Undergraduate Program
in Cognitive Science
Spring 2015
Size and Make-up of Majors
• 51 COGS majors
• By year:
–
–
–
–
10 seniors
14 juniors
12 sophomores
15 freshmen
• By major:
–
–
–
–
50
45
40
35
30
25
Male
20
Female
15
10
5
COGS: 19
0
Fall 2011 Spring Fall 2012 Spring Fall 2013 Spring Fall 2014 Spring
COGS/CSCI: 23
2012
2013
2014
2015
COGS/GSAS: 3
Other COGS duals: 6 (MATH, PSYC, CSYS, DIS, STS)
Curriculum
COGS Core Courses
• Behavioral Neuroscience or Intro to Cognitive
Neuroscience
• Sensation and Perception (Structure of
Language no longer offered)
• Knowledge and Rationality (Metaphysics & Csns
and Phil of AI no longer offered)
• Cognitive Modeling (LISP for AI no longer
offered) -> can use Intelligent Virtual Agents or
Affective Computing as substitute)
• Intro to AI -> can use Game AI or Learning &
Advanced Game AI as a substitute)
Senior Thesis
• Find a Faculty Member to do your Thesis with:
Your Thesis Faculty Advisor
• Fill out thesis form with Thesis Faculty Advisor
(bring to Registrar before add deadline)
• Thesis Faculty Advisor will lay out requirements
of thesis
–
–
–
–
Meetings
Literature Research
Experimental Research
Write-Up
• You do not have to do thesis in last semester
Online Courses
• Udacity (~40 courses, mostly CSCI, self-paced,
wide variety of course lengths)
– Introduction to AI, Artificial Intelligence for Robotics,
The Design of Everyday Things
• Coursera (500+ courses; wide variety)
– Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, Computational
Neuroscience, Natural Language Processing, etc.
• EdX (100+ courses, various fields)
• Possibility of getting 1-2 credits Independent
Study for successful completion of courses (Add
Deadline: Friday, 2/6)
Wednesday Issues in Cognitive
Science Seminar
• It is possible for undergraduates to receive
1 credit through the Issues in Cognitive
Science Lecture Series:
– Write 1 page response paper about talk for 6
talks of your choice
– Register for COGS 2940/4940 “Issues in
Cognitive Science”
– Restricted to COGS majors or minors or dual
majors with PHIL or PSYC
Speakers This Semester
•
February 4, Stanislas Dehaene, College of France
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•
February 11, Michael Ramscar, Cog. Sci. Researcher, Univ. of Tubingen
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•
“The Myth of Cognitive Decline”: Cognitive Models of Lifelong Learning
February 25, Ennio Mingolla, Northeastern University
–
•
“Reading the Brain”, Streaming Video
“Lifting the Shroud of Visual Attention”: Neural Network Models of Visual Perception
March 4, Shyam Kumar, Professor of Lally School, RPI
•
Corporate Strategies: A Cognitive Perspective
– March 11, Lael Schooler, Professor of Psychology, Syracuse University
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•
•
April 8, Peter Fox, Tetherless World Constellation Chair, RPI
April 22, Jun Zhang, University of Michigan
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•
•
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Mathematical Models of Psychological Decision-Making
Meta-Game Theory: Thinking about thinking about thinking …
All other talks this semester are by COGS graduate students
For a complete schedule of speakers go to Speaker Series off of Cognitive
Science department home page
If you think of a potential speaker, let me know!
Research
Undergraduate Research
• Cog Sci students are strongly encouraged
to do hands-on research
• Undergraduate Research Program (URP)
– http://www.rpi.edu/dept/urp
– Fill out URP form:
• You have to write a 500 word proposal!
• for course credit (deadline = course add deadline =
February 6)
– Also fill out an Independent Study/URP Registration form
• for $ (February 13)
• Research can be used for Senior Thesis
Summer URP (SURP) at RPI
• Competitive program
– Applications reviewed by multiple faculty
• $4000 stipend for 10-week summer
research
• Need to find faculty member willing to
support research efforts during 10-week
period
• Deadline: February 20!
• SURP
Other Summer Programs
• Undergraduate Summer Fellowship
Program in Vision Science, University of
Rochester
• Probably others as well …
• Usually applications are due sometime in
February, so this is a good time to look at
summer programs!
Other Programs …
• Visiting Undergraduate Research
Program, University of Indiana
– Highly selective year-long program for seniors
– Work directly with faculty member
Overview Research Groups and
Labs
• Cognitive Factors in Human Performance
– (Dr. David Mendonca)
• Linguistic Agents
– (Dr. Marjorie McShane and Dr. Sergei Nirenburg)
• CogWorks Lab
– (Dr. Wayne Gray)
• RAIR Lab
– (Dr. Selmer Bringsjord)
• Sim Lab
– (Dr. Mei Si)
• Visual Reasoning
– (Dr. Bram van Heuveln)
Visual Reasoning
Research Page
Paperwork
• Declare or add Cognitive Science Major
– Fill out Change of Major form
– Curriculum Coordinator: Betty Osganian (Sage 4301)
• 1 credit for Issues in Cognitive Science lectures
– Fill out Independent Study form
• COGS 2940/4940 “Issues in Cognitive Science”
• Senior Thesis
– Find thesis advisor
– Fill out Thesis Registration form
• URP
– Fill out URP form
– For credit:
• Fill out Independent Study form as well
• Credits to be determined by project advisor
• Deadline = Course Add Deadline: Friday, 2/6
– For $ (URP matches up to $400):
• Find faculty member with $!
• Deadline: Friday, 2/13