Catalogue 2025-2026
Cognitive Science Department
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Chair: John H. Long, Jr.;
Professors: Gwen J. Broude, Kenneth R. Livingston, John H. Long, Jr.;
Associate Professor: Joshua de Leeuw;
Assistant Professors: Stephen Flusberga;
Adjunct Instructor: Nicholas Livingston.
a On leave 2025/26, first semester
We human beings take it for granted that we are possessed of minds. You know that you have a mind and you assume that other people do, too. But to what, exactly, are we referring when we talk about a mind? Is there more to your mind than brain activity? How are you able to experience music from sound waves, relish the taste of chocolate, have a conversation with friends, reach for your cup when you want a sip of coffee, and make decisions about your future? How similar is your mind to the minds of other people and other animals? Do you have to be a biological organism to have a mind, or can we build a machine with intelligence and consciousness? If so, how? These are the kinds of questions that cognitive scientists want to address.
Cognitive science is a broadly multidisciplinary field that has emerged at the intersection of a number of older disciplines, including philosophy, computer science, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, linguistics, biology, and mathematics. Cognitive science combines the theories, technologies, and methodologies of these disciplines in the service of a unified exploration of minds.
In 1982, Vassar College became the first institution in the world to grant an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science.
Major
Cognitive Science: I. Introductory
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COGS 100 - Introduction to Cognitive Science Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
Cognitive science is a multidisciplinary exploration of the nature of mind and intelligence in whatever forms they may take, from animal (including especially humans) to machine. This course explores the modern history of our efforts to understand the nature of mind, asking such questions as how a purely physical entity could have a mind, whether a computer or robot could have genuine mental states, and what it really means to be intelligent or to have a mind. In the process of seeking answers to these questions, the course explores such phenomena as perception, memory, prediction, decision-making, action, language, and consciousness by integrating methods and concepts from a number of disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, biology, linguistics, and anthropology. Material from economics, education, mathematics, engineering, and the arts is increasingly integrated into the field as well. No background in any of these disciplines is assumed, and this course is intended to serve as an introduction, for both majors and non-majors, to the unique multidisciplinary approach to studying problems of mind that Cognitive Science represents. The Department.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 110 - The Science and Fiction of Mind
1 unit(s)
Our understanding of what minds are and of how they work has exploded dramatically in the last half century. As in other areas of science, the more we know the harder it becomes to convey the richness and complexity of that knowledge to non-specialists. This First-Year Course explores two different styles of writing for explaining new findings about the nature of mind to a general audience. The most direct of these styles is journalistic and explanatory and is well represented by the work of people like Steven Pinker, Bruce Bower, Stephen J. Gould, and Ray Kurzweil. The second style is fictional. At its best, science fiction not only entertains, it also stretches the reader’s mind to a view of implications and possibilities beyond what is currently known. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Greg Bear, and Richard Powers all provide excellent models of this kind of writing. In this course students practice both ways of writing about technical and scientific discoveries. By working simultaneously in both styles it should become clear that when done well even a strictly explanatory piece of science writing tells a story. By the same token even a purely fictional narrative can explain and elucidate how the real world works. The focus of our work is material from the sciences of mind, but topics from other scientific areas may also be explored. This course does not serve as a prerequisite for upper-level courses in Cognitive Science. Ken Livingston.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 2-hour periods.
Not offered in 2025/26.
Course Format: CLS
Cognitive Science: II. Intermediate
Cognitive Science: III. Advanced
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COGS 300 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit.
Yearlong course 300-COGS 301 .
Course Format: INT -
COGS 301 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit.
Yearlong course COGS 300 -301.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 302 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
A thesis written in one semester for one unit.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 304 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit. Yearlong course 304-COGS 305 taken in spring of junior year and spring of senior year. Only for students enrolled in the dual-degree program with Columbia University. Jan Andrews, Gwen Broude, Joshua de Leeuw, Kenneth Livingston.
Yearlong course 304-COGS 305 .
Course Format: INT -
COGS 305 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A thesis written in two semesters for 1 unit. Yearlong course COGS 304 -305 taken in the spring of junior year and spring of senior year. Only for students enrolled in the dual-degree program with Columbia University. Jan Andrews.
