Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Cognitive Science is the cross-disciplinary study of the structure and processes of human cognition and their computational simulation or modeling. This interdisciplinary program is designed to give students an understanding of questions dealing with human cognition, such as concept formation, visual perception, the acquisition and processing of natural language, and human reasoning and problem-solving.
The program draws on relevant courses found within the fields of anthropology, biology, computer science, education, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology, as well as specially designed lower and upper division courses in cognitive science.
Declaring the Major
For prerequisites required before declaring the major, please see the Major Requirements tab. Once prerequisites are completed, students may submit the Cognitive Science declaration submission form. Students interested in the major should consult the Cognitive Science website. If students have questions or would like to speak to someone about the major or other academic issue, they should schedule an appointment with a student academic advisor. The Cognitive Science office is located in 140 Stephens Hall.
Honors Program
Please see the Cognitive Science program's Honors page for additional details.
Visit Program Website
Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that is concerned with the acquisition, representation, and use of knowledge by individual minds, brains, and machines, as well as groups, institutions, and other social entities. Because the fundamental purpose of the University, as a social institution, is the preservation, generation, and transmission of knowledge, cognitive science speaks to the heart of the University's mission. By engaging faculty from psychology, philosophy, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and anthropology, sociology, and other social sciences in common purpose, cognitive science constitutes a microcosm of the University as a whole. Berkeley's Cognitive Science Program is almost unique in terms of the scope of our approach to the field.
Cognitive Science major students are expected to approach problems of knowledge using the tools of several different disciplines: philosophy, psychology, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and various social sciences. This expectation is reflected in a demanding curriculum that moves from a broad introductory survey course (COG SCI 1), to a six-course distribution requirement covering the philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, linguistics, computational modeling and artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and various social sciences. After fulfilling their distribution requirement, students have the opportunity to concentrate further study in one of these six fields, and to complete an honors thesis.
Learning Goals for the Major
By the end of their undergraduate careers, cognitive science majors are expected to understand and critically evaluate:
- Research and theory in cognitive psychology, including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making.
- Research and theory in linguistics, with special attention to the relation between language and thought.
- Various approaches to artificial intelligence, and the computational modeling of cognitive processes.
- The biological bases of cognitive functions, as uncovered by cognitive neuroscience.
- Classic and contemporary work on the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, mental causation, freedom of the will, and the nature of consciousness.
- The sociocultural context of individual cognition, including the social construction and organization of knowledge, cultural differences in cognition, the history of information, etc.
Skills
We also expect that students will have acquired the following skills for lifelong learning and effective citizenship:
- Formulating a well-organized argument supported by evidence.
- Effectively written, spoken, and graphical communication.
- Problem-solving in cognitive science and its constituent fields.
- Applying critical thinking skills in new and complex situations.
- Using probability and statistics in reasoning.
- Understanding the social implications of theory and research in cognitive science for responsible professional, civic, and ethical behavior.
