Cognitive Science Ph.D.

The mission of the doctoral program in Cognitive Science is to train the next generation of world-class cognitive scientists and make seminal contributions to the field. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science, this program trains students to integrate theories, methods, and tools from a variety of fields.

Because there are no traditional qualifiers, students become engaged in research from the beginning of their first semester in the program. Students work closely with individual faculty as well as teams of faculty, post-docs, and graduate students whose research interests include computational cognitive modeling, artificial intelligence, human and machine reasoning, computational linguistics, perception and action, theoretical neuroscience, cognitive robotics, cognitive engineering and advanced synthetic characters. There is a strong emphasis on building models of natural and artificial cognitive systems using formal, quantitative, and mathematical tools. The department has excellent research facilities, such as eye tracking equipment, an array of robotics equipment, and a large-scale immersive virtual environment lab. 

Outcomes of the Graduate Curriculum

Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and familiarity with theory and content of Cognitive Science, including computational models of human cognition, artificial intelligence, and cognitive agent environment interactions.
• apply advanced Cognitive Science research methods to research design, data analysis, and data interpretation, including statistical evaluation and logical and mathematical analysis of complex problems.
• demonstrate ability to program in production of cognitive science systems so as to demonstrate novel application and original contribution to the field of Cognitive Science.
• communicate results of original research effectively to a variety of audiences via a variety of media.