Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science

Cognitive Science is the study of cognition from an interdisciplinary perspective, is largely informed by models of information processing. Contributing disciplines include cognitive and physiological psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, as well as other fields, such as anthropology and sociology. Topics of focus include perception, memory, reasoning and language. Dartmouth’s cognitive science program is issues-oriented and relies on methods drawn from a number of disciplines. Students pursuing a major should become familiar with the basic approaches to cognition of psychology, philosophy, computer science and linguistics. This breadth is complemented by the depth provided by the focus area, elective courses chosen under the guidance of an advisor, which allows students to gain specialized knowledge in a particular topical area of cognitive science. Linguistics Learning Outcomes - Students who complete a major in Linguistics: Grasp the complexity of language as a communication system shaped by cognitive, biological, cultural, and social factors. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts, theories, and methodologies used by linguists in qualitative and quantitative analyses of linguistic structure, and patterns of language use. Demonstrate understanding of processes of language change and variation, the role of language in reflecting and constructing social identities, and the distinctive properties of human language. Are able to collect, organize and analyze linguistic data from diverse languages, to form hypotheses about language structure/use and to test those hypotheses against new data. Acquire the technical vocabulary and theoretical tools of the field, necessary to read published linguistic research. Can synthesize research findings and construct a readable, well supported research report. Are ready for significant scholarly participation in the field of linguistics.