The Department's Ph.D. requirements consist of coursework, foreign language competence, teaching experience, and research papers. Students become expert in their primary area of research interest and also are prepared so that they will be competitive for academic positions in one of the traditional disciples. Students develop the ability to understand, appreciate and critically evaluate work in the various sub-disciplines of Cognitive Science.
Students learn to integrate theory and methods across sub-disciplines.
Students admitted to our program typically place out of two of the breadth courses. Offered one semester per year, the Departmental Reading Course changes topics each year and involves all students and faculty in the program. Students attend this course each year, but only during one semester write a paper and direct a reading topic. Teaching Assistantships Students function as teaching assistants for all semesters except for the two semesters of their final year.