Immerse yourself in a deeply interdisciplinary program with research in computational cognitive modeling, artificial intelligence, extreme expertise, human and machine reasoning, computational linguistics, perception and action, theoretical neuroscience, cognitive robotics, cognitive engineering, and advanced synthetic characters.
Program Overview
The Cognitive Science Department offers a Master of Science degree in Cognitive Science. The degree is open only to two groups of students. The first group is those who are already admitted to Rensselaer in a doctoral program. This includes students in the Cognitive Science doctoral program as well as students in other doctoral programs (e.g., Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems, Computer Science, and so on). Rensselaer doctoral students who desire a Master's in Cognitive Science should contact the department directly.
After Graduation
Graduates of the M.S. in Cognitive Science program have gone on to positions in academia, industry, and government. Below are some examples of the current positions of former M.S. students.
Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi
Post-doctoral Fellow, Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA
Data Engineer, Grant Street Group
Physician, Brooke Army Medical Center (M.D. from SUNY Upstate Medical University)
Research Analyst, HarrisX (completed post-bac at NIH modeling COVID-19 trends)
Ph.D. student, Information Studies program, University of Maryland College
Supported Education and Employment Specialist for OnTrackNY, Access: Supports for Living
Computer Scientist, US Army
IT Emerging Talent Rotation Employee, Merck
Software Engineer, Aspyr Media
Ph.D. student, Department of Cognitive Sciences, UC Irvine
D.O. medical student, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
Teacher Certification trainee, Dallas, TX City School District
A truly interdisciplinary approach to cognitive science education – at the intersection of psychology, computer science, and philosophy – with important links to neuroscience, linguistics, anthropology, mathematics, biology, and education.
Program Overview
Discover a broad, interdisciplinary, and fast-growing field.
In addition to having a strong computational emphasis, the B.S. in Cognitive Science at Rensselaer combines psychology and philosophy with disciplines such as neuroscience and linguistics to equip students with the reasoning, communication, and analytical skills needed to succeed in a diverse field.
After Graduation
A degree in cognitive science prepares students for:
- Careers in the information industry, human-factors engineering, artificial intelligence, human-performance testing, and education.
- Graduate studies in cognitive science, computer science, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, information technology, economics, linguistics, anthropology, education, and law.
“RPI’s cognitive science program is wonderful: It’s innovative, well organized, comprehensive, challenging, and interesting. The professors are extremely passionate about their areas of study and always go above and beyond to maintain environments conducive for their students to best learn."
— Olivia Fryt ’16
Top Employers:
- Amazon
The Cognitive Science Department pursues a deeper understanding of the human mind by discovering the fundamental principles underlying all forms of natural and artificial intelligence, from high-level reasoning to rapid perceptual-motor behavior.
Learn about our academic programsAcademic Programs
| Area of Study | B.S. | Minor | M.S. | Ph.D. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Science | Cognitive Science, B.S. | Cognitive Science, Minor | Cognitive Science, M.S. | Cognitive Science, Ph.D. |
| Philosophy | Philosophy, B.S. | Philosophy, Minor | ||
| Psychological Science | Psychological Science, B.S. | Psychological Science, Minor | ||
| General Psychology | General Psychology, Minor | |||
| Linguistics | Linguistics, Minor | |||
| Philosophy of Logic, Computation, and Mind | Philosophy of Logic, Computation, and Mind, Minor | |||
| Cognitive Science of Artificial Intelligence | Cognitive Science of Artificial Intelligence, Minor | |||
| Well-being | Well-being, Minor | |||
| Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience | Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Minor |