Posted on October 28, 2024.
To go into effect in Spring of 2025 for students graduating during or after the Spring of 2026.
Link to the Dean of the College’s page for Cognitive Science in the Course Bulletin. (Please note that as of this post, these requirements are not entirely correct. What is listed below is more accurate. Changes will come to the DoC page, but not until March 2025).
Concentration Advisor to speak with: Prof. William Warren
Cognitive Science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind. Research in Cognitive Science uses behavioral experimentation, computational modeling, and brain imaging to study mental representations and processes. The study of Cognitive Science involves integrating certain areas of focus within Psychology with methods and topics from other disciplines, such as Computer Science, Neuroscience, Linguistics, Philosophy, Anthropology, and Sociology. The goal of the Cognitive Science concentration is to provide students with the foundational background in those areas of psychological science that are fundamental to the field, as well as exposure to the other disciplines that involve the study of the mind. Students can choose to focus in behavioral experimentation or computational modeling with their choice of core classes, and can focus on a particular avenue of study with their electives. Students are recommended to complete their Classes in Analysis and have taken at least one foundation and/or one elective by the end of Semester 5.
The major changes to the requirements of the cognitive science concentrations are as follows:
1) CPSY0010 is no longer a require class. It is part of the foundation courses. We do encourage all first and second-year students to take CPSY0010, especially if they have not had the AP or IB Psychology course. We also encourage all students to take it as it is a good course and one of the few WRIT courses among the foundations.
2) The foundation courses in cognitive science have been changed to reflect that students in cognitive science might have backgrounds in many different fields within the psychological sciences. For example, introductory courses in development and social psychology are now included among the foundational courses. Cognitive development and certain fields within social psychology (particularly those represented in CPSY 0700) are now widely represented in cognitive science, so students can choose to take one or the other, but not both. If students are particularly interested in both of these fields, we recommend that they fulfill the requirements for the psychology concentration instead.
As with the new cognitive neuroscience requirements, the new courses that were chosen and listed below as part of the foundation were also specifically chosen for the cognitive science concentration and substitutions cannot be made (e.g., CPSY 0620 or EDUC 0800 are not acceptable in lieu of CPSY 0610)
3) Instead of specifically requiring Introduction to Linguistics and Introduction to Neuroscience, these courses are among a set of courses from other departments that can be taken to satisfy foundational breadth outside of the department. Introductory courses in Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy are now also available to students.
4) The required analysis courses have changed, and reflect the fact that cognitive science can involve either behavioral or computational methodologies. We encourage all students to take at least two of these analysis courses - one to satisfy the analysis requirement and the other as the capstone requirement (but please note that there are other ways to satisfy the capstone requirement).
5) The Sc.B. requirement is now more inclusive to courses from other departments as well as requires advanced coursework in CPSY, but no longer requires an additional laboratory class in the department. The coursework for the Sc.B. is also more rigorous.
AB Requirements for Cognitive Science
Classes in Analysis (2). These courses provide the core knowledge of (a) experimental design and statistical analysis necessary to interpret research findings and think critically about the relation between theories and evidence or (b) probabilistic thinking and computational analysis to analyze big data sets or computational models.
CPSY 0900 (Statistical Thinking) and
CPSY 1900/1901 (Research Methods) or a Laboratory Course in Computation (CPSY 1291 or 1492)
A lot of students ask whether other statistics courses can be taken instead of CPSY 0900. Here's my short answer - we really want you to take 900, and not another course. 900 prepares you for research and analysis in the department; other courses do not. HOWEVER, we recognize that some courses teach the same material (although many do not or do not with the same depth). Courses that do teach this material at an appropriate (or even at a deeper) level can be used in lieu of 900. Talk with your concentration advisor about such courses particularly if there is a legitimate reason why you cannot take 900.
Foundational Courses. The goal of the foundation courses is to provide students with a background in the relevant areas of psychological science as well as exposure to computational training and foundational knowledge in at least two disciplines related to the study of the mind.
Foundations in Psychology Related to Cognitive Science (3). The goal of the foundational courses in the psychological sciences is to provide students with the background in areas of psychology relevant to the study of the mind. This includes cognition, perception, psycholinguistics, and cognitive neuroscience as well as the possibility to study developmental cognitive science (by taking CPSY 0610, Cognitive Development) or social cognitive science (by taking CPSY 0700, Social Psychology; note however, that we do not accept both CPSY 0610 and CPSY 0700 for the Cognitive Science concentration; students interested in both are recommended to concentrate in Psychology). No student in cognitive science is expected to know all of these topics; rather, the expectation is that students have exposure to a subset of these fields.
Take 3 courses among the following:
CPSY 0010 (Mind, Brain, and Behavior)
CPSY 0200 (Human Cognition) or CPSY 0220 (Making Decisions) - Can’t take both
CPSY 0400 (Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience) or CPSY 0450 (Brain Damage and the Mind) - Can’t take both
CPSY 0500 (Perception and Mind) or CPSY 0550 (Science of Consciousness) - Can’t take both
CPSY 0610 (Children’s Thinking) or CPSY 0700 (Social Psychology) - Can’t take both.
