Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science

Cognitive science explores the nature of cognitive processes such as perception, reasoning, memory, attention, language, decision making, emotion, motor control, and problem solving. The goal of cognitive science, stated simply, is to understand how minds work, in humans, animals, and machines. Cognitive science emerged in the latter part of the 20th century at the intersection of computer science, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, and is an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor, drawing on tools and ideas from the social sciences, the physical and biological sciences, and the humanities. Topics of research include (but are not limited to) cognitive development, cognitive processing, judgment and decision making, language and communication, the neurological bases of cognition, perception, and memory, philosophy of mind, and artificial intelligence. A defining feature of cognitive science is its emphasis on integration among fields, for a truly interdisciplinary study of the mind. Students will be trained in formal methods of analysis and modeling that are common in majors in the physical and biological sciences, but often absent from majors in the humanities and social sciences, at the same time, students will also be trained in the advanced reasoning skills that define humanistic inquiry, but are often absent from more technical or applied maj

Students majoring in Cognitive Science will receive the degree of bachelor of arts. To qualify for the BA, students must minimally satisfy the general education requirements and take an additional 15 required courses for the major, which fall into four categories: Introductory Courses, which engage students with the core questions, intellectual history, and analytical methods that unify cognitive scientific research (200 units); Formal Foundations Courses, which give students the analytical tools to explore different strands of contemporary cognitive scientific research (200 units); Core Discipline Courses, which provide breadth and depth in the five core disciplines (900 units); and Extra-Disciplinary Courses, which engage students with cognitive scientific work in areas beyond the core disciplines (200 units). These courses and their pedagogical roles in the major are described in more detail below. An official transcript detailing your coursework and grades over your entire high school career should be sent from your high school. In reading your application, your transcript will serve as a roadmap of your academic path in high school. We will be looking at your academic record across all four years of high school, primarily to see that you have challenged yourself productively in your course selection and done well in those courses. TOFEL IBT – 60 TOFEL PBT - 160 IELTS – 6