Courses that Meet Major Requirements

Below are the major requirements and courses that count for them in the curriculum effective 7/1/20. Majors following the old curriculum can find the major requirements and courses here.

Introductory courses:

Linguistics:
  • LGCS 010 PO: Introduction to Linguistics
Cognitive Science:
  • LGCS 011 PO: Introduction to Cognitive Science OR
  • COGS 011 PZ: Intro to Cognitive Science
  • [NOTE: Students taking an introductory cognitive science course may not want to also take an introductory psychology course like PSYC 51 PO given the overlap in some content. Introduction to Cognitive Science will meet the prerequisite for many upper-division Psychology classes. If you have questions about meeting the prerequisite for a specific psychology course, contact the professor directly.

Computer Science:
  • CSCI 051P PO: Introduction to Computer Science in Python with Laboratory OR
  • CSCI 051A PO: Introduction to Computer Science Exploring Topics in Artificial Intelligence OR
  • CSCI 005 HM: Introduction to Computer Science OR
  • CSCI 004 PZ (formerly CSCI 005 PZ): Introduction to Computer Science for non-majors
  • [NOTE: If planning to take additional CS courses after an introductory course, you must complete subsequent CS courses at the same college where you took the introductory course. CSCI 004 PZ does NOT suffice as a prerequisite for CS courses at HMC or Pomona.]

Statistics course:

An introductory statistics course in any department will meet this requirement. Students typically take psychology statistics or biostatistics.

  • In some semesters, a LGCS-specific course will be offered: LGCS 123 PO: Stats and Experimental Design
  • Distribution requirement:

    Three courses selected from the categories below; each course must come from a different category.

    Linguistics:
    • LGCS 105 PO: Syntactic Analysis
    • LGCS 106 PO: Semantics and Pragmatics
    • LGCS 108 PO: Phonology
    • LGCS 118 PO: Morphosyntax
    • NEW! LGCS 145 PO: Acquisition of Semantics
    Cognitive Science Methods:
    • LGCS 124 PO: Corpus Linguistics
    • LGCS 132 PO: Cognitive Neuroscience with Lab
      — PLEASE NOTE: LGCS 132 PO is equivalent in content to LGCS 130 PO, PSYC 101 PZ, and PSYC 141 PO (also refer to the course catalog for additional equivalencies), so students who have completed one of the equivalent courses cannot also take this course for credit. LGCS 132 is unique for meeting the cognitive science methods requirement because it has an additional 3 hour lab.
    • PSYC 160 PO: Cognitive Psychology with Lab
    • PSYC 162 PO: Memory and Language with Lab
    • NEUR 118 PO: Neuroimaging with fMRI
    Philosophy of Mind:
    • PHIL 080 PO: Philosophy of Mind
    • PHIL 135 CM: Philosophy of Mind
    • PHIL 030 PZ: Knowledge, Mind and Existence
    • PHIL 111 HM (formerly 179D HM or PHIL 179 PZ): Empirical and Experimental Philosophy
    • PHIL 185N JT: Topics in Neurophilosophy
    Cognition and the Arts:
    • DANC 170 PO: The Mind in Motion
    • LGCS 131 PO: Evolution of Language and Music
    • MS 038 SC: Machine Learning for Artists
    • MS 171 PO: A.I.: Humans and Machines
    • MUS 091 PO: Perception, Cognition, and the History of Sound
    • MUS 147 PO: Linguistic Approaches to the Analysis of Music
    • PSYC 126 PZ: Music Cognition
    • PSYC 128 PZ: Cognitive Film Studies
    • PSYC 182 PZ: Seminar in Psychology of Art or Seminar on Cognition and the Arts
    The Brain and Cognition
    • LGCS 135 PO: Bilingual Cognition
    • LGCS 130 PO: Cognition and the Brain OR PSYC 101 PZ: Brain and Behavior OR PSYC 141 PO: Human Neuroscience
      — NOTE FOR LGCS 130: all of the courses listed are equivalent in content, so only one of them can be taken for course credit.

    Concentration requirement:

    Students select three additional courses that cohere around a theme relevant to cognitive science which must be approved by the Coordinator of Cognitive Science. In addition to the courses listed above, other courses that are approved to count toward the concentration in cognitive science are listed below by department that offers them:

    LGCS
    • LGCS 120 PO: Language Acquisition
    • LGCS 121 PO: Psycholinguistics
    • LGCS 128 PO: Animal Communication
    • LGCS 129 PO: Computational Linguistics
    Psychology
    • PSYC 096 CM: Neuropsychology
    • PSYC 108 PO or PSYC 105 PZ: Child Development
    • PSYC 123 PO: Language Development
    • PSYC 127 PZ: Language and Cognition
    Computer Science
    • CSCI 054 PO: Discrete Math and Functional Programming OR CSCI 060 HM: Principles of Computer Science
    • CSCI 062 PO: Data Structures and Advanced Programming OR CSCI 070 HM: Data Structures and Program Development OR CSCI 046 CMC: Data Structures and Algorithms
    • CSCI 101 PO: Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation
    • CSCI 124 PO: User Interfaces and User Experience
    • CSCI 151 PO or HM: Artificial Intelligence
    • CSCI 152 PO or HM: Neural Networks
    • CSCI 158 PO: Machine Learning
    • CSCI 159 PO or HM: Natural Language Processing
    Other Departments
    • COGS 123L JT: Mind, Brains & Programs (formerly COGS 123 PZ)

    The courses below are currently approved only for use in a specific concentration; see the Example Concentrations. They can be used in other concentrations but will require approval.

    • ANTH 105 PO: Methods in Anthropological Inquiry
    • ENGR 180 HM: Human-Centered Design
    • GWS 170 PO: Critical Disability Studies
    • MS 054 SC: Intermediate Computational Media

    A Seminar (preferably taken by end of junior year):

    • LGCS 181 PO: Topics in Quantitative Linguistics
    • LGCS 183 PO: Topics in Generative Syntax
    • LGCS 184 PO: Topics in Phonology
    • LGCS 185 PO: Topics in Cognitive Science
    • LGCS 186 PO: Investigating Child Language
    • PHIL 185C PZ: Topics in Philosophy of Cognitive Science
    • PSYC 180H PO: Seminar in Consciousness and Cognition

    Senior Thesis:

    The thesis requires enrollment in .5 credit of LGCS 191 PO for two semesters in the senior year.

    • LGCS 191 PO: Senior Thesis in Linguistics and Cognitive Science