Dear Prospective Cog Sci Majors...

This type of advice will work out best for those of you in the SUNY Oswego Cognitive Science program.

So you’ve declared your major and you’ve got a whole list of just stuff out in front of you. All these classes and choices you have to make in order to walk across that stage with a diploma in hand. Here are some things to keep in mind as you choose classes each registration date.

- Are you in the Bachelor of Science track or Bachelor of Arts track?

This is important because it determines your future class selection.  Most of the classes are similar for the two however some are specific to the track that you are in.

- Is this in addition to another major?

If you are taking this as a second major, keep an eye out for places where you can double dip your classes. For example, I am also a psychology major and so some of my requirements for that degree are also requirements for the cognitive science degree like PSY 280.  Doing this can knock out requirements fast which may alleviate you of any senior year stress. However if a class sounds more appealing than the one that you can use to double dip, the interesting one can be worth the extra class.

- Did you check your timing?

This one is most relevant to me now. Make sure to find out how often each class is offered as many are not on a regular basis. This way you’ll know which classes to take when to ensure smooth traveling.

- Be vocal!

If I’m lucky enough, when I tell someone I’m a double major in Psychology and Cognitive Science, they won’t just ignore the funny sounding one and make a joke about me being their future therapist. But if it’s not that it’ll be a question about what Cog Sci is (which we’ve discussed in a previous post) or it’ll be a question about what job that will get me. As all of you know, borrowing thousands of dollars on education isn’t just for fun or for fueling your intelligence and depth of knowledge, but it’s just a way to figure out how to pay all that back.

So you’re face to face with some distant relative who wants to know your life plans based on this so called Cog Sci major. You could run, but then your mom will make you go back and talk to them. You don’t even know what you wanna do with your major, but it is important to think about some of the occupations you could hold.

Because of Cog Sci’s interdisciplinary framework, a job in any of those domains can suffice. If you don’t remember those domains, I suggest you go back a couple posts. One of the biggest things to consider is graduate school post your undergraduate Cog Sci degree. There you’ll have the opportunity to focus in on your favorite parts of cognitive science AND brag at future family gatherings. 

A better question would be “what doesn’t the cognitive science program cover”. The cog sci program here at SUNY Oswego may be the most interdisciplinary major you could ever pursue. But that’s the point! Cog sci uses this interdisciplinary nature in everything. So you may be wondering what that means. That means that it looks at one problem or phenomena from multiple angles. To be more specific, cog sci has 6 domains:

1. Biology or Neuroscience

2. Psychology

3. Anthropology

4. Linguistics

5. Artificial Intelligence

6. Philosophy