresentativeswhentheyhavebeenselected(earlySemester1).

Responsibilities
Beavailabletoprogramme/researchrepresentativestoreceivefeedback
RaiseissueswiththeCollegePostgraduateStudiesCommittee
Providefeedbacktotheprogramme/researchrepresentativesonissuesthathavebeenraised
Be available, where applicable, to visiting students to the School to provide a students
perspective of life in the University of Edinburgh and in particular, the School of Philosophy,
Psychology&LanguageSciences

WhybeaCollegeRepresentative?

To make a positive difference to the way taught postgraduate programmes are run in the
CollegeofHumanities&SocialSciences
To develop interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills and have something new and
valuabletoaddtoyourCV
Toensurethatstudentrepresentationcontinuestobetakenseriously

31