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Cognitive Science Minor

Program Requirements

Lower Division Requirements

Students complete a total of 21-31 units, including both of

COGS 100 - Exploring the Mind (3)

This course provides a basic integrative overview of how cognitive science aspires to integrate the empirical findings, theories, and methods of psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computing science and philosophy. Prerequisite: Open to all students. Students with credit for COGS 200 may not take COGS 100 for further credit. Breadth-Hum/Social Sci/Science.

COGS 200 - Foundations in Cognitive Science (3)

An introduction to major empirical methods and theoretical frameworks for exploring the mind that examines some of the foundational debates that have fueled investigations over the past fifty years. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the course illustrates how a convergence of ideas from psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science has led to deep explanations of a range of cognitive science topics. Prerequisite: COGS 100. Students who have taken COGS 200 before 1998 may take this course for further credit.

and the requirements listed below for two of the four disciplines. When provided with a choice between different 200 division courses, students should consider which course can be used as a prerequisite for a subsequent 300 division course.

Computer Science

Students who choose this discipline will complete one of

CMPT 125 - Introduction to Computing Science and Programming II (3)

A rigorous introduction to computing science and computer programming, suitable for students who already have some backgrounds in computing science and programming. Intended for students who will major in computing science or a related program. Topics include: fundamental algorithms; elements of empirical and theoretical algorithmics; abstract data types and elementary data structures; basic object-oriented programming and software design; computation and computability; specification and program correctness; and history of computing science. Prerequisite: BC Math 12 (or equivalent, or any of MATH 100, 150, 151, 154, or 157) and CMPT 120. Students with credit for CMPT 126, 128, 135 or CMPT 200 or higher may not take for further credit. Quantitative.

CMPT 126 - Introduction to Computing Science and Programming (3)

A rigorous introduction to computing science and computer programming, suitable for students who already have substantial programming background. This course provides a condensed version of the two-course sequence of CMPT 120/125, with the primary focus on computing science and object oriented programming. Topics include: fundamental algorithms and problem solving; abstract data types and elementary data structures; basic object-oriented programming and software design; elements of empirical and theoretical algorithmics; computation and computability; specification and program correctness; and history of computing science. Prerequisite: BC Math 12 (or equivalent, or any of MATH 100, 150, 151, 154, or 157). Students with credit for CMPT 120, 125, 128, 130, 135 or higher may not take CMPT 126 for further credit. Quantitative/Breadth-Science.

and all of

CMPT 225 - Data Structures and Programming (3)

Introduction to a variety of practical and important data structures and methods for implementation and for experimental and analytical evaluation. Topics include: stacks, queues and lists; search trees; hash tables and algorithms; efficient sorting; object-oriented programming; time and space efficiency analysis; and experimental evaluation. Prerequisite: MACM 101 and one of CMPT 125, 126 or 128; or CMPT 128 and approval as a Biomedical Engineering Major. Students with credit for CMPT 201 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.

MACM 101 - Discrete Mathematics I (3)

Introduction to counting, induction, automata theory, formal reasoning, modular arithmetic. Prerequisite: BC Math 12 (or equivalent, or any of MATH 100, 150, 151, 154, 157. Quantitative/Breadth-Science.

Linguistics

Students who choose this discipline will complete

LING 220 - Introduction to Linguistics (3)

An introduction to linguistic analysis. Breadth-Social Sciences.

and one of

LING 221 - Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology (3)

The principles of phonetic and phonological analysis. Prerequisite: LING 220.

LING 222 - Introduction to Syntax (3)

The principles of syntactic analysis. Prerequisite: LING 220.

Philosophy

Students who choose this discipline will complete all of

PHIL 100W - Knowledge and Reality (3)

An introduction to some of the central problems of philosophy. Topics to be discussed include the different theories of reality; the nature and sources of knowledge, truth, evidence, and reason; the justification of belief and knowledge about the universe. These topics and problems will be considered as they arise in the context of issues such as: relativism versus absolutism; the existence of God; personal identity; the nature of the mind and its relation to the body; free will and determinism; the possibility of moral knowledge. Open to all students. Students with credit for PHIL 100 may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

PHIL 201 - Epistemology (3)

A critical overview of recent accounts of the nature and scope of human knowledge and of justified or rational belief, and of philosophical issues that these accounts are intended to address. Prerequisite: one of PHIL 100W, 144, 150, or 151, or COGS 100. Students who have taken PHIL 301 cannot take this course for further credit.

PHIL 210 - Natural Deductive Logic (3)

This course studies a natural deductive system of propositional and quantificational logic, the first-order theory of identity and the first-order theory of relations. Topics include the metatheory of propositional logic and the application of formal theory to the assessment of natural language arguments. Quantitative.

Psychology

Students who choose this discipline will complete all of

PSYC 100 - Introduction to Psychology I (3)

Acquaints the student with the major issues in contemporary psychology and considers the historical antecedents. Special attention is given to questions of methodology and research design in psychology. Topics in physiological psychology, perception, learning and motivation are considered. Students with credit for PSYC 101 may not take PSYC 100 for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences. Breadth-Social Sciences.

