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The Founding College of the University of Toronto
Robot model on paper path

Program Requirements

Cognitive Science

This is a Type 2 program. Enrolment is limited and admission requires the completion of either COG250Y1 or a combination of 1.5 FCE in CSC, LIN, PHL and PSY (no more than 1 FCE from a single department). Please note that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee one a spot in any of our programs, depending on the number of program spaces available.

Please note, effective for 2022 program admissions, we have changed the program coding so that it now indicates program stream choice.

ARTS Major:

ASMAJ1445A: Perception and Attention (BA)
Students explore literature relevant to mindfulness, knowledge acquisition, and metaphysical issues such as the nature of consciousness. This stream is for those interested in the visual, performance, and consciousness aspects of Cognitive Science.

ASMAJ1445B: Language and Cognition (BA)
This stream delves into the linguistic “pillar” of cognitive science covering language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and syntactic patterns that contribute to how we understand the world. It also examines the relationship between language and cognition and how language shapes cognition and how cognition shapes language.

ASMAJ1445C: Thinking and Reasoning (BA)
This stream focuses on the logical underpinnings of cognition, language, and the mind-body problem with a focus on intelligence, problem solving, rationality and knowledge organization

SCIENCE Major:
ASMAJ1446A: Computational Cognition (BSc)
This stream provides an interdisciplinary study of information-processing to understand cognition in mathematical terms and to apply this to debates in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology.

ASMAJ1446B: Cognition and the Brain (BSc)
This stream is grounded in cognitive neuroscience, that is, those aspects of brain activity directly relevant to the performance of cognitive functions. It covers Psychology, Neuroscience, and/or Human Biology.

Program Outcomes/ Pathways after Cognitive Science

Research based pathways:
Our program is designed to be paired with our home disciplines (linguistics, philosophy, computer science, and psychology). Since cognitive science is not offered at all institutions, if you are interested in pursuing research, it is best to pursue graduate studies in the field that you combine with cognitive science.

Professional pathways:
If you are interested in typical career pathways after graduation, most of our students pursue the following fields:

- teaching
- educational policy
- law
- clinical psychology, psychotherapy
- marketing/advertising
- tech field/tech startups (when paired with our computational cognitive science stream)
- speech pathology, speech therapists (when paired with our linguistics stream)

2
Program Type

Arts Major

Where noted below, please consult the Faculty of Arts & Science Course Calendar on prerequisites. Note that those interested in taking upper-level computer science courses should begin with CSC108H1, not CSC104H1.
8
Total FCEs Required
Year 1

CSC108H1/​ CSC120H1LIN102H1 (note: LIN200H1 does not serve as prerequisite for upper year LIN courses)

Year 2

COG250Y1 (may be taken in Year 1); STA220H1/​ PSY201H1PSY270H1

Year 2 to 4

COG341H1/​ COG342H1COG344H1PHL342H1PSY290H1

and credits indicated below as part of Stream A, B, or C:

Stream ASMAJ1445A (Perception and Attention)

Stream ASMAJ1445B (Language and Cognition)

 

Stream ASMAJ1445C (Thinking and Reasoning)

 

Year 4

Science Major

Some courses in Streams 1 and 2 have unlisted co- or prerequisites. Please consult the Faculty of Arts and Science Course Calendar. Those interested in the Science Major are advised to consider also registering for a Computer Science Specialist, Major, or Minor (for Stream 1) or a Human Biology Neuroscience Specialist or Major (for Stream 2).
8
Total FCEs Required
Year 1

CSC108H1/​ CSC120H1 (recommended option); CSC148H1MAT135H1 and MAT136H1 (or MAT137Y1)

Year 2

COG250Y1 (may be taken in Year 1); STA220H1/​ STA257H1/​ PSY201H1PSY270H1

Year 2 to 4

and credits indicated below as part of Stream A or B:

Stream ASMAJ1446A (Computational Cognition)

 

Stream ASMAJ1446B (Cognition and the Brain)

 

Year 4