College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: cogsci [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL: www.cogs.indiana.edu 

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Doctor of Philosophy and Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Cogni­tive Science and another Discipline

Program Information

The Cognitive Science Program comprises an interdisciplinary research program and a doctoral degree program. Students carry out intensive research projects in state-of-the-art com¬puter-based laboratories. There are two Ph.D. degree options: a standalone Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and a joint Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and another originating degree-granting program, for example, Psychol¬ogical and Brain Sciences, Informatics, Computer Science, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Linguistics, or Speech and Hearing sciences. A Ph.D. Minor in Cognitive Science is also offered. The program is designed to train students in theory development and model building (mathematical, for¬mal, and computer simulation models), in empirical research, and in the development of the conceptual framework and technical skills needed for successful careers in research, teaching, business, and government.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Admission Requirements

Admission is by approval of the program’s graduate admission committee. Applicants should have an undergraduate major in a field such as Cognitive Science, Psychology, Computer Science, Philosophy, Linguistics, Biology, or Anthropology; basic computer program¬ming skills; and basic knowledge of mathematics for science, including calculus and statistics. In exceptional cases, the programming or mathematics admission requirements may be waived and satisfied while pursuing graduate study.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 90 credit hours, including the core courses COGS Q520 (3 cr.), COGS Q530 (3 cr.) (SoIC students may be waived from this course), COGS Q540 (3 cr.), COGS Q550 (3 cr.), COGS Q551 (3 cr.), and COGS Q560 (3 cr.) and selec­tions totaling at least 16 credit hours from offerings listed in the Cognitive Science Program or cross-listed with other departments, divisions, or programs. A maximum of 6 of these 16 credit hours may come from pure research courses (COGS Q799, COGS Q899, or the equivalent in another department).  Students must also take at least four semesters of the Colloquium Series course COGS Q733 before candidacy.  On the basis of their undergraduate background, students may be waived from one or more of the core courses other than COGS Q540, which all students must take. Waivers and substitutions, from any core courses require approval by the Director of Graduate Stud­ies of the program and the University Graduate School (prior to candidacy). 

Research Project Requirement

Ph.D. degree students are required to complete a Research Project. The project should constitute significant original research done while the student is enrolled in the Ph.D. program. Ph.D. students must decide on a supervisor and topic for their projects by the end of their first year and submit the Research Project Progress Report to the Cognitive Science Program. The project must be completed by the end of their second year; at this time they should submit the ‘Completion of the Research Project form’.

Research Presentation Requirement

Students must present a research talk in a public forum (e.g., a talk series such as Cognitive Lunch or a lab meeting series) to an audience that includes at least two Cognitive Science faculty members, before candidacy. The topic (which can be on the research project above or other research) and the venue must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. COGS Q733 for 1 credit can be used fulfill this requirement.

Content Specialization

Each student selects a Content Specialization, an area of study that can be approached from the perspectives of the different disciplines within Cognitive Science. With the approval of the student’s advisory/research committee, any relevant area of cognitive science may fulfill the Content Specialization requirement. Some possibilities are Language and Speech, Dynamical Systems, Logic, Neuroscience and Human-Computer Interaction. Students must complete at least five courses in their specializa¬tion, and these courses must be taken in at least two differ¬ent departments. Courses from the student’s minor may count toward the Content Specialization, but not core COGS courses. The Content Specialization should be selected by the end of the student’s second year in the program, and the courses selected must be approved by the student’s advisory/research committee. The Content Specialization must be completed prior to Candidacy.

Minor Requirement

Students must complete a minor in another department or program unless the student completes a dual major with another department. Courses counting toward the minor may also count toward the student’s Content Specialization. The minor should be completed prior to candidacy.

Qualifying Examination

Each student must pass a Qualifying Examination, which should be taken by the end of September of the student’s third year in the program. If the student fails the exam, it may be retaken once, by the end of the student’s third year; failure the second time is grounds for dismissal from the program.

Prior to the qualifying examination, each student will be ex¬pected to turn in a Qualifying Examination Petition Form with the signatures of the Director of Graduate Studies and the student’s Advisory Committee. This form must be completed by the end of the student’s second year.

Students pursuing joint degrees in Cognitive Science and another discipline may request to postpone the Qualifying Examination by one year, by writing to the Director of Graduate Studies.

The examination is expected to have a written and an oral component and to demonstrate (1) in-depth knowledge of the student’s Content Specialization, (2) knowledge of some other area of Cognitive Science, (3) academic writing competence, and (4) the ability to defend a position in an oral setting.

In consultation with his or her Advisory Committee, the student will agree on the format of the examination. Within these con¬straints, two broad categories of Qualifying Examinations are possible: (1) Conventional Written Examination or (2) Papers. Details regarding these categories are available from the Direc¬tor of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Secretary, or the student’s Advisory Committee.

Joint Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Cognitive Science and another originating discipline.

Admission Requirements

Acceptance into the Joint Cognitive Science Ph.D. program is contingent upon admission into another degree-granting program at Indiana University Bloomington, hereafter referred to as the “originating discipline” or “originating department.” Students must apply to the originating department, informing it that they also intend to join the Joint Cognitive Science Ph.D. Program. Students must then request to join the Cognitive Science Program. Students are required to make such a request prior to their qualification exams.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 90 credit hours, of which 32 credit hours must be in courses listed or cross-listed in Cognitive Science, includ¬ing COGS Q520 (3 cr.), COGS Q530 (3 cr.) (SoIC students may be waived from this course), COGS Q540 (3 cr.), COGS Q550 (3 cr.), COGS Q551 (3 cr.), and at least 6 credit hours of breadth coursework not in the originating discipline and not among the Q-courses or pure research courses such as Q799 and Q899. A Q-course that is not cross-listed in any other unit may satisfy the breadth requirement with the approval of the student’s advisory committee. Student must also take at least four semesters in the Colloquium Series course COGS Q733 before candidacy. The 32 credit hours may include a maximum of 6 credit hours in pure research courses (COGS Q799, COGS Q899, or the equivalent in originating departments). Strong encouragement is given to interdisciplin¬ary diversification. Note that courses may count toward the requirements of both Cognitive Science and the originating department. On the basis of their undergraduate background, students may be waived from one or more of the core courses other than COGS Q540, which all students must take. Waivers and substitutions from any core courses require approval by the director of graduate studies of the program and the University Graduate School (prior to candidacy).