PSYC 102 - Introduction to Psychology II (3)

Acquaints the student with major issues in contemporary psychology and considers their historical antecedents. Topics in learning, cognition, social psychology and abnormal psychology are considered. Recommended: PSYC 100 is recommended but not required. Students with credit for PSYC 101 may not take PSYC 102 for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences. Breadth-Social Sciences.

PSYC 201W - Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology (4)

An introduction to the procedures used in psychological research, and to the logic underlying them. Topics include the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to research, the formulation of testable questions, the control of extraneous influences, the measurement of effects, and the drawing of valid conclusions from empirical evidence. Provides a background for senior psychology courses since it offers a basis for the critical evaluation and conduct of research. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 102 (or PSYC 101). See the Letters of Permission section within the undergraduate Department of Psychology. Students with credit for PSYC 201 may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Quantitative.

PSYC 221 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology (3)

Introduction to the study of cognitive and perceptual processes. Topics include memory, perception, attention, language, mental imagery, creativity, judgment and decision-making, and an introduction to cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, dyslexia, aphasia and attention-deficit disorder. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 (or PSYC 101). Students with credit for PSYC 320 may not take PSYC 221 for further credit.

PSYC 280 - Introduction to Biological Psychology (3)

Surveys the major areas in biological psychology. Topics include the basics of neuroanatomy and nerve cell function, the behavioral and physiological effects of drugs and hormones in the nervous system, evolutionary perspectives on the brain and behavior, and the biopsychology of vision, the chemical senses, hearing, movement, biological rhythms, sex, and cognitive processes. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 (or 101). Recommended: BISC 101. Breadth-Science.

Upper Division Requirements

Students complete a total of 15-16 units, including both of

COGS 300 - Selected Topics in Cognitive Science (3)

An interdisciplinary exploration of recent work on some special topic in cognitive science (such as vision, reasoning, connectionism, etc.). Prerequisite: Lower division cognitive science course requirements. Students with credit for COGS 400 may not take COGS 300 for further credit.

COGS 310 - Consciousness (3)

Explores the topic of consciousness, often called "the last great mystery of science," focusing on current scientific theories and empirical investigations from philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. Prerequisite: COGS 100 and 200 (or permission of the instructor).

and three courses from the following, including at least one course in each of the two disciplines selected previously at the lower division.

Computing Science

CMPT 310 - Artificial Intelligence Survey (3)

Provides a unified discussion of the fundamental approaches to the problems in artificial intelligence. The topics considered are: representational typology and search methods; game playing, heuristic programming; pattern recognition and classification; theorem-proving; question-answering systems; natural language understanding; computer vision. Prerequisite: CMPT 225 and MACM 101. Students with credit for CMPT 410 may not take this course for further credit.

CMPT 411 - Knowledge Representation (3)

Formal and foundational issues dealing with the representation of knowledge in artificial intelligence systems are covered. Questions of semantics, incompleteness, non-monotonicity and others will be examined. As well, particular approaches, such as procedural or semantic network, may be discussed. Prerequisite: Completion of nine units in Computing Science upper division courses or, in exceptional cases, permission of the instructor.

CMPT 412 - Computational Vision (3)

Computational approaches to image understanding will be discussed in relation to theories about the operation of the human visual system and with respect to practical applications in robotics. Topics will include edge detection, shape from shading, stereopsis, optical flow, Fourier methods, gradient space, three-dimensional object representation and constraint satisfaction. Prerequisite: MATH 152, and nine units in Computing upper division courses or permission of the instructor.

CMPT 413 - Computational Linguistics (3)

This course examines the theoretical and applied problems of constructing and modelling systems, which aim to extract and represent the meaning of natural language sentences or of whole discourses, but drawing on contributions from the fields of linguistics, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence and computing science. Prerequisite: Completion of nine units in Computing Science upper division courses or, in exceptional cases, permission of the instructor.

CMPT 414 - Model-Based Computer Vision (3)

This course covers various topics in computer vision with the emphasis on the model-based approach. Main subjects include 2-D and 3-D representations, matching, constraint relaxation, model-based vision systems. State-of-the-art robot vision systems will be used extensively as study cases. The solid modelling and CAD aspects of this course should also interest students of computer graphics. Prerequisite: MATH 152 and nine units in CMPT upper division courses, or permission of the instructor.

CMPT 417 - Intelligent Systems (3)

Intelligent Systems using modern constraint programming and heuristic search methods. A survey of this rapidly advancing technology as applied to scheduling, planning, design and configuration. An introduction to constraint programming, heuristic search, constructive (backtrack) search, iterative improvement (local) search, mixed-initiative systems and combinatorial optimization. Prerequisite: CMPT 225.

CMPT 418 - Computational Cognitive Architecture (3)

Computationally-oriented theories of human cognitive architecture are explored, beginning with neurologically inspired (neural network) models of "low-level" brain processes, and progressing upwards to higher-level symbolic processing, of the kind that occurs in rule-following and problem solving. Arguments concerning the need for modular processing and combinatorially adequate forms of mental representation are examined at length. Prerequisite: CMPT 225. Recommended: CMPT 310.

