DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE SCIENCES
3221 Social Science
Plaza B; (949) 824-3771
Michael D'Zmura, Department Chair
The Department of Cognitive Sciences is committed to the investigation of the abstract, complex structures that underlie human cognition: language, thought, memory, learning, sensorimotor integration and perception. The main areas of research strength within the Department are visual and auditory perception, experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, mathematical psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.
Students should be aware that psychology courses are offered in several different departments and programs. Students interested in general psychology including the areas of development, clinical, perception, learning, memory, cognitive processes, and neuroscience are advised to consult the course listings here in the Department of Cognitive Sciences section. These courses are designed to provide students with a strong foundation in general psychology. Students interested in other areas of psychology are advised to consult the course listings in the School of Social Ecology and the School of Biological Sciences sections.
In anticipation that the number of students who are qualified to elect Psychology as a major will exceed the number of positions available, students applying for admission for fall 2007 should be sure to file their application before November 30, 2006.
Change of Major: Information about change-of-major requirements, procedures, and policies is available in the School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Counseling Office and at http://www.due. uci.edu/Change_of_Major.html.
Excellence in Psychological Research: Psychology majors doing independent research under Psychology 199 may be eligible for participation in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Participants can obtain research funding and have the opportunity to have their research papers published in a peer-reviewed student journal or to present them at a special conference of UCI student research. Guidelines for the program are available from the Department of Cognitive Sciences office.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE
University Requirements: See pages 59-64.
School Requirements: See page 442.
Departmental Requirements for the Major in Psychology
School requirements must be met and must include 18 courses (70 units) as specified below:
A. Psychology 9A-B-C.
B. Two introductory courses (eight units) in the social sciences chosen from Anthropology 2A or 2B, Economics 1, Linguistics 3, Political Science 6A, 6B, or 6C, Sociology 1, or, by petition, one or two quarters of Social Science H1E, H1F, or H1G, when topic is not psychology.
C. A one-quarter course and laboratory in experimental psychology or research methods selected from Psychology 112A and 112LA, 112G and 112LG (requires 112F and 112LF as prerequisites), 112M and 112LM, or 112P and 112LP. (Psychology 112F and 112LF were previously numbered 115A and 115LA.).
NOTE: These courses have as prerequisites Psychology 9A-B-C and one year of mathematics/statistics (see course listings). These prerequisites are strictly enforced. Psychology 112A, 112LA are the first quarter of a multi-quarter sequence that satisfies the upper-division writing requirement and allows students to plan and conduct research projects. Students taking these courses should plan to continue in them through at least the second quarter. Students who intend to fulfill the upper-division writing requirement in some other way should consider taking Psychology 112M, 112LM, or 112P, 112LP to fulfill the laboratory requirement.
D. Four upper-division Psychology core courses are required (16 units). These courses are designated with the ending number "0" and include the following: Psychology 120A, 120D, 120H, 120P, 130A, 140C, 140L, 140M, 160A.
E. Seven additional courses (four or more units each) with emphasis in psychology, distributed as follows:
(1) No more than one of the seven may be lower-division. Psychology 7A, 11E, 46A, 56L, 76M may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
(2) Three of the upper-division courses used to satisfy requirements D and E must be taken from one of the following modules: Psychology 110-119 (Research Methodologies), 120-129 (General Psychology), 130-139 (Perception and Sensory Processes), 140-149 and 150-159 (Learning and Cognition and Semiotics and Language combined), 160-169 (Cognitive Neuroscience), and 170-179 (Interdisciplinary Studies).
(3) Certain courses offered in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Social Ecology may be used in partial satisfaction of this requirement. A total of three of these courses (12 units) may be used in this way with a maximum of two from either of these Schools.
The courses that may be used in this way are those in the Department of Cognitive Sciences' course listings numbered Psychology 127, 147, and 177, as well as Psychology and Social Behavior P109 (same as E108U), P121D, P134H, P164S (same as C105), and Biological Sciences D137, E174, N110, N159.
(4) No more than two of the courses (each of four or more units) may be numbered 190-199.
NOTE: Psychology majors are strongly encouraged to take Biological Sciences 1A-B and 35 in satisfaction of the natural sciences portion of the breadth requirement (Category II). Furthermore, it is strongly recommended that students who intend to pursue postbaccalaureate work in psychology take the Psychology 112A-B-C sequence. Most psychology graduate programs require statistics (which, at UCI, may be satisfied by taking Psychology 10A-B-C, Social Science 10A-B-C, or Social Science 100A-B-C), but some require calculus (which, at UCI, may be satisfied by taking Mathematics 2A-B).
