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SOCIAL MINDS

Supplementary subject 

About the programme
Language: English  | Place of study: Aarhus  |  Commencement: August / september

Introduction

Human beings have unique social abilities. We cooperate to reach common goals, adjust our decisions to those of other people, coordinate what we do, and flexibly communicate through various media. How do we do this? What is it that allows us to function as individuals within larger social contexts? What are our interactions shaped by? And what are the consequences of cultural and technological changes to our social environment? In the supplementary subject in Social Minds, you learn about how human minds are shaped by and shape the social world around them.

How will you learn about Social Minds?

In four courses, you will learn about different aspects of Social Minds. The courses focus on (1) how we understand others’ minds and emotions, (2) what cognitive processes support our interactions with others, (3) how different communication media shape our interactions and (4) how culture and human cognition interact. You will approach these questions from various angles and using various methods - from theoretical analyses to empirical studies, from investigating interactions of just two people to whole societies, and from brain processes to technological advancements. And as the best way to learn is to experience, the program on Social Minds will connect you with students of different backgrounds than your own to work together on shared projects. In multiple group-based projects, you work on concrete problems so you not only gain theoretical knowledge but get the chance to directly apply it when working together with others.

What questions does Social Minds try to answer?

  • How is human thought and emotion shaped by other people?
  • How do different cognitive processes enable people to perform tasks together?
  • How do social media influence social interactions?
  • How do culture and human cognition interact?

Admission requirements

In order to be admitted to a supplementary subject, you have to be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree programme at a Danish University. Futhermore, the academic regulations of the bachelor’s degree programme have to allow for a combination with supplementary subject. 

Level requirements

English B

History B or History of Ideas B or Comtemporary History B or Social Science B

If you do not meet the level requirements, you can supplement subject levels.

Restricted admission

40 seats. The number of seats is indicative and can be adjusted continuously by the university.

In evaluating qualified applicants, the admissions committee assesses each applicant on the basis of the average mark (i.e. GPA) obtained in the core subject in the Bachelor’s degree by 15 April. Propaedeutic courses are not included in the GPA.

All Bachelor’s supplementary subjects require a sufficient number of participants. Therefore, we kindly urge you to make up to four applications to make sure you are admitted to a Bachelor’s supplementary subject in case your highest priority is not offered. The same applies if your highest priority has restricted admission and not all qualified applicants are admitted. 

Non-permissible combinations of subjects

You cannot take a supplementary subject in the same field as your central subject. The general rule is that you may not choose a Bachelor’s supplementary subject with the same title as your central subject.

If you are supplementing a subject level in the Danish upper secondary school and do not finish the supplementary subject before August, you have to upload the documentation that you are registered for the supplementary subject to your application for admission no later than 1 August. Deadline for uploading documentation for passed supplementary subject is 5 September.

Academic Regulations

As a student it is important to know the regulations for the chosen supplementary subject: what is the content, how is it structured and what does it require from you.

You can find this information in the academic regulation for the bachelor’s supplementary subject:

Structure bachelor

Student Life

The academic life of students at Social Minds

The academic life of students at Social Minds is shaped by its cross-disciplinary nature: You will learn from experts within the departments of Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Philosophy and History of Ideas; Religion, Cognition and Culture; and the Interacting Minds Centre.

The social life of students at Social Minds

Your life as a student doesn’t end when you close your books. As a student at Social Minds you will spend much of your time in the Nobel Park along with students from programmes such as Cognitive Science, Linguistics and Philosophy.

Follow the academic activities at Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics.

Follow the student life at Aarhus University

- experienced, photographed and filmed by the students themselves.

With thousands of pictures #yourniversity gives insight into the everyday life as a student at AU; the parties, procrastination, exams and all the other ways you’ll spend your time at University.

 

The photos belong to the users, shared with #Yourniversity, #AarhusUni and course-specific AU-hashtags.

Career

The supplementary subject in Social Minds invites you to take a different perspective on your core academic competences. You will learn to (re-)interpret human behavior in light of our social nature and become sensitive to the various levels of social influence on human life. You will learn to identify areas of social influence, understand principles of communication, and analyze the role of different cultures. You will link recent developments in information technology to changes in human social life. You will gain practical skills in designing research on groups of people and learn about different measurement and analysis techniques. And you will train your own social skills by working together with other students from different backgrounds on practical projects.

The supplementary subject in Social Minds prepares you for professions within e.g. communication, human-technology interaction, NGOs, social media, design, consumer choice, intercultural mediation, and education.