Major Requirements

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 chose to go for the B.S., you also have the option of specializing in one of the 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.

Grade Requirements for the Major

A minimum grade-point average of 2.0 is required for admittance to and graduation from the B.A. or B.S. degree progam. Students must receive a grade of C- or better in any course to be counted toward fulfillment of the major requirements. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, with the exception of Cognitive Science 195, 198, and 199, which are taken Pass/No Pass.

Four-Year Plan of Study

The four-year plan of study below assures that all prerequisites and requirements for the cognitive science major are completed. The department does enforce course prerequisites and several courses are offered only once a year, so careful planning is important. It is recommended that lower-division courses be taken in the first two years, core courses in the third year, and electives in the final year. Check with a departmental adviser about which quarter cognitive science courses will be offered each academic year. Check with a college adviser about course planning to meet college requirements.

Mathematics Requirement

The cognitive science major requires twelve units of mathematics courses (for the B.A. degree) or sixteen units of mathematics courses (for the B.S. degree), chosen from the following list:

• Mathematics 10A-B-C
• Mathematics 20A-B-C-D-E-F
• CSE 20
• CSE 21

Students should check with the Department of Mathematics for rules governing duplication of credit between the 10 and 20 series. Likewise, students intending to take Cognitive Science 118A and/or 118B are advised to take Mathematics 20-A-B-C-E-F and Mathematics 180A before their junior year.

Requirements for the BA degree

Lower-division : (Total=6 courses, 24 units)

1. Math (3 courses, 12 units):
   • A total of 12 units chosen from the following:  Math 10A-B-C, Math 20A-B-C-D-E-F, CSE 20, CSE 21.
   • Please note: Students should check with the math department for rules governing duplication of credit between the 10 and 20 series.
2. Cognitive Science (3 courses, 12 units):
   • COGS 1: Introduction
   • COGS 14A: Methods
   • CSE 7: Programming

Upper-division : (Total=12 courses, 48 units):

1. Core (9 courses, 36 units) :
   The cognitive science major requires completion of eight 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
2. Electives (3 courses, 12 units) :
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.

Requirements for the BS degree

Lower-division : (Total=7 courses, 28 units)

1. Math (4 courses, 16 units):
   • A total of 16 units chosen from the following:  Math 20A-B-C-D-E-F, CSE 20, CSE 21.
   • Please note: Students should check with the math department for rules governing duplication of credit between the 10 and 20 series.
2. Cognitive Science (3 courses, 12 units):
   • COGS 1: Introduction
   • COGS 14A and B: Methods
   • CSE 7: Programming

Upper-division : (Total=15 courses, 60 units):

1. Core (9 courses, 36 units) :
   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
2. Electives (6 courses, 24 units) :
   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.