Courses that Meet Major Requirements

Introductory courses:

Linguistics:
  • LGCS 010 PO: Introduction to Linguistics
Cognitive Science:
  • LGCS 011 PO: Introduction to Cognitive Science OR
  • COGS 011 PZ: Intro to Cognitive Science

[NOTE: Students taking an introductory cognitive science course may not want to also take an introductory psychology course like PSYC 51 PO given the overlap in some content. Introduction to Cognitive Science will meet the prerequisite for many upper-division Psychology classes. If you have questions about meeting the prerequisite for a specific psychology course, contact the professor directly.

Computer Science:
  • CSCI 050 PO: Fundamentals of Computer Programming PLUS CSCI 051: Introduction to Computer Science (CSCI 051A and CSCI 051P will no longer be taught) OR
    • Note: If you have prior programming experience, you can skip CSCI 050 (ask the CS department if your prior experience is sufficient preparation for CSCI 051).
    • These do not have to be taken in the same semester.
  • CSCI 005 HM: Introduction to Computer Science OR
  • CSCI 006 PZ (formerly CSCI 004 PZ): Introduction to Computer Science with AI

[NOTE: If planning to take additional CS courses after an introductory course, you must complete subsequent CS courses at the same college where you took the introductory course. CSCI 006 PZ does NOT suffice as a prerequisite for CS courses at HMC or Pomona.]

Statistics course:

An introductory statistics course in any department will meet this requirement. Students typically take psychology statistics or biostatistics.

Distribution requirement:

Three courses selected from the categories below; each course must come from a different category.

Linguistics:
  • LGCS 105 PO: Syntactic Analysis
  • LGCS 106 PO: Semantics and Pragmatics
  • LGCS 108 PO: Phonology
  • LGCS 118 PO: Morphosyntax
Cognitive Science Methods:
  • LGCS 122 PO: Experimental Methods in Language Research
  • LGCS 132 PO: Cognitive Neuroscience with Lab
    — PLEASE NOTE: LGCS 132 PO is the equivalent in content to COGS 101 PZ, PSYC 101 PZ, and PSYC 141 PO (also refer to the course catalog for additional equivalencies), so students who have completed one of the equivalent courses cannot also take this course for credit. LGCS 132 is unique for meeting the cognitive science methods requirement because it has an additional 3 hour lab, so ONLY LGCS 132 meets this distribution requirement.
  • NEUR 118 PO: Neuroimaging with fMRI
  • PSYC 160 PO: Cognitive Psychology with Lab
  • PSYC 162 PO: Memory and Language with Lab — NOTE: this course will no longer be taught.
Philosophy of Mind:
  • PHIL 080 PO: Philosophy of Mind
  • PHIL 135 CM: Philosophy of Mind
  • PHIL 030 PZ: Knowledge, Mind and Existence
  • PHIL 111 HM (formerly 179D HM or PHIL 179 PZ): Empirical and Experimental Philosophy
Cognition and the Arts:
  • DANC 170 PO: The Mind in Motion
  • LGCS 131 PO: Evolution of Language and Music — NOTE: this course will no longer be taught.
  • LIT 148 CM: Literature and the Brain
  • MS 038 SC: Machine Learning for Artists
  • MUS 091 PO: Perception, Cognition, and the History of Sound
  • MUS 092 PO: Linguistic Elements of Music
  • PSYC 126 PZ: Music Cognition
  • PSYC 128 PZ: Cognitive Film Studies
  • PSYC 182 PZ: Seminar in Psychology of Art or Seminar on Cognition and the Arts
The Brain and Cognition
  • LGCS 132 PO: Cognitive Neuroscience with Lab OR COGS 101 PZ: Cognitive Neuroscience OR PSYC 101 PZ: Brain and Behavior OR LGCS 130 PO: Cognition and the Brain (no longer taught)
    — NOTE: all of the above courses listed are equivalent in content, so only one of them can be taken for course credit.
    — NOTE: If LGCS 132 is used to meet the Cognitive Science methods distribution requirement, it cannot also be used to meet the Brain and Cognition distribution requirement.
  • LGCS 133 PO: Neurolinguistics
  • LGCS 135 PO: Bilingual Cognition

Concentration requirement:

Students select three additional courses that cohere around a theme relevant to cognitive science which must be approved by the Coordinator of Cognitive Science. In addition to the courses listed above, some other courses that are approved to count toward the concentration in cognitive science are listed below by department that offers them:

LGCS
  • LGCS 121 PO: Psycholinguistics
Psychology
  • PSYC 040 CM: Cognitive Psychology
  • PSYC 096 CM: Neuropsychology
  • PSYC 108 PO or PSYC 105 PZ: Child Development
  • PSYC 127 PZ: Language and Cognition
Computer Science
  • CSCI 054 PO: Discrete Math and Functional Programming OR CSCI 060 HM: Principles of Computer Science
  • CSCI 062 PO: Data Structures and Advanced Programming OR CSCI 070 HM: Data Structures and Program Development OR CSCI 046 CMC: Data Structures and Algorithms
  • CSCI 101 PO: Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation
  • CSCI 124 PO: User Interfaces and User Experience
  • CSCI 151 PO or HM: Artificial Intelligence
  • CSCI 152 PO or HM: Neural Networks
  • CSCI 158 PO: Machine Learning
  • CSCI 159 PO or HM: Natural Language Processing
Other Departments
  • COGS 123L JT: Mind, Brains & Programs (formerly COGS 123 PZ)

For other ideas about courses that could potentially be used as a concentration, see the Example Concentrations.

A Seminar (preferably taken by end of junior year or earlier):

  • LGCS 183 PO: Topics in Generative Syntax
  • LGCS 184 PO: Topics in Phonology
  • LGCS 185 PO: Topics in Cognitive Science
  • PHIL 185C PZ: Topics in Philosophy of Cognitive Science
  • PSYC 180H PO: Seminar in Consciousness and Cognition

Senior Thesis:

The thesis requires enrollment in .5 credit of LGCS 191 PO for two semesters in the senior year.

  • LGCS 191 PO: Senior Thesis in Linguistics and Cognitive Science