Cognitive Science BS

Cog-Neuro Class Cognitive science focuses on the understanding of intelligent systems, both biological and artificial. These can range from people and animals to web search engines, computers and robots. This field requires diverse approaches to understanding these systems, including research from experimental psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, mathematics and engineering.

The UT Dallas cognitive science program offers a variety of interdisciplinary courses to provide a strong foundation. Students may tailor the program to meet their career goals and interests by selecting one of four areas of specialization.

Learn more about the field of Cognitive Science.

Degree Program	Honors Programs
Degree Plans	Program Contacts
Advising	Program Faculty
Career Preparation	Program Resources
Internships	Organizations

Degree Program

The BS in Cognitive Science requires 120 credit hours.

Students are required to earn two Research Exposure Credits (REC) for each behavioral science core course in which they are enrolled for a maximum of six total credits each semester.

The Cognitive Science program in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at UT Dallas consists of three concentration areas:

Psychology/Human-Computer-Interactions

Cognitive-Neuroscience

Intelligent Systems (Artificial Intelligence)/Computational Modeling

Cognitive Science majors select the majority of their upper-division coursework from two of these three concentration areas to generate multidisciplinary areas of focus.

In addition to providing a sound preparation for graduate work in Cognitive Science and related areas, the Cognitive Science major is an ideal choice for students pursuing careers that combine interests in neuroscience, cognition, mathematics and computer science.

The Cognitive Science minor requires 18 credit hours. Students who minor in Cognitive Science may specialize in any one of the three concentration areas. The UT Dallas undergraduate catalog provides an overview of the program, details the areas of concentration, lists the major and minor requirements, and explains the fast-track program, which enables undergraduate students to take up to 15 hours of graduate courses that will count toward both UT Dallas bachelor's and graduate degrees. To compile all your academic, campus and extracurricular interests into a presentation you can print out, follow the steps to Create Your Own Guide to UT Dallas.

Degree Plans

Class The formal cognitive science degree plan will help you schedule your course of study:

Cognitive Science BS

Major Related Courses

The University’s course look-up site will help you find specific classes and times to fit your degree plan and schedule. The CourseBook site links to syllabi, class evaluations, and textbooks for all of UT Dallas courses. The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences' projected schedule of core classes will help you in your planning.

Advising

Visit with an academic advisor to create a degree plan. Freshmen must visit with an advisor before registering. All other students should consult an advisor before registering each semester. Students interested in specializing in the areas of Human Computer Interactions or Intelligent Systems should consider making an appointment via email ( golden@utdallas.edu) to meet with the Undergraduate Cognitive Science Program Head to discuss upper-division course selection decisions.

To learn more about the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences’ Advising and Mentoring System, visit our advising website.

Career Preparation

Cognitive science is excellent preparation for a number of areas of graduate study including medical school, law school and master and doctoral programs in cognitive science, psychology, computer science, or and engineering as well as law school and medical school. Students might also apply their skills to careers in software engineering, mathematical modeling and development and implementation of intelligent systems. Students specializing in the Intelligent Systems area will have the skills necessary to pursue careers in areas related to artificial intelligence and computer-based natural language understanding. Students interested in exploring career opportunities in cognitive science should examine the various links to cognitive science related organizations listed below.

Internships

Cog Dev Class The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences offers a class that allows students to intern, on a volunteer, no pay basis, in the community and receive college credit. Juniors and seniors with at least a 2.5 GPA are eligible to enroll.

Students interested in cognitive science internship opportunities should contact the program head at golden@utdallas.edu. Students interested in opportunities in the areas of Human Computer Interactions and Intelligent Systems are particularly encouraged to contact Professor Golden.

Read more about Behavioral and Brain Sciences internships.

Honors Programs

Incoming freshman with high standardized test scores and a high school GPA of 3.6 or higher should consider applying to Collegium V, a University-wide honors program.

Majors in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a GPA of 3.4 or higher may apply to earn BBS School Honors.

Students intending to pursue doctoral-level graduate training in psychology, education, medicine, or related fields should consider applying to the Dean’s Scholars Program.

Program Contacts

Program Head

Richard Golden, PhD

Office: GR 4.814

Phone: 972-883-2423

golden@utdallas.edu

Program Assistant, BBS Undergraduate Studies Office

Kent Mecklenburg

Office: GR 4.528

Phone: 972-883-2360

kentm@utdallas.edu

Program Mailing Address

Cognitive Science Degree Program

ATTN Kent Mecklenburg
School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
The University of Texas at Dallas
800 W. Campbell Rd, GR41
Richardson, TX 75080

Phone: 972-883-2360

kentm@utdallas.edu

Program Faculty

The core faculty in the Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science program specializes in cognitive-neuroscience, cognitive psychology and neuroscience.