Cognitive Science Certificate - Department of Philosophy

About the Cognitive Science Certificate

If you love the subject of Cognitive Science, and want to take more classes consider the certificate. The certificate allows you to take additional courses in cognitive science, and it allows the option of studying the field through a specific focus depending on the elective options selected. The certificate is 21 credit hours. The first five foundational courses consist of: philosophy, computer science, linguistics, and psychology courses. For example, If a you are a psychology student, and you want to take more philosophy, linguistics, or anthropology courses you have the option to do so within the elective options. Students have the option of taking courses under a given heading, or taking any two elective courses of thier choice. See academic advisor if you have questions.

What you will study

How does the mind work? How do our thoughts tell us about the world around us, and are these thoughts accurate? These questions have been asked for thousands of years, and it is against this background that the field of cognitive science emerged 35 years ago.

With twentieth century developments in mathematics, logic, computing, and artificial intelligence, theorists from a variety of scientific and theoretical fields began to develop an intriguing thesis: the mind is a kind of computer. Most simply, when new information comes in to the mind, that information is processed according to a set of rules and by drawing upon relevant information from stored memory, all to deliver some kind of output. This was the basis of early modern computing, and applying these concepts to the study of the mind has proved a fruitful and exciting research agenda.

Today's cognitive scientists don't all commit to the thesis that the mind is a computer, but they do all commit to the same pursuit as early human thinkers, namely, figuring out how the mind works. Cognitive science today is a richly interdisciplinary pursuit of knowledge, involving anthropologists, computer scientists, engineers, linguists, philosophers, psychologists, roboticists, and others. As a Cognitive Science minor, you will have the opportunity to engage in this exciting new field, taking a variety of courses from each of the contributing disciplines, and because this research is so young, you will have the rare opportunity to contribute to those developments.

Note: The requirements below supplement the University Baccalaureate Degree requirements. Refer to the General Catalog for this information. You can obtain a copy of the General Catalog at the University of Utah Bookstore.

Cognitive science Certificate checklist Declare Cognitive Science Certificate

Requirements

Total of 7 courses.
Minimum of 21 credit hours of coursework that meets the following four requirements:

Areas

Eligible Courses

Required Courses

Philosophy Core: Complete the following two foundation courses:

PHIL 3440: Foundations of Cognitive Science
PHIL 3400 : Mind, Language, & Reality

Computing Core: Complete one of the following courses:

COMP 1010: Programming for All 1 (This class is for majors in Humanities & Social & Behavioral Sciences)

CS 1030: Foundations of Computer Science (This class is intended for majors in Computer Science and Sciences)
(These courses in CS can also be used to fulfill the computing core)
CS 1400: Introduction to Computer Programming
CS 1410: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
CS 1420: Accelerated Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
(How do I know which course is right for me? Take a CS course if you are a computer science, math, or sciences major. If you are a major in the humanities or social sciences take COMP 1010).

Linguistics Core: Complete one of the following courses:

LING 2200: Introduction to the Study of Language
(Note: LING 2200 is the prerequisite for all upper-division linguistics courses listed in the elective requirement.)
LING 2300: Computers and Language

Psychology Core: Complete the following course:
PSY 2100: Cognitive Psychology

Elective Requirement

Take two courses from the following recommended list: Total of six hours

Anthropology:
ANTH 3134: Language, Thought, & Culture: The Anthropology of the Human Mind

ANTH 3481: Evolutionary Psychology

Computer Science:
CS 4300: Artificial Intelligence
CS 5310: Robotics

Linguistics:
LING 3020: Introduction to Syntax
LING 3035: Pragmatics
LING 3190: Introduction to Psychology of Language
LING 3340: Introduction to Computational Linguistics
LING 5060: Language and the Brain

Philosophy:
PHIL 3012: Language and Cognition
(This is a variable topics course. Not all classes qualify)
PHIL 4480: Philosophy of Language
PHIL 5350: Topics in Philosophy of Science
PHIL 5450: Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 5480: Philosophy of Language

Psychology:
PSY 3140: Cognitive Neuropsychology
PSY 3150: Sensation and Perception
PSY 3415: Social Cognition
PSY 4130: Cognition in the Wild
PSY 4962: Honors Topics in Cognitive Psychology

This elective list in not exhaustive. Other course may be substituted, on approval from the Cognitive Science Advisor.

Grade Requirement

The Grade Requirement has three parts. First, only coursework taken for a letter grade will contribute to the above requirements; CR/NC coursework will not count. Second, no individual course receiving a grade lower than C- will count for any of the above requirements. Third, the overall grade-point average (GPA) for courses meeting the above requirements must be at least 2.0.

For information about declaring the Cognitive Science Certificate, please contact Connie Corbett, or Lex Putnam

If a course is not showing up on your degree audit in the correct area contact Connie Corbett.

If you have questions regarding course substitutions contact Natalia Washington.
(Copy Connie Corbett on course substitution request)