A Closer Look at the Cognitive Science Curriculum

Gateway Courses

Courses that engage students in appreciating the nature and scope of cognitive science. These courses are intended as invitations for students to study the field, much more than opportunities for faculty to police student work.

Cog166: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Cog266: Brains, Minds, and Consciousness

Capstone Course

The course intended to accomplish the traditional capstone objectives (knowledge consolidation, transition to the next thing, and aspects of program assessment).

Cog468: Cognitive Science Capstone Course

Skills Courses

Courses that afford students to be somewhat useful in certain settings.

Csc212: Principles of Programming   |   Cog212: Programming and Problem Solving
Csc241: Data Types and Programming Methodology   |   Cog241: Programming and Knowledge Representation
Psy280: Analysis of Psychological Data
Psy290: Research Methods in Psychology

Enrichment Courses

Courses for improving or enhancing the quality/value of the program, particularly with respect to integrative interdisciplinarity. Most are required for both the BA and the BS. Others just for the BS. Some serve as electives, and as such as prime candidates for learning agreement courses.

Lin100: Introduction to Linguistics
Cog444: Cognitive Semiotics
Cog376: Cognitive Linguistics
Phl309: Language, Logic, and Thought
Phl471: Philosophy of Mind
Psy303: Biopsychology
Psy305: Cognition
Ant344: Cultural Anthropology
Cog316: Cognitive Musicology
Csc356: Formals Systems and Abstract Machines
Csc366: Cognitive Science   |   Cog366: Computational Models of Cognitive Processes

Symbolic AI Courses

AI courses that are consistent with the principles and practices of cognitive science. To be contrasted with AI associated with big data and deep learning. (The latter constitute a neo-behaviorist activity that is antithetical to cognitive science.)

Csc416: AI1: Knowledge reprsentation and search
Csc466: AI2: Topics in AI

Embodiment, Emergence, Enaction Courses

Courses that provide a needed balance to the cognitive science orientation which is associated with symbolic AI.

Cog411/Psy411: Neural Networks
Cog435/Psy435: Cognitive Systems

Psychology Depth Courses

Courses that add various dimensions of psychology to the mix. I just took a look at the official description of the BS degree in cognitive science, and I see that someone took the liberty of including all sorts of 4xx psychology courses in the list of those that can satisfy this requirement. (Really???) The few that the board originally approved were included:

Psy424: Social Cognition
Psy428: Cognitive Development
Psy463: Cognitive Neuroscience Seminar