Information and Policies
Academic Advising for the Program
The Psychology Department has an advising office located at 273 Social Sciences 2, (831) 459-2002, psyadv@ucsc.edu. The advisors 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 interested in pursuing the cognitive science major should complete PSYC 20, the statistics requirement, the calculus mathematics requirement, and the computer programming requirement. These classes should be taken for a letter grade. After completing these four lower-division required courses, students may petition to declare the cognitive science major subject to the grade requirements described in the Major Qualification section below.
High school students considering cognitive science as their university major find that the best preparation is a solid general education in English writing, mathematics at least through precalculus, biological and physical sciences, and social sciences.
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 (PSYC 20, the statistics requirement, the calculus requirement, and the computer programming requirement). 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 did not satisfy the major admission requirements but believe that there are extenuating circumstances concerning their performance in the foundational courses may file a written appeal describing these circumstances; however, such appeals are rarely granted. Appeals may be filed by emailing psyadv@ucsc.edu. The department will notify the student and college of the decision within 15 days of the receipt of the appeal.
How to Declare a Major
Students should submit a petition to declare as soon as they complete the major qualification (MQ) courses or reach their declaration deadline quarter, whichever comes first.
Students petitioning when the campus declaration deadline is imminent (i.e., in their sixth quarter, for students admitted as frosh), will either be approved, denied, or provided with conditions (e.g., completion of some courses with certain grades) that will be resolved within at most one more enrolled quarter, even if they have not completed MQ courses.
To petition to declare the major, students should follow the instructions on the department's website.
Transfer Information and Policy
Transfer Admission Screening Policy
The following courses or their equivalents are required prior to transfer, by the end of the spring term for students planning to enter in the fall:
-
Minimum grade of C (2.0) in a course articulated to a UC Santa Cruz 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.)
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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): ECE 13, CSE 13S, CSE 20, or CSE 30.
A minimum GPA of 2.8 must be obtained in the courses listed above.
In addition, the following courses are recommended prior to transfer to ensure timely graduation:
- PSYC 20, Cognition: Fundamental Theories
Prospective students are also encouraged to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or to complete all UC Santa Cruz general education requirements before matriculation.
Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student
Transfer students who satisfy the requirements of the screening policy can declare the major at any time after matriculation at UC Santa Cruz. See the How to Declare the Major Section.
Letter Grade Policy
All lower-division courses required for the major declaration 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 advisor. PSYC 100, Research Methods in Psychology, and the senior seminar 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 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 advisor to create an academic plan to do so.
Study Abroad
Up to three courses taken through UC Santa Cruz study abroad may be approved for the major, and prior course approval is recommended. Please review this webpage if you are considering studying abroad 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 grade point average is a 3.6 or higher in psychology courses (1-189).
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 grade point average is a 3.9 or higher in psychology courses (1-189).
Research and Other Educational Opportunities
The Psychology Department offers a range of educational opportunities, including opportunities for undergraduate research. For more information, see the department's educational opportunities website.
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:
| PSYC 20 | 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:
| AM 11A
/ECON 11A
| Mathematical Methods for Economists I | 5 |
| MATH 11A | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
| MATH 19A | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
| MATH 20A | Honors Calculus | 5 |
Computer Programming
Choose one of the following courses:
| CSE 13S | Computer Systems and C Programming | 7 |
| CSE 20 | Beginning Programming in Python | 5 |
| CSE 30 | Programming Abstractions: Python | 7 |
| ECE 13 | Computer Systems and C Programming | 7 |
Some of these courses have prerequisites.
Upper-Division Courses
Take the following course:
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
| ARTG 80H | Critical History of Digital Games | 5 |
| CMPM 25 | Introduction to 3D Modeling | 5 |
| CMPM 26 | Introduction to 3D Animation | 5 |
| CMPM 35 | Data Structures for Interactive Media | 5 |
| CMPM 80A | Accessible Games | 5 |
| CMPM 80K | Foundations of Video Game Design | 5 |
| CMPM 121 | Game Technologies | 5 |
| CMPM 131 | User Experience for Interactive Media | 5 |
| CMPM 146 | Game AI | 5 |
| CMPM 148 | Interactive Storytelling | 5 |
| CMPM 177 | Creative Strategies for Designing Interactive Media | 5 |
| CMPM 178 | Human-Centered Design Research | 5 |
| CSE 107 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers | 5 |
| ECE 8 | Robot Automation: Intelligence through Feedback Control | 5 |
| ECE 9 | Statics and Mechanics of Materials | 5 |
| ECE 167 | Sensing and Sensor Technologies | 7 |
| ECE 167L | Sensing and Sensor Technologies Lab | 2 |
| MUSC 80L | 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.
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
and one of the following seminar courses: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 and one of the following seminar courses:
Comprehensive Requirement
UC Santa Cruz 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 cognitive science seminar which is also part of the DC requirement (see above). To ensure that all students can meet the seminar requirement, students are encouraged to enroll in only one senior seminar. Students would only be allowed to enroll in additional seminars after all who still need to fulfill their seminar requirement have enrolled.
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) |
| |
|
|