CMPT 419 - Special Topics in Artificial Intelligence (3)

Current topics in artificial intelligence depending on faculty and student interest.

Note: 400 division courses require instructor consent if prerequisites need to be waived.

Linguistics

LING 321 - Phonology (3)

An overview of theoretical principles in phonology. Prerequisite: LING 221.

LING 322 - Syntax (3)

The study of sentence structure in language through a survey of constructions found in natural language data together with a consideration of syntactic theory. Prerequisite: LING 222.

LING 324 - Semantics (3)

Basic formal aspects of meaning (e.g. compositional semantics, truth conditional semantics and quantification in natural language) and how they are distinguished from pragmatic aspects of meaning. Prerequisite: LING 222. Quantitative.

LING 330 - Phonetics (3)

A survey of methods of speech sound description and transcription. Prerequisite: LING 221.

LING 350 - First Language Acquisition (3)

Introduction to the study of language acquisition from the point of view of linguistic structure. Prerequisite: LING 220, 221; or 310. Students who have taken LING 250 may not take this course for further credit.

Philosophy

PHIL 302 - Topics in Epistemology and Metaphysics (3)

An exploration of philosophical issues concerning, e.g.: causation, time, modality, or the self; the realism/nominalism or realism/idealism debate; relativism; the concept of truth; naturalized epistemology; global epistemological skepticism or perhaps a 'local' form of skepticism such as skepticism about induction or about sensory belief. Prerequisite: PHIL 201 or 203.

PHIL 314 - Topics in Logic I (3)

An examination of one or more topics such as: philosophical logic; deontic logic; the logic of knowledge and belief; the logic of preference; tense logics; foundations of set theory; recursive functions; the history of logic. Prerequisite: PHIL 210, 214, or an otherwise suitable background.

PHIL 341 - Philosophy of Science (3)

A study of the nature of scientific enquiry, classificatory systems, laws and theories, the role of observation in science, the demarcation between science and non-science, causality, the status of theoretical constructs, and teleological explanation. Prerequisite: PHIL 100; PHIL 210 or 214; and one of PHIL 201 or 203, or COGS 200.

PHIL 343 - Philosophy of Mind (3)

A study of theories of the mind, consciousness, and human action. Prerequisite: PHIL 100; and one of PHIL 201 or 203, or COGS 200.

PHIL 344 - Philosophy of Language (3)

An introduction to the major philosophic theories of language. Topics to be considered include the relationship between language and mind, language and the world, language and society. Prerequisite: PHIL 100; and one of PHIL 201 or 203, or COGS 200.

Psychology

PSYC 303 - Perception (3)

An introduction to the study of perceptual processes with an emphasis on seeing and hearing. Topics include the perception of features, objects, motion, depth, time, visual illusions, and individual differences in perceptual ability. Prerequisite: PSYC 201 and one of 221 (or 320) or 335.

PSYC 325 - Memory (3)

Examination of the phenomena of memory and the retention and reproduction of information. Considers the conditions and principles of retention and recall in short- and long-term memory. Prerequisite: Psyc 201W and Psyc 221 (or Psyc 320).

PSYC 330 - Attention (3)

Survey the different aspects of paying attention. Topics include the effects of selective and divided attention on perceptual and cognitive function; the role of attention in human performance; attentional dysfunction and attention-deficit disorder; and the development of attentional capacity across the life span from newborns to the elderly. Prerequisite: PSYC 201, and 221 (or 320).

PSYC 335 - Sensation (3)

Examines the properties of the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and kinesthetic systems and receptor mechanisms with a strong emphasis on physiology. Topics include psychophysical measurement of sensations, cross-modal organization and computational modeling of sensory processes, and the interface between sensory and perceptual processes. Prerequisite: PSYC 201, 221, and one of 280 or 303.

PSYC 382 - Cognitive Neuroscience (3)

Examines the neurophysiological bases of cognitive and perceptual phenomena such as memory, attention, language, thinking, imagery, vision, audition, and sensory processes. The study of human cognitive performance with measurement techniques such as ERP, PET, and MRI is also discussed. Prerequisite: PSYC 201, 221, and 280.

PSYC 383 - Psychopharmacology (3)

A survey of how psychoactive drugs affect brain function to alter consciousness and behavior. Topics will include cellular effects of drugs that affect the central nervous system and discussions of the psychological and social effects of those drug-induced changes in the brain. Research on drug abuse and addictions and means of treating them will be covered. Historical, social and legal aspects of non-medical drug use will be discussed, as will the use of medications for the treatment of anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, dementias and other psychological disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 201 and 280. Students with credit for PSYC 483 may not take this course for further credit.

PSYC 385 - Evolution and Psychology (3)

Topics such as altruism, parental care, mate choice, sex differences in behavior, aggression, dominance and territoriality are considered from an evolutionary perspective. The role of heredity and environment in the development of these behaviors is also discussed. Prerequisite: PSYC 201W: Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Major Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs (except the honours program), students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at 間眅埶AV
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at 間眅埶AV
  • at least 65 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0, and a program (major, joint major, extended minor, minor) CGPA and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0

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