Quick Index
Cognitive science studies the human mind viewed as a
computational process. It lies at the confluence of
computer science,
educational and cognitive development,
linguistics,
neuroscience,
neurobiology,
philosophy,
psychology,
and certain areas of
mathematics.
Cognitive science has arguably
been the most important development in the study of human thinking in the
past twenty years; its influence can be seen across a wide variety of disciplines,
from logic to communication disorders.
Theoretical cognitive science seeks to model and explain such phenomena as perception, memory, reasoning and language. The goal of theoretical cognitive science is to determine those knowledge structures and processes that characterize organisms as biological information processing systems, to explain how these organisms come to possess this knowledge, and to account for the patterns in the breakdown of this knowledge.
Applied cognitive science studies the educational and social uses of the findings of theoretical cognitive science. One area of growing interest is instructional or cognitive learning strategies that change the way teachers and students interact in the classroom. Cognitive learning strategies are grounded in theories of how children learn, think, remember, and solve problems, and are applied to knowledge domains that are included in school instruction (i.e., mathematics, science, reading, and writing). The purpose of this research is to understand how students become expert at learning and to design more creative learning environments.
Human/computer interaction addresses the most effective use of technology by people and includes the study of user interfaces, graphical displays, visualization of data, virtual reality, technology-based education, intelligent agents, and computer-based assistive technology for persons with disabilities. A third area is speech pathology and communicative disorders, which involves clinical and therapeutic applications of cognitive science to language disorders.
The University of Delaware has a number
of faculty with strengths in both applied and
theoretical cognitive science.
For years, an informal research group has met regularly to discuss recent
research in Cognitive Science. Similarly, faculty in the Departments of
Linguistics and
Computer and Information Science,
and at the
Center for Applied Science and
Engineering are actively involved in collaborative research associated with
cognitive engineering and speech science.
The Program in Cognitive Science is administered by the
Dept. of Linguistics
and draws on
faculty and courses from
Linguistics,
Computer and Information Science,
Psychology,
Philosophy,
Educational Studies, and the
Applied Science and Engineering
Laboratories
of the A.I. du Pont Children's
Hospital. At the undergraduate level, there is a
minor in Cognitive
Science and a
minor in Linguistics,
plus the opportunity to pursue individualized degrees in Cognitive and Linguistic
Science, Pre-Professional Speech Pathology, and Human-Computer Interaction.
At the graduate level, there is course work leading to the equivalent
of a secondary specialization in Cognitive Science as part of
the Ph.D. in Linguistics.
Inquiries about the Program should be directed to:
Barbara Landau
Director, Cognitive Science
Dept. of Psychology
University of Delaware
Newark,
DE 19716
The program in Pre-professional Speech Pathology is designed to
prepare students for graduate work and professional training.
It is not a professional degree in itself. The Program
focuses on the scientific study of cognition,
language and speech, and is designed to meet the basic science requirements
of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). But it does
not include substantial course work in disordered language or language
deficits. Thus, students
wishing to do graduate degrees in Speech Pathology or Audiology must be
aware that they will very likely be required to do additional course work
before completing their MA.
Prospective students are advised to
contact programs in Speech Pathology while doing the BA, so
that they can better coordinate the choice of elective courses in consultation
with their faculty advisor.
BISC 104 (3) Neurobiology of the Brain.
B. Behavioral & Social Sciences
PSYC 201 (3) General Psychology
C. Human Communication
LING xxx (3) Anatomy & Physiology of Speaking
OR
EDST 477 (3) Structure of English
There are few programs comparable to the above three which permit
students to engage in
such exciting interdisciplinary study. Students
coming out of these programs will have the potential to go on to the very best
graduate programs in the disciplines of cognitive science, speech pathology
and audiology, or work in emerging industrial fields such as speech
technology, the development of
human-computer interfaces,
and other aspects of cognitive engineering.
