Designing a Concentration

Overview

The Cognitive Science major requires students to propose a concentration, which consists of three additional courses that cohere around a theme relevant to cognitive science. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, cognitive science courses are taught in many departments across the Claremont Colleges, and students can design their own concentration based on their specific interests in cognitive science. Students must get approval of their proposed concentration from the Coordinator of Cognitive Science by submitting this form no later than the end of their junior year (earlier is better in case your concentration is not approved or needs to be revised). You can submit the concentration application before taking all of the courses.

How to Design Your Concentration

    • Look at some example concentrations below for a few ideas. Students are NOT limited to these concentrations; they are just a few examples. Students are encouraged to think creatively about the concentration that is the best fit for their interests.
    • Check out courses that have previously been approved to count toward the cognitive science major; that list of courses can be found here. Students are not limited to these courses in designing their concentration, but they will need to submit a course syllabus for any new course that they would like to be considered for their concentration.
    • Carefully prepare your responses to the questions that will be asked on the online application, giving as much detailed explanation as you can. The list of questions can be found here.
    • When ready, you can complete the online application by clicking here.
    • NOTE: Students who are double-majoring with cognitive science must design a concentration that is different from their other major. For example, a CS and cog sci double major cannot design a concentration that uses a majority of CS courses, even if those courses are not counting toward the CS major. Similarly, a concentration must be different from a minor (e.g., a cog sci major cannot design a linguistics concentration and have a minor in linguistics).

Example Concentrations

Theme: Cognition of Language

      • Cognitive factors such as perception, memory, and consciousness define the mind, which creates language. Simultaneously, there are ways in which natural language is involved in cognition. The proposed concentration will explore these bidirectional relationships.
      • Possible courses: LGCS 121 PO (Psycholinguistics) or PSYC 127 PZ (Language and Cognition); PSYC 162 PO (Memory and Language with Lab); LGCS 185 PO (Topics in Cognitive Science: Depends on what is offered

 

Theme: Computer Science and AI

      • One way to understand human intelligence is to understand how the brain extracts information from its environment and uses it to guide behavior. Through programming, computers can simulate these processes and be used for practical applications that influence human behavior.
      • Possible courses: CSCI 054 PO (Discrete Math and Functional Programming); CSCI 062 (Data Structures and Advanced Programming); CSCI 151 PO (Artificial Intelligence)
        Note that CS courses are difficult to get into, so try to take them sooner rather than later.

 

Theme: Diverse Minds or The Developing Brain

      • What do child development, brain damage, and language acquisition have in common? They can all teach us something about cognition through a different lens that arises from differences in humans’ experiences and in their brains.
      • Possible courses: PSYC 108 PO (Developmental Psychology); LGCS 130 PO (Cognition and the Brain) or PSYC 096 CM (Neuropsychology); LGCS 135 PO (Bilingual Cognition) or LGCS 120 PO (Language Acquisition)

 

Theme: Language and Computing

      • In addition to the practical use of computers to assist in analyzing natural language, computers can also be used as an analogy to understand how people process natural language.
      • Possible courses: LGCS 124 PO (Corpus Linguistics); LGCS 129 PO (Computational Linguistics) or CSCI 159 PO (Natural Language Processing); CSCI 101 PO (Introduction to Languages & the Theory of Computation); LGCS 181 PO (Topics in Quantitative Linguistics)

 

Theme: Symbolic Systems

      • The goal is to explore how computational models of processing reflect, contrast with, and question our understandings of both human and non-human intelligence in order to draw conclusions on how, if at all, machines and technologies should shape the way humans interact with the world.
      • Possible courses: COGS 123 PZ (Mind & Machines); CSCI 046 CM (Data Structure and Algorithms); PHIL 047 JT (Philosophy of Technology)

 

Theme: User Experience

      • The growing field of user experience (UX) is the overall experience of how a person (“the user”) interacts with products or programs. The goal is to learn what user experience encompasses and to practice influencing and designing user experiences through the lens of human cognition.
      • Possible courses: CSCI 124 PO (User Interface and User Experience); PSYC 157 PO (Psychology Research Methods) or ANTH 105 PO (Anthropology Field Methods); ENGR 180 HM (Human Centered Design); ART 021 PO (Foundations of 2D Design); MS 054 SC: Intermediate Computational Media

 

Theme: Cognitive Development and Disability

      • For many, disability means that a person has to come up with different strategies to adapt to a world that was not built for them. Disabled children develop at different rates having to use different strategies than their non disabled peers, and if a person becomes disabled later in life, they typically have to adjust their way of living to perform ordinary tasks. When looking at disabled populations there are multiple ways that this overlaps with cognitive science. The first is the perception and identity of disability both within and outside of the disabled population and how these impact issues such as implicit bias. The second is the ways in which the brain is used differently in order to compensate for and adapt to the world in different ways.
      • Possible courses: LGCS 120 PO (Language Acquisition); PSYC 108 PO (Child Development); GWS 170 PO (Critical Disability Studies)

 

Theme: Sound Cognition

      • This topic covers how humans perceive, interpret, and interact with their sonic environment. This includes study of topics from ear anatomy and the physics of soundwaves to human interaction with music and natural soundscapes throughout history, to the more abstract topic of sound art, pushing the boundaries of aural experience. As research investigates how sound affects cognitive functioning, this work can be applied to almost any environment to produce a healthier soundscape.
      • Possible courses: MUS 091 PO (Perception, Cognition, and the History of Sound); MS 115 PZ (Sound, Art, and Power); MUS 147 PO (Linguistics in Music)

 

Theme: Human-Centered Design

    • Cognitive science lays the foundations from which to dive into the world of human-centered design. From empathy interviewing to prototype refining, human-centered design offers a unique framework through which to approach and tackle design challenges on a micro to macro level. Human-centered design is primarily about solving problems rather than implementing solutions. As such, understanding unmet user needs is directly linked to understanding how the human mind works through creative problem-solving.
    • Possible courses: ENGR 180 HM (Human-Centered Design); ENGR 190 HM (Advanced Topics in Human-Centered Design); HIST 174 CM (Design Activism); MS 054 SC (Intermediate Computational Media); the Hive also has a list of many other possible courses to consider – check out https://hive7c.notion.site/56e58c5acf414ca3be6dc2268a122726?v=c49191b6f32446669f225b022f946e17.