Information and Policies
Academic Advising for the Program
Students are encouraged to approach faculty in their area of interest for further advising no later than the first quarter of their junior year to discuss an upper-division program of study and to plan for graduate training in cognitive science. As a supplement to academic advising offered by faculty members, the Psychology Department has an advising office located at 273 Social Sciences 2 Building, (831) 459-2002, psyadv@ucsc.edu. The advisers assist students in obtaining information regarding major requirements and petitions, course planning, substitution of transfer courses for advance enrollment, careers, and graduate schools. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the advising office throughout their college career. Transfer students are encouraged to consult the Transfer Information and Policy Section.
Getting Started in the Major
Students who are not prepared to begin the calculus requirement should take preparatory courses offered by the mathematics and applied mathematics departments, including pre-calculus.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the cognitive science major should demonstrate competency in:
- Application of knowledge with critical thinking skills. Students should be able to use critical thinking to evaluate and interpret evidence, and to apply cognitive science concepts, theories, and research findings to individual, social, and cultural issues.
- Application of research methods with values and integrity. Students should be able to apply basic research methods in cognitive science, with sensitivity to ethical principles.
- Communication skills. Students should be able to demonstrate effective communication skills following professional conventions in cognitive science appropriate to purpose and context.
- Awareness of methodological and theoretical diversity. Students should be able to understand the complexities of cognition using neural, embodied, social, and/or technological approaches.
Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process
Major Qualification
Students may petition to declare the cognitive science major once they have completed the lower-division requirements. For students to be admitted to the major, they must have a 2.80 or higher cumulative GPA in the lower-division requirements and receive a C or better in each of the courses. Transfer students may substitute equivalent courses from other institutions. Students not meeting the grade requirements in the lower-division courses may take any of the listed alternatives as substitutions; the department will use the highest grade to compute GPA.
Appeal Process
Students who are informed that they are not eligible to declare the major may appeal this decision by submitting a letter to the department chair within 15 days from the date the notification was mailed. Within 15 days of receipt of the appeal, the department will notify the student, college, and Office of the Registrar of the decision.
How to Declare a Major
To declare the major, students may attend drop-in advising and complete the paperwork with a peer adviser, attend a major declaration workshop, or book an appointment with an undergraduate adviser. Drop-in advising is available Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Transfer Information and Policy
Transfer Admission Screening Policy
Requirements for the major include the following:
-
Minimum overall grade point average of 2.80 in the major-preparatory courses below.
-
Minimum grade of C (2.0) in a course articulated to a UCSC calculus course (AM 11A/ECON 11A, MATH 11A, MATH 19A, or MATH 20A). (An AP Calculus AB score of 4 or 5, or Calculus BC score of 3, 4, or 5 can be substituted.)
-
Minimum grade of C (2.0) in a course articulated to UCSC's PSYC 2, Introduction to Psychological Statistics, or STAT 5, or STAT 7/STAT 7L, Statistics. (An AP Statistics score of 4 or 5 can substitute for PSYC 2 or STAT 5.)
-
Minimum grade of C (2.0) in a course articulated to one of the following UCSC programming courses (An AP Computer Science A score of 3, 4, or 5 can be substituted for the programming requirement):
It is recommended that PSYC 20 is completed prior to transfer, but this is not required.
Junior transfer students should express an interest in cognitive science on their UC Santa Cruz application for admission.
Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student
Transfer students are strongly encouraged to speak with an academic adviser at the Psychology Department office prior to enrolling in classes in order to determine their status and begin the actual declaration of major process. In order to declare the major, transfer students must meet the GPA requirement described in the Major Qualification section above.
Letter Grade Policy
All lower-division courses required for the major have to be taken for a letter grade.
Course Substitution Policy
Students who want to fulfill requirements with courses taken at other colleges must petition for the substitution of their transfer courses at an orientation session or at an appointment with the department adviser. PSYC 100, must be taken at UC Santa Cruz. Students planning to transfer to UC Santa Cruz should check with the advising office of their present college, or refer to www.assist.org.
Double Majors and Major/Minor Combinations Policy
Students wishing to pursue double majors or a major/minor combination are encouraged to meet with an adviser to create an academic plan to do so.
Study Abroad
Up to three courses taken through EAP may be approved for the major, prior course approval required. Please see the advising office if you are considering EAP and want to try to obtain approval for such courses to count toward the major.
Honors
Honors in the cognitive science major are awarded to graduating seniors whose UC Santa Cruz GPA is a 3.6 or higher in PSYC 1-PSYC 189).
Highest honors in the major are reserved for students who meet the honors criteria as well as successful completion of a senior thesis, or whose UC Santa Cruz GPA is a 3.9 or higher in PSYC 1-PSYC 189).
Requirements and Planners
Course Requirements
The undergraduate degree program in cognitive science is a program offering a course of study leading to the bachelor of science (B.S.) degree. Fifteen courses (77 credits) are required. Because some courses have additional prerequisites, students should read the descriptions of courses carefully, noting the prerequisites for courses of interest to them.
Lower-Division Courses
Introduction to Cognition
Take the following course:
| PSYC20 | Cognition: Fundamental Theories | 5 |
Statistics
Choose one of the following courses:
Lecture and lab combinations count as a single course.
