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First-Year Focus

A Flexible Path

Courses for the cognitive science major and minor do not need to be taken in any particular order, offering students a great deal of flexibility. View the full list of courses being offered toward the major/minor this year. First year students may consider the following:

  • COG SCI 110: Introduction to Cognitive Science is typically offered once per year. It offers an overview of how cognitive science integrates perspectives from different fields to study the mind, brain, and intelligence, with a focus on interdisciplinary work conducted at Northwestern.  If you have the opportunity to take this as you begin the major or minor, that is great!  But this is not necessary: many students begin working on their cognitive science major or minor by taking other courses.
  • STAT 202 or PSYCH 201: Courses on statistical analyses involved in cognitive science research will prepare you for many courses in the themes and electives for the major/minor.
  • COMP SCI 110/111 or STAT 201: Develop coding skills that will be helpful in certain upper level courses for the cognitive science major/minor.
  • Courses in the themes for the major/minor: Many of the courses in the themes do not have any prerequisites, and are intended for students new to the field.  COG SCI 207 (Intro to Cognitive Modeling), COG SCI 210 (Language & the Brain), and COG SCI 211 (Learning, Reasoning, and Representation) are some particularly good options, as are many courses in Linguistics, Music Theory, Philosophy, Psychology, and Learning & Organizational Change!
  • Look ahead: Explore course descriptions in the undergraduate catalog for upper-level theme and elective courses that interest you! Some of these may have prerequisites.  PSYCH 110 (Intro to Psychology) and PSYCH 205/301 (Research Methods in Psychology) are courses that do not count toward the cognitive science major/minor, but are prerequisites for some of the theme and elective courses that do. Taking these may open up more possibilities for you as you progress in your cognitive science studies.

Advising

erinleddon168x210.jpgDr. Erin Leddon is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Cognitive Science. To set up a meeting with her, please send an email to cogsci@northwestern.edu. In the email, please say why you would like a meeting, and please include a copy of your current transcript (if possible) and a Major / Minor Worksheet.

When filling out the worksheet, please be sure to include which quarter you took the class (even though the form only asks for a Y/N response). Having a copy of this worksheet will greatly streamline the meeting!