Program Overview

Overview

The Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado Boulder offers a doctoral program in cognitive science that can be earned in conjunction with a PhD in another discipline. This program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of cognitive science and its applications.

Requirements

To be admitted to the program, students must be in good standing in a participating department and be sponsored by an ICS faculty fellow. The program requires students to complete 30 credit hours of cognitive science courses, including 9 credit hours of required core courses and 21 credit hours of elective courses.

Combined PhD Requirements

• Required Courses and Credits: Students must complete 30 credit hours of cognitive science courses, including 9 credit hours of required core courses and 21 credit hours of elective courses.
• Interdisciplinary Thesis: The original contributions of the dissertation research should exploit state-of-the-art methods from the perspective of at least two disciplines.
• Dissertation: Students must complete 30 hours of dissertation research.

Triple PhD Requirements

• Comprehensive Examination: Students will be required to take a comprehensive exam, which they must pass in order to advance to doctoral candidacy status.
• Thesis: All cognitive neuroscience PhD students will be required to complete a doctoral thesis with a primary cognitive neuroscience focus.

Learning Outcomes

By the completion of the program, students will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of cognitive science and its applications.

Dual Degree Program

The Cognitive Science Combined PhD program allows graduate students in good standing in one of the participating academic units to earn a combined PhD with cognitive science. Participating units include Psychology and Neuroscience, Philosophy, Computer Science, Linguistics, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Education, Integrative Physiology, Architecture and Planning, and Information Science.

Triple Degree Program

The Cognitive Neuroscience Combined PhD program allows graduate students in good standing in one of the participating academic units to earn a combined PhD with cognitive science, neuroscience, and their core discipline. Participating units include Psychology and Neuroscience, Philosophy, Computer Science, Linguistics, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Education, and Architecture and Planning. Students must meet course and thesis requirements, and their thesis advisor must be a participating faculty member of the cognitive neuroscience faculty.