Master in IT and Cognition

Master in IT and Cognition is one of 13 English-taught Science programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 7 institutions. 13 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 2,400 to EUR 17,300; this programme lists EUR 6,700 a year. 11 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

The MSc in IT and Cognition at the University of Copenhagen is a two-year, English-taught master's for a small group of students. It sits between computer science and the study of how people see, read and understand language. You learn to build systems that handle human language and images, and you learn why those systems work the way they do.

What you study

The programme mixes cognitive and technical courses, with weight on statistical modelling and natural language processing. In the first year you take Computational Cognitive Science 1 and 2, Language Processing 1 and 2, Scientific Programming, Vision and Image Processing, Introduction to Data Science and a specialisation course. The third semester is where you go deeper: Computational Cognitive Science 3 plus restricted electives, and you can pick specialisation courses in Language Processing, Computational Cognitive Science, Data Science, or Vision and Image Processing. You can also take courses in Programming Languages and Systems, Software Development, Digital Interactive Entertainment, Computer Science Innovation, or Algorithms and Data Structures. There is room for a free topic or an academic internship. The fourth semester is the 30 ECTS master's thesis.

How the programme is organised

Teaching comes in several formats: class instruction, lectures, supervision, project and group work, and so-called shared tasks. The programme is small, and staff offer individual interviews and supervision, guest lectures, supervision of voluntary research projects and student workshops. Guest lectures have covered language acquisition, authorship attribution, epistemic logic, learning mathematics, social media processing and visual attention, with speakers from research and industry. In the third semester you can take courses at other Danish universities or abroad; students have spent a semester at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Edinburgh. The programme is research-based, and lecturers work in cognitive and computational modelling at the Centre for Language Technology and the Department of Computer Science.

Who it suits

This is for you if you are curious about memory, attention, visual recognition or language, want to keep improving your IT skills, and like working across disciplines. The programme is exclusive and aimed at focused students who want to excel in developing cognitive technologies. It helps if you are comfortable with both technical coursework and the human side of language and vision.

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal. The deadline is 1 March for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, and 15 January for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. You need a qualifying bachelor's degree. Several degrees automatically meet the academic requirements, including any bachelor's in computer science from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, Aalborg University or the Technical University of Denmark, and Software Development or Data Science from the IT University of Copenhagen. Humanities bachelor's degrees from those universities also qualify if they include at least 15 ECTS in Language Technology, Computer Science, Cognitive Science or Linguistics. Other Danish or international degrees are assessed individually, and you need at least 15 ECTS in those disciplines. English B is required. You upload a transcript, course descriptions, a description of academic relevance, proof of language proficiency, a CV and a copy of your passport or national ID. If your degree is not on the automatic list, you also submit a self-assessment form. You must list 3 to 6 courses you find relevant. If qualified applicants exceed the 40 places, priority goes to the Letter of Academic Relevance (30%), an evaluation of education and vocational experience (40%), and grades in relevant bachelor's courses (30%). Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee set by the institution. The programme starts on 1 September 2027.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.