Master in Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication

The Master in “Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication”, jointly offered by the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and the Faculty of Psychology of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University of Milan (UNISR), presents a Master degree programme in cognitive psychology with interdisciplinary training in psychology, neuroscience, health communication, organizational behaviour and management. The programme focuses on the intersection between the theoretical bases of cognitive psychology and of communication applied to the context of health. Cognitive psychology is the study of all mental processes which drive simple or more complex behaviours, either normal or pathological. These include, among the many, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication, implicit and explicit memory, perception, attention, consciousness, problem-solving, decision making, gratification, etc. Students who are admitted into the programme will receive an advanced theoretical background in neuroscience and modern psychology, will learn advanced research methods in psychology and health communication including a large variety of and statistical techniques and tools that can be used for the analysis of human behaviour in research labs, clinical departments, health frameworks and companies. A central goal of this programme is to familiarize students with the latest research and practice in these areas of research and help them translate and apply this knowledge in many different working environments including health psychology, communication, management, and marketing.

Awarded degree

After successful completion of their studies, students will obtain the "Master of Science in Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication" from Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR). The Degree is fully recognized as a Master Degree in Psychology both in Italy and in Switzerland and grants full access to any regular career path in Psychology in both countries. 

In Italy, the Master Degree grants access to the Psychological Professional Association Registry (Ordine degli Psicologi), after having successfully passed the mandatory internship and the exam to become a licensed psychologist. The Master Programme has also been included in the Europsy circuit (Quality certification based on European standards of academic and professional training developed by EFPA - European Federation of Psychologists' Associations), therefore the Master Degree is fully recognized in all European Countries.

In Switzerland, the Master has been formally recognized by the Commission for the Study of Psychology at Swiss Universities (KPSYCH) and the Ticino Cantonal regulations. Therefore, the Master Degree grants access to the internship for clinical psychologists in the health sector and to the schools of psychotherapy.