Monday 20 July saw the start of the new MA and PhD blended programmes on Philosophy of Natural and Cognitive Sciences at the PHilosophy Institute, Austral University. After a long selection process in which the Institute received more than 60 applications from all over Latin America, 25 new students have been incorporated to the postgraduate programmes at Austral. Philosophers, educators, theologians, psychologists and physicists will study over the next two years interdisciplinary themes pertaining to the intersection of philosophy, theology, and the natural and cognitive sciences, seeking to design their doctoral and masters theses.

The MA and PhD in Philosophy of Natural and Cognitive Sciences at Austral University offer a solid interdisciplinary foundation to tackle with the utmost academic rigour the fundaments of the natural and cognitive sciences. These programmes, which have the distinctive feature of offering personalised academic tutoring, are blended, including online courses and four intensive on Campus weeks at Austral University. The curricula are divided into three cycles: 1) A foundation cycle that introduces the essential contents for interdisciplinary dialogue between the natural and cognitive sciences, philosophy and theology; 2) a methodological cycle that promotes the development of skills necessary for academic research: academic writing, conference presentations, and the preparation of a dissertation plan; and 3) a specialisation cycle that offers a wide selection of elective seminars, conceived for students to delve deep in their own research topics.

Students and tutors met virtually on Friday 24 July to get to know each other and participate in a social gathering via Zoom. Students come from across Spanish-speaking Latin America, including Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.