Honors Program in Psychology
The two-year honors program in Psychology is open to selected juniors who are majoring in Psychology. It provides thorough grounding in research methods and culminates with the opportunity for basic research in some area of psychology under faculty supervision. The program has a limited number of openings and seeks to attract outstanding students who plan to undertake postgraduate education in some field of the psychological sciences. Admission to the program is based on a formal application that is normally submitted in the spring quarter of the sophomore year. Applicants should have an overall grade point average of at least 3.2 and a grade point average of at least 3.5 in psychology courses, although this requirement may be waived in unusual cases.
During the junior year, students who participate in the program are expected to enroll in Honors Experimental Psychology (H111A-B-C), and in the fall quarter of the Honors Seminar in Psychology (H101A). As seniors, following successful completion of these junior-year requirements, Psychology honors students are enrolled in the Honors Seminar in Psychology (H101B-C) in the fall and spring quarters. Participants in the honors program are expected to complete course work beyond the breadth requirement in one or more of the following areas: biological sciences, mathematics, computer science, physical science, linguistics, philosophy. The honors seminar may be used to satisfy two of the courses required by Part E of the Psychology major requirements. To graduate with Honors in Psychology, a student must successfully complete the requirements for the B.A. degree in Psychology with an overall grade point average of 3.2 and a grade point average of at least 3.5 in Psychology courses. In addition, Honors students must successfully complete a senior honors thesis as part of the senior-year course work.
Psychology Minor Requirements
Requirements for the minor in Psychology are met by taking seven or eight psychology courses (28 or 32 units) as specified below:
A. Psychology 7A (for the 28-unit minor) or 9A-B-C (for the 32-unit minor).
B. Three upper-division Psychology courses chosen from the following core courses in Psychology: 120A, 120D, 120H, 120P, 130A, 140C, 140L, 140M, 160A.
C. For students who take Psychology 7A, three additional psychology courses (four or more units each) no more than one of which is a lower-division course. For students who take Psychology 9A-B-C, two additional upper-division Psychology courses (four or more units each). Psychology 190-199 cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
D. In addition, the School mathematics and computer science requirement (School requirement A) must be satisfied.
Participating Faculty
William Batchelder: Mathematical models of learning and memory, mathematical psychology, and measurement
Bruce Berg: Psychoacoustics of complex sounds, auditory attention
Myron Braunstein: Visual perception and computer applications
Scott D. Brown: Mathematical models of reaction time and practice
Charles F. Chubb: Visual perception, psychophysics, neural networks
Barbara Dosher: Memory, information processing, attention, perception
Michael D'Zmura: Vision, psychophysics, perception
Jean-Claude Falmagne: Mathematical behavioral sciences
Emily D. Grossman: Neural basis of biological motion perception
Gregory Hickok: Neural organization of language and cognition
Donald Hoffman: Human and machine vision, recovery of three-dimensional structure from image motion, visual recognition of objects by their shape
Tarow Indow: Mathematical models in visual space, color space, and human memory
Geoffrey J. Iverson: Cognitive science and mathematical models
Mary-Louise Kean: Linguistic theory and biological foundations of higher mental processes
R. Duncan Luce: Mathematical behavioral science; measurement theory, utility theory, response times
Virginia Mann: Speech perception and its development, the development of reading ability, developmental dyslexia
Louis Narens: Measurement, logic, and metacognition
Kourosh Saberi: Brain and signal detection, genetics
Barbara Sarnecka: Cognitive development
George Sperling: Vision, perception, information processing
Ramesh Srinivasan: Perception, development, and cortical dynamics
Mark Steyvers: Computational models of memory, reasoning, and perception
W.C. Watt: Cognitive semiotics
Charles E. (Ted) Wright: Motor control, skill learning, timing
John I. Yellott, Jr.: Mathematical psychology and visual perception
GRADUATE STUDY IN THE COGNITIVE SCIENCES
The Department of Cognitive Sciences offers a Ph.D. degree program in Psychology, with a specialization in cognitive science, to prepare students for research and teaching careers in academia, industry, and government. The emphasis is on modern techniques of experimentation and theory construction. Special attention is given to providing hands-on research experience and equipping students with sophisticated mathematical and computing skills. The Department has 25 faculty; two are members of the National Academy of Sciences, and many serve as editors or editorial board members of leading professional journals, and as members of NSF and NIH study panels. Many Cognitive Sciences faculty are also members of UCI's Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, and the Department is generally regarded as one of the world's leading centers for mathematically oriented research in cognitive psychology. The Department is also allied closely to the School's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Some Cognitive Sciences faculty participate in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. See the School of Biological Sciences section of the Catalogue for information about this graduate "gateway" program.
