Program Specific Requirements

Computer Science

Computer Science PhD students wishing to participate in the cognitive science concentration must receive approval from their advisor and DGS. The concentration requires students to take 4 courses in the cognitive science fields outside of their major PhD department. It also requires participation in a cognitive science research seminar (ICOS-710) and journal club course (ICOS-712). To accommodate these course requirements, the CS student can:

  • Replace one of three required doctoral seminars with ICOS-710.
  • Increase the number of external electives allowed to accommodate the 4 external cognitive science courses and the journal club course. In the extreme case, this would require the number of external electives to grow from 2 to 5. There are, however, several courses in the Linguistics department that are not considered external electives by the CS department (due to cross-listing), but that would count toward external courses for the cognitive science concentration. In practice, therefore, this exception would often increase the number of allowed external electives only by 1 or 2 courses.

Linguistics

Graduate students select a track (Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Theoretical Linguistics, or Computational Linguistics, or General) and may now select a second track in Cognitive Science, either at the time of admission into the Linguistics Ph.D. or after matriculating. 

Students in the Cognitive Science concentration will take five courses outside Linguistics from the list of CogSci courses.  In most cases, these courses will be in place of linguistics electives.  In some cases, however, in order to keep within the 54-credit limit, students will need to waive some Linguistics requirements.  Eligibility for waivers will depend on the student’s previous coursework, as determined by usual departmental procedures, including approvals from the advisor, the DGS, and the CogSci co-Directors.

The General track is the one with fewest stipulated requirements and therefore is the one combining most easily with a second concentration in Cognitive Science.  However, students from any of the five Linguistics concentrations may select, in addition, the new interdisciplinary concentration.

Students may use research methods courses from other cognitive sciences to fulfill the Linguistics research tools requirement (e.g. courses dealing with fMRI, computational modeling, or behavioral science methods).

The Teaching Practicum (currently required of all students with a service assistantship) will not be required for students funded by the Cognitive Science concentration.

Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN)

Students in the Cognitive Science concentration will be required to take the following courses and training activities during their first year:

  • Core Courses in Neuroscience (NSCI 501, NSCI 503)
  • Neuroscience Critical Readings (NSCI 507)
  • Neuroscience Recitation (NSCI 511 & 513) – optional for Cognitive Science students 
  • Neuroanatomy and Diseases of the Nervous System/Medical Neuroscience (NSCI 545)
  • Survival Skills and Ethics (NSCI 532)
  • Three laboratory rotations (1-2 will be in a cognitive science lab)
  • Journal club and seminar series

The following first-year requirements will be waived for students in the Cognitive Science concentration:

  • Neuroscience Survey (NSCI 505)
  • Neurobiology of Disease (NSCI 533, NSCI 534)

In the second year, IPN students take elective courses selected according to their areas of interest, to fill out a total of 40 credit hours of graduate coursework.  The 4-5 courses from other fields required for the CogSci concentration may count toward this requirement. Individualized selections of coursework from IPN courses and/or courses in other cognitive science fields will be reviewed and approved by the Cognitive Science concentration and the Chair of the IPN Curriculum Committee.

  • Statistics
  • Elective courses in the student’s areas of interest and specialization

Philosophy

Philosophy Ph.D. students may take up to five courses outside of Philosophy.  That suffices to accommodate the 4-5 non-Philosophy courses required for the CogSci concentration within the 45 credits normally required for the overall Ph.D.

If further courses are required for individual students, they will be kept to a minimum with the goal of staying within the usual 45-credit requirement for the Philosophy degree, if possible.

Any student accepted into the CogSci concentration and funded by the concentration will have the usual teaching requirement reduced.

Psychology: Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience

The Psychology Ph.D. program does not offer a general Ph.D. in Psychology. Rather, the program offers two tracks, one in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience and the other in Human Development and Public Policy. Students interested in adding a Concentration in Cognitive Science should apply to (or matriculate in) the track in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience.

Psychology: Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience requires 2 core courses in development (PSYC 501 and 502), a seminar in Cognition (PSYC 511), a seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYC 512), 2 courses in quantitative methods (PSYC 521 and PSYC 522), a course in ethics (PHAR 534 or equivalent), and a tutorial in teaching (PSYC 505); and also requires the two-semester core course in Neuroscience (NSCI 501 and 503, 6 credits each) with an associated Critical Readings course each semester (NCSI 507, 1 credit each). All of these courses are also required for students electing the Concentration in Cognitive Science.

Because this Ph.D. track requires both Psychology and Neuroscience courses as part of the Ph.D. program, neither Psychology nor Neuroscience courses may be used to fulfill the Cognitive Science concentration requirement that students must take 4 courses in 1-2 Cognitive Science disciplines outside of the Ph.D. program. Students electing the CogSci concentration should plan an interdisciplinary training program that includes cognitive science disciplines outside of those normally required in the Ph.D.

Psychology Ph.D. students ordinarily must fulfill 48/49 credits to receive the Ph.D. Beyond the required courses listed above, the remainder are elective and may include courses outside of Psychology. That suffices to accommodate the 4-5 non-Psychology and non-Neuroscience courses required for the Cognitive Science concentration.

Any student accepted into the CogSci concentration and funded by the concentration will have the usual teaching requirement reduced to serving as a teaching fellow for one course each year in years one through four. The teaching tutorial course requirement is also waived.

Spanish and Portuguese: Spanish Linguistics

Graduate students in Spanish Linguistics take 11 required courses (33 credits): 9 general requirements and 2 electives in their first two years. In their third year they take 6 additional courses (18 credits), 3 of which must be seminars, for a total of 51 credits required for the Ph.D.

Students in the Cognitive Science concentration will take five CogSci courses outside of Spanish Linguistics or Linguistics. These five courses will be taken within the 51 credits required for the Ph.D.

The Spanish Teaching Methodology course is a prerequisite for the Teaching Practicum required of all students with a service assistantship. This Practicum will not be required for students funded by the Cognitive Science concentration; for those funded by the Cognitive Science concentration, the teaching requirement will be reduced to serving as a teaching fellow for one course each year in years two through five.