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Majors entering before Fall 2016

The department offers both a B.A. and a B.S. degree. The B.S. requires completion of (a slightly) more rigorous lower-division course work and three additional courses at the upper-division level. The B.S. degree may be taken optionally with a specified area of specialization. There is also an honors program for exceptional students in both degree programs.

So What's the Difference?

Getting a B.S., rather than a B.A., requires that you take one more lower division math class (for a total of four math classes) and three more major approved upper division classes (for a total of six elective classes). If you choose the B.S., you also have the option of specializing in one of five areas: Clinical Aspects of Cognition, Computation, Human Cognition, Human-Computer Interaction, and Neuroscience. If you chose to specialize, four of your six electives must be on the list of approved courses for that specialization. If you are particularly interested in one area of cognitive science, we strongly recommend that you specialize in that area since it is likely that the only difference in course work between a B.A. and a B.S. with a specialization is one math class.

B.A. Degree

Lower Division Requirements

(6 courses, 24 units)

Math

  • A total of 12 units chosen from the following: Math 10A-B-C, Math 20A-B-C-D-E-18, Math 15A or CSE 20, Math 15B or CSE 21.

(Please note: Students should check with the math department for rules governing duplication of credit between the 10 and 20 series.)

Cognitive Science

  • COGS 1: Introduction
  • COGS 14A: Methods
  • CSE 7 or *8A: Programming
    • * CSE 8A is recommended for HCI and Computation students, as it is a pre-req for some upper-division classes

Upper Division Requirements

(12 courses, 48 units)

Core (9 courses)

The cognitive science major requires completion of nine courses from the core sequences, which must include two courses in the COGS 101 series, two in the COGS 102 series, two in the COGS 107 series, and three additional courses from any of the core sequences.
  • COGS 101A-B-C: Fundamental Cognitive Phenomena
  • COGS 102A-B-C: Distributed Cognition, Cogn. Ethnography and Engr.
  • COGS 107A-B-C: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • COGS 109, COGS 118A-B: Computational Models of Cognition

Electives (3 courses)

  • Two of the three electives must be taken within the Cognitive Science Department.
  • Courses in the COGS 19X series (190ABC, 195, 198, 199) may NOT be used as an elective to satisfy the requirements for the BA degree.
  • Cogs 160 may only be used once for elective.

Approved Electives (PDF)

B.S. Degree (general or any specialization)

Lower Division Requirements

(8 courses, 32 units)

Math 

  • A total of 16 units chosen from the following:  Math 20A-B-C-D-E-18, Math 15A or CSE 20, Math 15B or CSE 21.

(Please note: Students should check with the math department for rules governing duplication of credit between the 10 and 20 series.)

Cognitive Science 

  • COGS 1: Introduction
  • COGS 14A and 14B: Methods
  • CSE 7 or *8A: Programming
    • * CSE 8A is recommended for HCI or Computation students, as it is a pre-req for some upper-division classes

Upper Division Requirements

(15 courses, 60 units)

Core (9 courses)

The cognitive science major requires completion of nine courses from the core sequences, which must include two courses in the COGS 101 series, two in the COGS 102 series, two in the COGS 107 series, COGS 109, and two additional courses from any of the core sequences.
  • COGS 101A-B-C: Fundamental Cognitive Phenomena
  • COGS 102A-B-C: Distributed Cognition, Cogn. Ethnography and Engr.
  • COGS 107A-B-C: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • COGS 109, COGS 118A-B: Computational Models of Cognition

Electives (6 courses)

  • Three of the six electives must be taken within the Cognitive Science Department (i.e. have a course code of COGS 1xx).
  • One course in the COGS 19X series (190ABC, 195, 198, 199) may be used as an elective to satisfy the requirements for the BS degree, but only with the approval of both the instructor who supervised the course and the undergraduate advisor.
  • Cogs 160 may only be used once for elective.

Approved Electives (PDF)

Approved Specialization Electives (PDF)

Alert

Courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade (with the exception of 195, 198, and 199 which are only offered on a P/NP basis). A minimum grade of C- is required for all courses.