Yearlong course COGS 304 -305.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 311 - Seminar in Cognitive Science Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2025/26b: The Evolution of Cognitive Systems. Evolution is a physical law, one particular way in which particular kinds of systems change over time. In Cognitive Science, evolutionary explanations help us understand the deep historical roots of the cognitive systems we know as organisms, the current evolutionary pressures on populations of those lifeforms, and how we have and might continue to create other types of “artificial” cognitive systems. We draw on theories and methods of evolutionary biology, artificial life, embodied computational evolution, biorobotics, animal behavior, and neuroethology; our work is to synthesize these approaches to build an integrative understanding of how actors possessing minds might and do evolve. Topics include evolutionary forces in populations, reconstruction of evolutionary patterns in lineages, testing of adaptation hypotheses, the evolution of intelligence, and evolutionary modeling. John Long.
Prerequisite(s): At least one 200-level course in Cognitive Science and permission of the instructor.
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
75-minute period twice a week.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 312 - Mind Reading: The Cognitive Science Book Club
1 unit(s)
The goal of this course is to explore interests and issues from the field of Cognitive Science that go beyond the Cognitive Science curriculum. These include methodological and theoretical issues as well as empirical work, narrative, and more. The course is book-driven and discussion-intense. Think of it as a Cognitive Science book club. We read books, lots of them, and talk about them. Past topics have included: free will, consciousness, embodiment, first person subjective experience, neuroscientific methods, the anthropological stance, artificial intelligence, origins of morality, story, and theory of mind. Books and topics change each year. Gwen Broude.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level course in Cognitive Science and permission of the instructor.
May be taken more than once for credit when content changes.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 319 - Modeling Minds, Brains, and Behavior Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as CMPU 319 ) This course explores computational models as a powerful tool for developing and testing scientific theories in cognitive science. What exactly are models? How can models be used to test hypotheses? How do we decide whether one model is better than another? Why is modeling such an important part of the scientific process? We will tackle these sorts of questions through hands-on creation and exploration of models, as well as discussion of research papers that exemplify modeling work in cognitive science. By the end of the course, students will understand the foundational issues of modeling, be better consumers of research that uses modeling, and be able to build their own models. Because there are a wide variety of modeling approaches used in cognitive science, the focus of this class changes periodically to cover different areas of modeling. The course may be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
Topic for 2025/2026a: Neural networks and deep learning. Neural networks have been instrumental in understanding cognition and driving advancements in AI. This course explores their journey, from the earliest models in cognitive science to cutting-edge deep learning models powering systems like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and AlphaZero. Students will learn how to build and train neural networks in Python using the TensorFlow ecosystem. Prior programming experience in python is not required, but students without such experience should consult with the instructor before enrolling. Joshua de Leeuw.
Prerequisite(s): A 200-level course in Cognitive Science, Computer Science, or a related discipline; or permission of the instructor.
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
One 2-hour period plus one 50-minute period.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 320 - Autonomous Robotics Design Competition Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course gives students with an interest in robotics an opportunity to explore basic principles of robot design and programming in a hands-on laboratory environment. The specific nature of the task to be accomplished varies each year, but in all cases the problems to be solved require thinking about the key issues that confront any robot designer: How is the robot situated in its environment? How does the design of the robot’s body affect its intelligence? What are the optimal strategies for programming flexible intelligence in the robot (e.g., behavior-based or reactive systems, world modeling and planning systems, hybrid systems)? Students are organized into teams with balanced skill sets and compete to complete the assigned task most effectively in an end-of-semester competition. The design and construction components of the course are supported by classroom instruction in basic electronics, hardware design and building techniques, and relevant programming skills. Nick Livingston.
Prerequisite(s): Either COGS 211 , a 200-level CMPU course, or permission of the instructor.
Students who have neither COGS 211 nor a 200-level CMPU course as prerequisites may still have sufficient background to take the course depending on other skills and should consult with the instructor about readiness to take the class.
Two 2-hour periods.
Course Format: CLS -
COGS 393 - Minds in Motion: The Cognitive Science of Dance Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as DANC 393 ) How do we dance and how does it affect us? Dancing to a beat is a type of rhythmic synchronization with social origins; it involves watching, listening, and then reproducing and riffing on the sounds and movements of others, in coordinaion with others. As we learn more about how the brain and body co-operate with each other, and interact with their world, the cognitive underpinnings of dance appear to involve the parallel workings of multiple perception-action loops and mental models that learn and predict. From a neural perspective, we see the brain activity of dance partners entrain, and people with Parkinson’s who use music and dance to reorganize their rhythmic movements.
In this Intensive, we explore dance from the perspective of cognitive science and cognitive science from the perspective of dance. Our work includes readings, projects and experiments. John Long, Miriam Mahdaviani.
First six-week course.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: INT -
COGS 399 - Senior Independent Work Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group advanced independent work with prior approval of the advisor and of the instructor who supervises the work. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Individual conferences with the instructor.
Course Format: INT
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