Cognitive science is the scientific study of the mind and its processes: how humans, other animals, and possibly machines experience, feel, think, learn, remember, make decisions, act, and communicate with each other. Minds are among the most complex, diverse, and puzzling systems in nature; understanding how they work is one of the greatest frontiers of modern science.

 

What makes cognitive science special is its emphasis on integrating diverse methods and theories, connecting disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy. A psychologist might study emotion, for example, by looking at how people behave differently when looking at comforting or distressing images. A neuroscientist might look at how brain activity differs when viewing these images. A computer scientist might develop an algorithm to classify which images will be received as comforting and which as distressing. A linguist might ask how emotions are expressed in language. A philosopher might ask what it means to be an emotion in the first place. The cognitive scientist seeks to understand cognition not just from one of these perspectives, but by fitting multiple perspectives together into a broader picture. By looking at how brain, behavior, and models are related, we have a better chance of understanding the inner workings of the mind.

 

Cognitive Science students at York have the unique opportunity to customize their program of study. A set of core courses familiarize students with the different disciplines on which cognitive science draws. Students then choose to focus on two “Themes” from among: Psychology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Human-Computer Interfaces. Students can customize further through their choice of courses within these themes (e.g. focusing on perception within Psychology). The Cognitive Science program is housed in the Department of Philosophy, but provides access to courses and resources in several other programs, including Psychology, Linguistics and Computer Science.