ADMISSION
In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission, applicants should have acquired a background in mathematics equivalent to at least one year of calculus. Advanced course work in some of the following fields is highly desirable: psychology, computer science, mathematics, physical sciences, biology, logic, and linguistics. Standard requirements for admission include Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for tests taken within the past five years, official transcripts of all college course work, and at least three letters of recommendation. Applicants whose first language is not English must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and achieve a score of 213 or higher on the computer-based exam or 550 or higher on the paper-based exam. As an alternative to the TOEFL, candidates for admission may submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), in which case an overall minimum score of 7 is required, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module. Applicants who are not citizens of countries where English is either the primary or dominant language as approved by the UCI Graduate Council and who apply for a teaching assistantship, must pass the Test of Spoken English (TSE), or the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) examination, with a score of 50 or more. The IELTS can serve as an alternative to the Test of Spoken English (TSE) when the applicant also scores 8 or higher on the "Speaking" module of the Test.
To receive full consideration for fellowship and assistantship awards, applications must be received by December 15. Late applications may be considered until July 1 on a space-available basis. Since the program starts in the fall quarter, students are not normally admitted in the winter or spring, though exceptions may be made. Application materials may be obtained by contacting the Social Sciences Graduate Office.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTORAL DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY
Each student is expected to take three course sequences in the first year. These include a three-quarter proseminar sequence that covers areas such as learning, memory, perception, and language (Psychology 202A-B-C). The second is a quantitative research methods sequence that covers the areas of probability, statistics, and experimental design (Psychology 203A-B-C). The third is a computational research methods sequence that covers programming for experiments and data analysis (Psychology 205A-B). Suitable substitutes may be made with written approval of the Department's Director of Graduate Studies. Completion of the quantitative research methods sequence may be extended over two years if warranted by the background or needs of the student. Additional advanced course work in other fields relevant to the student's interests will supplement the required courses. Students are expected to enroll in the Cognitive Sciences Research Seminar (Psychology 201A-B-C) during all quarters in residence prior to passage of the advancement-to-candidacy examination.
In addition, students must take at least five more courses prior to advancement to candidacy. These courses are normally taken from at least three of the following seven modules: Foundations (Psychology 200-209); Human Cognition (Psychology 210-229); Methodologies and Models (Psychology 230-239); Virtual Reality (Psychology 240-249); Human Performance (Psychology 250-259); Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology 260-269); and Sensation and Perception (Psychology 270-289).
Each student is expected to carry out theoretical/empirical research during the first two years. By the end of the second year, each student should have completed a research project of a scope and nature that is potentially publishable in a professional journal. Every student is assigned a faculty advisor, and the advisor is responsible for assisting in the planning and other facets of the project. Students are required to present a talk to the Cognitive Sciences Research Seminar, based on their research project, by the end of the spring quarter of their second full year in the graduate program. (Another forum for the second-year talk may be substituted with the written approval of the Graduate Director.)
By the following fall quarter, students are required to write a paper based on their research project. The paper must be approved by the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
At the end of each academic year the faculty of the Department meet to discuss and provide feedback on the progress of each student in the program.
Requirements for the M.A. Degree
NOTE: Although the Department does not have an M.A. program, students may earn an M.A. degree as part of the Ph.D. program.
The student must: (1) complete the required course work as outlined above; (2) present a talk and submit an approved paper, both based on empirical/theoretical research, as described above; and (3) fulfill a computer-programming language requirement by completing satisfactorily the computational research methods sequence Psychology 205A-B or by demonstrating proficiency in use of a programming language for cognitive sciences research as assessed by two faculty members and approved by the Graduate Director.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy
The requirements for advancement to candidacy are: (1) the student must meet the requirements listed above for the M.A. degree; (2) the student must, in addition, form a five-member faculty committee selected according to Graduate Studies policy. The committee will examine the student on a topic which is determined in consultation with the committee. A written document describing the student's work on this topic must be submitted to the committee prior to advancement. The student must demonstrate an understanding of the background and issues for the research topic and show sufficient preparation and creativity to undertake planning for a dissertation project (e.g., by describing a possible experimental design or outlining a possible theoretical development); and (3) students are required to advance to candidacy by the end of the fall quarter of their third year in the program.
Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
The requirements for the Ph.D. degree are: (1) the student must formally present and defend a written dissertation proposal to a committee of at least three members selected according to Graduate Studies requirements. The dissertation proposal presentation may take place as part of the examination for Advancement to Candidacy, in which case, that five-member committee will approve the dissertation proposal; (2) the proposal must be approved prior to the final dissertation defense (usually at least three months before to allow time for the candidate to incorporate suggestions and changes required by the committee); (3) prior to the approval of the final version of the dissertation the student is expected to defend the dissertation in a public colloquium announced with at least one week's notice; and (4) all requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be fulfilled within three years after advancement to candidacy.
The normal time for advancement to candidacy is three years. The normal time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years, and the maximum time permitted is six years.