CGSC 314 Brain and Behavior
CGSC 330 Philosophy of Mind
CGSC 340 Cognition
CGSC 366 Independent Study
CGSC 411 Brain and Computer
CGSC 441 Computers and Cognition
CGSC 480 Computers and the Mind
CGSC 481 Artificial Intelligence
CGSC 485 Seminar in Cognitive Science
CGSC 496 Psycholinguistics
Related Courses from other departments
CGSC 616 Computer Models of Cognition
CGSC 641 Visual Cognition
CGSC 642 Mental Representation and Memory
CGSC 650 Cognitive Neuroscience
CGSC 681 Artificial Intelligence
CGSC 685 Seminar in Cognitive Science
CGSC 696 Psycholinguistics
CGSC 866 Independent Study
CGSC 890 Studies in Cognitive Science
Related Courses from other departments
Undergraduate
Minor in Cognitive Science
Undergraduate
Minor in Linguistics
Speech Pathology
STAT 201 (3) Introduction to Statistics I
PSYC 334 (3) Abnormal Psychology (REQ: PSYC 201)
LING 101 (3) Introduction to Linguistics
LING 407 (3) Phonology I
LING 253 (3) Laboratory Phonetics
EDST 462 (4) Language Acquisition (Also LING 462)
LING 433 (3) Acoustic Phonetics (REQ: LING 253)
LING 496 (3) Psycholinguistics (REQ: LING 101)
IFST 201 (3) Life Span Development
Cognitive and Linguistic Science
The program in cognitive and linguistic science is designed to give students a
broad theoretical training in language, cognition, and computing complemented
by a specialization in the student's area of interest. Students will also have
opportunities to participate in summer institutes in Cognitive Science to engage
in interneships and traineeships at local industries, research units, and clinics
as a practical complement to their theoretical work. The goal of this program is
to produce a student who has integrated graduate and undergraduate study while
still at the graduate level and well prepared for both graduate school in
Cognitive Science (in any of its contributing disciplines) or industry.
LING 101 (3) Introduction to Linguistics
BISC 104 (3) Neurobiology and the Brain
CISC 181 (3) Introduction to Computer Science I
PSYC 201 (3) General Psychology
PSYC 309 (3) Measurement and Statistics
MATH 210 (3) Discrete Mathematics I
CISC 401 (3) Elements of the Theory of Computation
LING 409 (3) Syntax I
LING 102 (3) Language, Mind and Society
CISC 310 (3) Logic and Programming
CISC 480 (3) Computers and the Mind
CISC 481 (3) Artificial Intelligence
EDST 462 (3) Language Acquisition
EDST 644 (3) Alternative and Augmentative Communication
LING 253 (3) Laboratory Phonetics
LING 433 (3) Introduction to Acoustic Phonetics
LING 476 (3) Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism
LING 491 (3) Semantics
LING 496 (3) Psycholinguistics
PHIL 207 (3) Inductive Logic and Scientific Method
PHIL 211 (3) Basic Decision Theory
PHIL 320 (3) Experience, Knowledge and Reality
PHIL 351 (3) Mathematical Logic
PHIL 465 (3) Seminar: Philosophical Topics
PSYC 310 (3) Sensation and Perception
PSYC 314 (3) Brain and Behavior
PSYC 340 (3) Cognition
PSYC 411 (3) Brain and Computer
PSYC 412 (3) Human PsychophysiologySets of Courses for Sample Specializations
LING 476 Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism
LING 496 Psycholinguistics
PSYC 340 Cognition
CISC 481 Artificial Intelligence
LING 496 Psycholinguistics
PSYC 411 Brain and Computer
PHIL 351 Mathematical Logic
PHIL 320 Experience, Knowledge and Reality
PHIL 465 Seminar: Philosophical Topics
Human-Computer Interaction
Students taking programs in
human-computer interaction will study ways to design effective and
usable computing systems for both normal and disordered population. There
are active projects at the University and at
the Center for Applied Science and Engineering in
speech synthesis
,
computer speech processing,
gesture recognition,
eye motion,
EEG signal processing
and other areas related to computer recognition and modeling of biological signals.
Students will have the opportunity for internships in local research institutes,
enroll in the various summer institutes in cognitive science
and its contributing disciplines, and various workshops on
processing and modeling at the Association for Computational Linguistics.
Courses are now under discussion and will be included as soon as approved
The
Ph.D. in Linguistics
allows secondary specialization in Cognitive Science.