Calculus
Choose one of the following courses:
| MATH11A | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
| MATH19A | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
| MATH20A | Honors Calculus | 5 |
Computer Programming
Choose one of the following courses:
| CSE13E | Embedded Systems and C Programming | 7 |
| CSE13S | Computer Systems and C Programming | 7 |
| CSE20 | Beginning Programming in Python | 5 |
| CSE30 | Programming Abstractions: Python | 7 |
Some of these courses have prerequisites.
Upper-Division Courses
Take the following course:
| PSYC100 | Research Methods in Psychology | 7 |
Core Courses
Students must complete a course from three of the four following areas:
Perception
Neuroscience
Language
Memory
Electives
Cognitive Psychology Electives
Students must complete three additional upper-division psychology courses.
One Cognitive Senior Seminar from the following list:
Plus two additional courses from the following list:
One of these may be replaced by a core course that was not used to satisfy the core courses requirement. PSYC 204-PSYC 252, graduate cognitive courses, may be substituted by petition.
Interdisciplinary Electives
Students must complete four interdisciplinary electives from lists of courses pre-approved by the Psychology Department, at least one of which must be upper-division. The electives fall into four groups: Evolution; Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction; Linguistics; Philosophy. Three of the four electives must be selected from the same group. Students are responsible for planning their course of study to complete any necessary prerequisites for electives they wish to take. Possible sequences of interdisciplinary courses, including prerequisites, are given below.
Group 1: Evolution
Lecture and lab combinations count as a single course.
ANTH 139 also listed in Group 3
PHIL 127 also listed in Group 4
PHIL 190 also listed in Group 4
Group 2: Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction
| CSE80S | SocialNetworks | 5 |
| CSE104 | Computability and Computational Complexity | 5 |
| CSE140 | Artificial Intelligence | 5 |
| ECE8 | Robot Automation: Intelligence through Feedback Control | 5 |
| ECE9 | Introduction to Statics, Dynamics, and Biomechanics | 5 |
| ECE167 | Sensing and Sensor Technologies | 5 |
| ECE167L | Sensing and Sensor Technologies Lab | 2 |
| CMPM80K | Foundations of Video Game Design | 5 |
| CMPM120 | Game Development Experience | 5 |
| CMPM146 | Game AI | 5 |
| CMPM148 | Interactive Storytelling | 5 |
| MUSC80L | Artificial Intelligence and Music | 5 |
Lecture and lab combinations count as a single course.
The upper-division School of Engineering courses in this section have additional prerequisites that are not listed here.
The lower-division computer science courses in this section are not being offered at present.
Group 3: Linguistics
Group 4: Philosophy
PHIL 127 also listed in Group 1
PHIL 190 satisfies this requirement by petition only
Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement
Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in cognitive science is satisfied by completing PSYC 100, Research Methods in Psychology, and the comprehensive requirement.
| PSYC100 | Research Methods in Psychology | 7 |
Comprehensive Requirement
UCSC requires that every student satisfy a senior exit/comprehensive requirement prior to graduation. Cognitive Science students will satisfy this requirement by receiving a passing grade in a senior seminar.
Choose one of the following courses:
Planners
Following are two recommended academic plans for frosh, and one for transfer students to complete the Cognitive Science major. Plan 1 (for frosh) assumes typical curriculum selections. Plan 2 (for frosh) includes two additional interdisciplinary prerequisites, which some students find they need in order to take the upper-division courses they desire. Students who place out of MATH 2 and MATH 3 do not need these courses, which are otherwise prerequisites to Calculus, PSYC 2 and PSYC 100.
Frosh Plan One
| Year |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
| 1st (frosh) |
MATH 2
|
MATH 3
|
Calculus |
PSYC 20
|
Programming
|
|
| |
|
|
| 2nd (soph) |
Interdisciplinary prerequisite |
PSYC 2
|
PSYC 100 |
| |
Interdisciplinary prerequisite
|
|
| |
|
|
| 3rd (junior) |
Cognitive core
|
Cognitive core
|
Cognitive core
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
Interdisciplinary elective (UD)
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
Cognitive elective
|
|
|
| 4th (senior) |
Interdisciplinary elective |
Cognitive elective (seminar) |
Cognitive elective |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
The courses listed above will satisfy the SR, and DC general education requirements. All other GE requirements have to be satisfied.
Frosh Plan Two
| Year |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
| 1st (frosh) |
MATH 2
|
MATH 3 |
Calculus |
PSYC 20
|
Programming |
|
| |
|
|
| 2nd (soph) |
Interdisciplinary prerequisite |
PSYC 2
|
PSYC 100
|
| |
Interdisciplinary prerequisite
|
Interdisciplinary prerequisite
|
| |
|
|
| 3rd (junior) |
Cognitive core
|
Cognitive core
|
Cognitive core |
Interdisciplinary prerequisite
|
Cognitive elective
|
|
| |
|
|
| 4th (senior) |
Cognitive elective
|
Interdisciplinary elective (UD)
|
Interdisciplinary elective |
Cognitive elective (seminar)
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
|
|
The courses listed above will satisfy the SR, and DC general education requirements. All other GE requirements have to be satisfied.
Transfer Plan
| Year |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
| 3rd (junior) |
PSYC 20
|
Cognitive core
|
Cognitive core
|
PSYC 100
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
Interdisciplinary elective
|
|
|
|
| 4th (senior) |
Cognitive elective |
Cognitive core |
Cognitive elective (seminar) |
Interdisciplinary elective
|
Cognitive elective |
Interdisciplinary elective
(upper-division) |
| |
|
|