Cognitive Science Ph.D.

The doctoral program in Cognitive Science trains the next generation of world-class cognitive scientists to make seminal contributions to the field. Cognitive Science is a multidisciplinary field – which means that various related disciplines such as computer science, psychology, analytic philosophy, or linguistics (to name just four) view parts of what they do as “cognitive science.” However, all research in the department emphasizes the use of quantitative methods from computer science, mathematics, statistics, and other formal methods.

Our faculty and our students are known for their work in the following areas:

• Artificial Intelligence, Agents, and Synthetic Characters
• Cognitive Architectures
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Robotics
• Computational Linguistics
• Computational, Mathematical, and Statistical Cognitive Modeling
• Human and Machine Reasoning
• Perception and Action

Because of the multidisciplinary nature, we do not have a qualifying examination as is traditional for other programs; rather, students become engaged in research in one or more of our areas from the beginning of their first semester. Students work closely with individual faculty or teams of faculty, post-docs, and graduate students who share their research interests. The department has excellent research facilities, such as eye tracking equipment, robotics equipment, and an immersive virtual environment lab. The department also emphasizes the development of communication skills such as writing and publishing of conference and journal papers, as well as spoken and visual presentation of talks to various professional audiences.

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 original contribution or novel application in the field of Cognitive Science.
• communicate results of original research effectively to a variety of audiences via a variety of media.

Graduation Requirements

• Seventy-two (72) credit hours beyond a bachelor’s degree or 48 credits beyond a prior MS, including at least 24 dissertation research credits.
• At least two-thirds of the total credit hours, excluding dissertation credits, must contain the course numbers 6000-7999.
• Annual writing and presentation on the basis of and along with continuous research (as part of Research Problems in Cognitive Science).
• Successful completion of Research Qualifying Exam (RQE), Doctoral Candidacy Exam, and Dissertation Defense.