Cognitive Science Concentration (CGSC)

Director: Professor Kathleen M. Galotti

Cognitive Science examines different approaches to questions concerning the nature of mind, the representation of knowledge, the acquisition, comprehension, and production of language, the development of learning and intelligence, the use of information to draw inferences and make decisions, and the assessment of "goodness of fit" between purportedly similar systems (e.g., the computer and the mind).

Exploration of some or all of these questions has been and is being undertaken in such disciplines as cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, intelligence, neuroscience, social cognition and others. The concentration in Cognitive Science therefore represents a formal means of bringing together students and faculty in different disciplines who share common interests. We seek to enrich the view provided by any one discipline through an exploration or the methodologies of others.

The concentration is designed for students majoring in psychology, philosophy, computer science, or linguistics (as a special major), although all students are welcome.

Requirements for the Concentration:

To encourage breadth within the concentration, normally no more than four courses taken from a single department may be counted toward the minimum eight required.

Introduction: (6 credits [see notes below]*)

• CGSC 130 Rationality, Intuition, and the Nature of Mind

Please note the following alternative entry points: 

*PHIL/BIOL dyad students will have that count in place of CGSC 130.
*PHIL/BIOL/PSYC triad students will have that count in place of CGSC 130 and in place of one of the elective courses.

Core Courses: (20 credits: three 6-credit courses and a lab course)

• CGSC/PSYC 232 and 233 Cognitive Processes and Laboratory in Cog Proc

Plus TWO of the following: 

• CS 111 Introduction to Computer Science
• LING 115 Introduction to Theory of Syntax
• PHIL 210 Logic

Electives: (24 credits: four six-credit courses) from a list of relevant courses in Biology, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Educational Studies, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology/Anthropology. At least one must be a 300-level course.

To ensure sufficient interdisciplinarity, NO MORE THAN 4 COURSES MAY BE TAKEN FROM ANY ONE DEPARTMENT OR PROGRAM. (For the purposes of counting, the Triad and the Dyad will count as as part of the CGSC program.)

• BIOL 365 Topics in Neuroscience
• BIOL 368 Developmental Neurobiology (Not offered in 2010-11)
• BIOL 373 Behavioral Endocrinology (Not offered in 2010-11)
• BIOL 379 Behavioral Genetics (Not offered in 2010-11)
• BIOL 386 Neurobiology
• CGSC 236 Thinking, Reasoning, and Decision-Making (Not offered in 2010-11)
• CGSC 380 Cognitive Development During the Preschool Years
• CGSC 385 Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood (not offered 2010-11)
• CGSC 386 Adolescent Cognition (Not offered in 2010-11)
• CS 254 Automata and Computability
• CS 321 Artificial Intelligence (Not offered in 2010-11)
• CS 322 Natural Language Processing
• ECON 266 Experimental Economics
• ECON 267 Behavioral Economics
• EDUC 234 Educational Psychology
• LING 216 Morpho-Syntax
• LING 217 Phonetics and Phonology
• LING 265 Language and Brain (Not offered in 2010-11)
• LING 275 First Language Acquisition
• LING 315 Topics in Syntax
• LING 317 Topics in Phonology
• LING 325 Syntax of an Unfamiliar Language (Not offered in 2010-11)
• LING 340 Topics in Semantics
• MUSC 227 Introduction to the Perception and Cognition of Music (Not offered in 2010-11)
• PHIL 100 Evolution and Mind
• PHIL 110 Mind, Matter, Consciousness
• PHIL 212 Epistemology
• PHIL 220 Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 253 Philosophy of Cognitive Studies (Not offered in 2010-11)
• PSYC 216 Behavioral Neuroscience
• PSYC 220 Sensation and Perception (Not offered in 2010-11)
• PSYC 234 Psychology of Language
• PSYC 250 Developmental Psychology
• PSYC 258 Social Cognition
• PSYC 373 Face Recognition
• PSYC 374 Eyewitness Testimony in Children: Reconstructive Memory (Not offered in 2010-11)
• PSYC 375 Language and Deception (Not offered in 2010-11)
• SOAN 260 Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism
• SOAN 274 Language, Culture and Society

TOTAL: 50 credits