Cognitive Science (BA)

Cognitive science majors will examine the nature of thought, memory, perception and language from a variety of different perspectives in order to acquire a rich knowledge of the mind. You will have the chance to study the different ways in which infants and non-human animals may be able to think and reason without language, how computers may be programmed to demonstrate intelligence and the nature of the relationship between social interaction and cognition.

Our professors are conducting research in such diverse areas as:

• infant social cognition
• human-computer interaction
• cognitive ethnology
• moral psychology

You can combine courses from computer science, linguistics, philosophy and psychology to gain an expansive knowledge of the cognitive processes we might find in humans, animals and machines.

In order to integrate findings from different fields, you’ll be trained in the methodologies of different disciplines, and you’ll have the opportunity to apply these methods in order to examine the nature of thought, memory, perception, language, and other cognitive processes. You will have the opportunity to take courses in:

• Mind, Brain and Self
• Neural Bases of Behaviours
• Psycholinguistics
• Philosophical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
• Animal Behaviour

Possible careers include neuroscientist, speech pathologist, animal caretaker/behaviourist, therapist, artificial intelligence and robotics, biotechnology, human-computer interfaces, teaching, software development, technical writing and consulting. You could also go on to graduate school or consider a related field such as medicine or kinesiology.