CPSY 0800 (Language and Mind)
Given the emphasis that some of these courses place on cognitive neuropsychology, one further restriction to these requirements is that students cannot specifically take CLPS0010, CLPS0200, and CLPS0450 to satisfy this foundation requirement. All other combinations are acceptable.
2. Foundation outside of CLPS (1). The goal of these foundation courses outside of the CLPS department is to provide students with exposure to fields related to the study of the mind. These courses, however, do not use psychological methods, and thus contribute to a more interdisciplinary approach to the study of the mind
Take 1 course among the following.
LING0110 (Introduction to Linguistics)
NEUR0010 (Foundations of Neuroscience)
SOC0010 (Introduction to Sociology)
One from a set of approved PHIL Courses (i.e., Any course on this page in the category of Ethics/Aesthetics, Political and Social Philosophy, Logic, Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind and Language)
One from a set of approved ANTH Courses (i.e., ANTH0100, ANTH0310, or ANTH0800, or any 1000-level course from the Socio-Cultural, Linguistic, or Biological Anthropology tracks)
3. Foundation in Computation (1). Because the study of cognitive science has a fundamental relation with computational modeling and understanding the computational model of the mind, it is critical that all cognitive science students be familiar with computation and programming. The goal of this requirement is to provide students with this knowledge base.
Take 1 course among the following
CPSY 0950
Or any Introductory CSCI Course with a Programming Component (e.g., CSCI0111, CSCI150, CSCI170, CSCI190, or any CSCI Course with a higher number than 0190. CSCI Courses with number below 0111 do not satisfy this requirement)
Or any of the following: CPSY 1291, CPSY 1492, or CPSY 1950
Electives (4). The goal of the elective requirement is to construct a curriculum that provides a deeper understanding of Cognitive Science. Students should take four classes in CPSY, PHIL, NEUR, SOC, ANTH, LING, or CSCI with at least one of these classes coming from the CLPS Department at the 1000-level and at least two others at the 1000-level. Permission of concentration advisor required to approve electives. No more than two 1970/1980 credits can count towards electives (or requirements to the concentration in general).
Capstone (1): The purpose of the capstone in Cognitive Science is to take the material students are exposed to in their foundational courses and integrate them with the methodological savvy acquired from the analysis courses. Students should engage in this capstone experience in one of the following ways:
A) By participating in the honors program in the senior year, which involves conducting independent research supervised by a faculty member of the Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences or by an approved trainer from another department at Brown University. Please contact the honors advisor for a list of approved trainers or for faculty from other departments to apply for approved trainer status.
B) By successfully completing one-semester of CPSY 1970 (Directed Readings) or CPSY 1980 (Directed Research) during the senior year under the supervision of a member of the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences department or an approved trainer from another department at Brown University.
C) By the successful completion of a laboratory course in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Department in the senior year. This course must be chosen in consultation with the student’s concentration advisor. Laboratory courses integrate material taught in the department with research methodology to enable students to produce cutting-edge novel research. All laboratory-style courses are at the 1000-level and have a 9 in the tenth position (e.g., 1_9_) and are listed on the department website. Please note that Research Methods (CPSY 1900/1901) cannot be used to fulfill this requirement. Laboratory courses in other departments also cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
D) By the successful completion of a seminar-style course in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Department relevant to the student’s foundational and elective focus of study. This course must be taken in the senior year. Such a course should be selected in consultation with the student’s concentration advisor. Seminar-style courses are advanced classes that build on material students are exposed to in their foundational and methods classes. Examples include, but are not limited to, “topics” classes taught in the Cognitive and Psychological Sciences department, which are at the 1000-level, end in the numbers ‘80’ and a letter (e.g., 1_80X). Many other seminar-style classes at the 1000 level will also be appropriate. This course must be a class taught in the CPSY department.
ScB Requirements in Cognitive Science
To satisfy an ScB. in the Cognitive Science concentration, one must satisfy all the AB requirements as well as take five (5) additional classes in STEM fields related to the concentration. The goal of this requirement is to provide students with a broader background in both the study of psychology and STEM fields in general. At least two (2) of those five classes must be in the CPSY Department. These two courses must be at the 1000-level. We strongly recommend that one of these courses be an advanced laboratory course (Described above).
The other three classes can be from the following departments: APMA, BIOL, CSCI, CHEM, CPSY, MATH, NEUR, or PHYS. Courses from other STEM fields might be eligible with permission of the concentration advisor, but such courses must be related to a student’s other courses, such as their electives. Courses from CPSY must be at the 1000-level to be considered for the Sc.B. All courses must also be acceptable for the requirements of a concentration administered by that department. For example, if a PHYS course is used to satisfy one of these requirements, it must be acceptable for a concentration in the PHYS department.