Skip to main content
Cognitive Science Cog Sci
  1. HOME
  2. Undergraduates
  3. Major Program
  4. B.S. Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience

B.S. with a Specialization in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience

Major Code: CG32

The B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) is a major jointly administered by Cognitive Science and Psychology. Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience seeks to determine, understand, and examine the links between neural activity and perception (e.g., color vision, attention), basic behaviors (e.g., appetitive drives such as hunger and sleep), and higher level cognitive function (e.g., working memory and executive function) using multiple tools ranging from single-unit physiology to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Lower-Division Requirements (9 courses, 36 units)

 3 Natural Science Courses

  • COGS 17
  • Plus choose 2 of the following:
    • BILD: 1, 2, 3, 10, 20, 26 (BILD 12 and 22 are NOT accepted)
    • CHEM: 4*, 6A, 6B, 6C, 11*, 12, 13
      * Only one of CHEM 4 or 11 can be taken for credit
    • PHYS: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 10, 11

4 Formal Skills Courses

  • MATH: 10A or 20A*
  • MATH: 10B or 20B*
  • MATH: 10C or 20C*
  • COGS 14A or PSYC 70

* Preferred calculus courses critical for the success of students who plan to pursue mathematically intensive areas of CBN

1 Computer Programming Course (choose one)

  • BILD: 62
  • COGS: 18*
  • CSE: 6R, 8A, 8B, 11, 12
  • CSS: 1

By petition one of the following may be accepted for the major: ECE 15 or MAE 8

* Preferred computer programming courses critical for the success of students who plan to pursue research careers in Cognitive Science or Psychology

1 Statistics Course (choose one)

  • COGS 14B or PSYC 60

Math 11 will also be accepted to satisfy the statistics requirements.

Note

Statistics must be taken for a letter grade. All lower-division courses must be passed with a minimum grade of C- or P.

Research Requirements (2 courses, 8 units)

2 Research Experience Courses

  • COGS: 102B, 102C, 118A, 118B, 119, 120, 121, 138, 153, 160 (must pre-approve*), 165, 170, 189, 190A/B/C/D*, 199**
  • BIPN 162
  • PSYC: 114, 115A, 115B, 116C, 117, 118, 121, 140, 193L, 194A/B/C*, 199**

*COGS 160 may be used for one lab if pre-approved by COGS advising prior to the start of the course.

*Successful completion of either PSYC 194A/B/C or COGS 190 A/B/C (Dept. Honors) fully satisfies the research requirement.

**If the two research courses are 199s, at least one of them must culminate in a research paper approved by the faculty advisor and submitted to the corresponding department's Student Affairs Office prior to graduation. Please see the corresponding department for more information.

Upper-Division Requirements (12 courses, 48 units)

4 CBN Core Courses

  • COGS 107A
  • COGS 101A or PSYC 102
  • COGS 107B or PSYC 106
  • COGS 107C or PSYC 108

6 Upper-Division Courses in CBN (choose six of the following)

  • COGS: 115, 116, 118C, 119, 154, 163, 164, 165, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 184
  • PSYC: 116, 122, 123, 125, 132, 133, 144, 150, 159, 169, 170, 171, 179, 181, 189
  • HDP 110

2 Additional Upper-Division Elective Courses (choose two of the following)

  • COGS: 101B, 101C, 102A, 102B, 102C, 109–189
  • PSYC: 100, 101, 104, 105, 110–193

Career and Graduate School Resources

Upper-Division Major Regulations

  • All upper-division courses numbered 100-193 must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum grade of C- is required for the course to count toward the major.
  • One COGS/PSYC 195 and/or one AIP 197 may be used toward the upper-division (UD) additional Elective requirement. Please send a Virtual Advising Center (VAC) message to have these courses applied to your degree audit.
  • Courses taken Pass/No Pass cannot count toward the upper-division CBN major requirement.
  • Excluded from credit towards the major are graduate seminars (2XX).
  • A minimum of nine upper-division courses toward the CBN major must be taken at UC San Diego.
  • A grade-point average of at least 2.0 in the upper-division major courses is required for graduation.