Cognitive Science Major

Examine how the mind works using an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on the core disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, computer science, philosophy and linguistics.

The major is designed to familiarize students with methodologies for studying the mind drawn from the core cognitive science disciplines and applied to central issues in cognitive science. For example, how do we interpret sensory experience? How is memory organized in the mind and brain? How do we remember and why do we forget? How are components of language (sound, meaning, syntax) represented in the mind and brain and how do they interact? What does consciousness add to cognition and what cognitive processes are nonconscious?

Majors are required to take a computer science course as well as a course with an experimental research requirement. Students acquire breadth with selection of courses that differ in disciplinary focus and depth by designing a concentration within a theme of cognitive science and taking an advanced seminar. All seniors complete a year-long senior thesis including original research designed in collaboration with the thesis advisor. The program emphasizes hands-on research and students are encouraged to obtain summer research positions, on or off campus.

 

Students in Cognitive Neuroscience lab
Students in Cognitive Neuroscience lab
In lab with Professor Megan Zirnstein
In lab with Professor Megan Zirnstein

What You’ll Study

    • Computational models of the mind
    • Cognition and the arts
    • Why we are conscious
    • Neural basis of cognition
    • When cognition is nonconscious
6
The number of departments offering courses in the cognitive science major.

Researching at Pomona

Emily McClaughry ’22

Underrepresented Languages

Emily McClaughry ’22 has been working on helping Professor Michael Diercks with his upcoming class, Morphosyntactic Diversity, by looking through grammars of underrepresented languages for students to study.

Alexandra Werner ’22

Bilingual Cognition

During the summer of 2020, Alexandra Werner ’22 analyzed how emotion, bilingualism and decision making interact in speech-sign bilinguals. Werner conducted interviews with eminent researchers specializing in the field of bilingual cognition.

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Emily McClaughry ’22
Emily McClaughry ’22

The cog sci major is so customizable! I'm creating a concentration in linguistics, I know someone creating a concentration in anthropology and the possibilities are endless. I'd love to see more students become part of the LGCS family! 

Faculty & Teaching

Our cognitive science faculty’s areas of expertise include bilingualism, aging and cognition, emotion and cognition, language and memory, and neural processes involved in language. Affiliated professors represent the disciplines of music, computer science, philosophy, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

Professor Lise Abrams

Research is fundamental to understanding how the mind works. Cognitive science faculty introduce students to research, both inside and outside of the classroom. Students are encouraged to gain hands-on research experience during the academic year or in summer, and the skill set gained from conducting research prepares cognitive science majors for a variety of careers.