Prospective Students - Graduate

Cognitive Science

Areas of Study and Research

The Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) offers graduate students the opportunity to pursue a joint PhD in Cognitive Science and one of the member departments of the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS). The research within ICS can be loosely categorized into six interdisciplinary research areas. Individual faculty may do research in more than one area, and some research projects may span more than one interdisciplinary area. The areas are: Neural and Statistical Modeling of Cognitive Processes, Education, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Processing and Skilled Performance, Judgment, Decision Making, and Social Cognition, and Language Understanding and Production.

Degrees Offered

PhD
The joint PhD program in cognitive science at the University of Colorado at Boulder is designed to supplement existing graduate programs in the cognitive science academic departments. The program consists of course requirements, a practicum, and selection of a dissertation topic that represents the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science. This program provides breadth and depth training in the cognitive sciences outside the graduate disciplines as well as formal acknowledgment of that interdisciplinary training. Graduate students in cognitive science at the University of Colorado are admitted to a graduate program in ICS member departments that have cognitive science faculty and must meet the requirements for admission and degree completion in their home department. The joint PhD is awarded on completion of the joint program requirements, and the award/degree is noted on the students' transcripts and diploma. The program is administered by the Curriculum Committee of the Institute of Cognitive Science, under the direction of the ICS Academic Programs director.

Admission

Graduate School Minimum Admissions Standards
Individual graduate departments may have additional or more restrictive standards by which they evaluate graduate applicants. However, the Graduate School at CU-Boulder has established minimum standards for graduate admission. Applicants must:

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, or have done work equivalent to that required for such a degree.
   
2. Show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research, as judged by the student’s scholastic record.
   
3. Have adequate preparation to enter graduate study in the chosen field.
   
4. Have at least a 2.75 (2.00=C) undergraduate grade point average. Note: Applicants who cannot meet this undergraduate standard may still secure regular admission if they have completed 9 semester hours of relevant graduate course work with at least a 3.25 average.

Cognitive Science Admissions Requirements

1. Must be a graduate student in good standing in one of the ICS member departments: Psychology; Computer Science; Education; Linguistics; Philosophy; and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.
2. Graduate students in cognitive science at the University of Colorado are admitted to a graduate program in participating departments that have cognitive science faculty and must meet the requirements for admission and degree completion in their home department.

Minimum Standards for Applicants
Must be a graduate student in good standing in one of the ICS member departments: Psychology; Computer Science; Education; Linguistics; Philosophy; and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Graduate students from other departments will be considered on a case by case basis. The applicant’s research focus and dissertation topic must qualify as interdisciplinary/cognitive science work.

Financial Support Available
Applicants typically get financial support from their home department (ICS member department). ICS does offer a few graduate teaching assistant positions; these arrangements are made through the agreement of the professor teaching one of the ICS classes and the interested student. ICS also offers its students an opportunity to win travel and reseach monetary awards three time per calendar year. Note: In order to be admitted to the Cognitive Science program, students must be admitted to one of the ICS member departments as listed in Admission Requirements above.

Application Information and Deadlines Application major code GR-COGS   Fall admission Yes Application deadline None International application deadline   Financial assistance application deadline     Spring admission No   Summer admission No

Contact Information

University of Colorado at Boulder
The Institute of Cognitive Science
344 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0344
Phone: 303-492-5063
Fax: 303-492-7177
e-mail: cogsci@psych.colorado.edu
web site:psych-www.colorado.edu/ics/