Tool-Skills Requirement

Completing a course covering statistical analysis e.g. PSY K300 or PSY K310 or the equivalent. COGS Q560 may also be used to fulfill this requirement.

Qualifying Examination

There are two options for the qualifying examination: (a) an ex¬amination in the originating discipline and a separate compre¬hensive examination in Cognitive Science (these may be taken at separate times); or (b) a joint examination covering relevant areas of both the originating discipline and Cognitive Science, as determined by the advisory committee and with permission of both the originating discipline and the Cognitive Science Program. The Cognitive Science examination is normally taken after completion of the Cognitive Science course requirements, typically by the end of the student’s third year. If the student fails the exam, it may be retaken once, by the end of the student’s fourth year; failure the second time is grounds for dismissal from the program.

Research Presentation Requirement

Students must present a research talk in a public forum (e.g., a talk series such as Cognitive Lunch or a lab meeting series) to an audience that includes at least two Cognitive Science faculty members, before candidacy. The topic (which can be on the research project above or other research) and the venue must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. Q733 for 1 credit can be used to fulfill this requirement.

Final Examination

The public and oral defense of the dissertation will be conduct­ed jointly with the student’s originating discipline.

Ph.D. Minor in Cognitive Science

Graduate students obtaining a Ph.D. in another discipline may have  the option of taking a minor in Cognitive Science. To obtain such a minor, students must satisfy the following requirements: (a) obtain approval from the Cognitive Science Program; and (b) complete COGS Q540; one of the following: COGS Q520, COGS Q530, COGS Q551, COGS Q560, or COGS Q550; at least two semesters of COGS Q733; and at least 6 other credit hours in Cognitive Science and/or cross-listed courses not in the originating discipline.

Graduate Area Certificates in Cognitive Science

The Cognitive Science Program is extremely broad, ranging from psychology to business to anthropology to computer science and other disciplines. Students in other originating disciplines may elect to focus on an area or areas within the broad range of cognitive science and pursue a Graduate Area Certificate in Cognitive Science. Certificates are open to students upon request; several different Cognitive Science certificate programs are described in the following pages. Note that certificates are not required for a joint Ph.D. degree. The student will inform the Cognitive Science office, the student’s Cognitive Science advisor, and the certificate director of intent to pursue a certificate.

General Requirements for Graduate Area Certificates

1. As soon as the student decides to pursue a certificate, a written proposal must be submitted to the Certificate Director and Director of Graduate Studies giving a detailed course of study. The proposal may be a revised draft of an earlier proposal not approved or an alteration of a previ­ously approved proposal, and may contain a request for a revision of any of the stated requirements.
2. The proposal must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee. The student must file a copy of the approved proposal with the Cognitive Science Program office.
3. The student’s advisory/research committee must attest that the approved course of study has been completed success­fully. At this time, the University Graduate School will be notified of the certificate completion. Ideally, requirements and course work for certificates should be completed at the time of nomination to candidacy.
4. The certificate is awarded upon completion of requirements 1 through 3 and completion of the joint Ph.D. Achievement of the certificate will be noted on official transcripts.

Graduate Area Certificate in Dynamical Systems in Cognitive Science

Students will develop an understanding of problems introduced by a dynamical perspective on cognitive phenomena and of the theoretical and methodological means of addressing those problems as found in dynamical systems. Each student will apply this understanding and analysis to a content area of their choice including study of perception, cognition, motor behav­ior, neural networks, language, and development.

Specific Requirements

1. Prerequisites. Students should have taken courses in calcu­lus (two to three semesters) at the very least. In addition, courses in differential equations, linear algebra, and (point set) typology would be helpful.
2. Required course. Students must take COGS Q580 Introduc­tion to Dynamical Systems in Cognitive Science.
3. Additional advanced electives. Students must complete an additional four courses selected from among the follow­ing: COGS Q550 Models in Cognitive Science; PSY P651 Perception/Action; HPSC X755 Special Topics in the Philosophy of Science (when appropriate); LING L541 Introductory Phonetics; LING L641 Advanced Phonetics; PHIL P561 Philosophy of Mind; CSCI B551 Element of Artificial Intelligence; CSCI B552 Knowledge Based Artificial Intelligence; CSCI B553 Neural and Genetic Approaches to Artificial Intelligence; CSCI B651 Natural Language Processing; CSCI B652 Computer Models of Symbolic Learning; CSCI B657 Computer Vision; CSCI B659 Topics in Artificial Intelligence (when appropriate); PSY P717 Evolutionary Basis of Learning; PSY P615 Develop­mental Psychology; HPSC-X755 Special Topics in the Philosophy of Science (when appropriate).
4. Qualifying exams. At least one question on dynamical sys­tems must be included on the student’s qualifying exams.
5. Dissertation. The student’s dissertation must include appli­cation of dynamical systems to the specific problem under study.

Graduate Area Certificate in Human-Computer Interaction