Program Overview
The doctoral program in Cognitive Science was launched in 2003 with the aim of making seminal contributions to the field by training the next generation of world-class cognitive scientists. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science, this program trains students to integrate theories, methods, and tools from a variety of fields.
After Graduation
Graduates of the Ph.D. in Cognitive Science program have gone on to positions in academia, industry, and government. Below are some examples of the current positions of former Ph.D. students. Note that this list also includes current positions of former post-docs. These are marked with an asterisk.
Academia
Associate Professor, Center for Imaging Sciences, RIT
Associate Professor, Cognitive Science Department, RPI
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Northeastern University
Post-doctoral Fellow, Center for Perceptual Systems, UT Austin
Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Post-doctoral Fellow, School of Medicine and School of Psychology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, NYU
* Full Professor, Department of Psychology, Purdue University
* Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, Colby College
Industry
Directory, Research and Development, Machine Learning Group, Disney Research Studios
Staff Software Developer, IBM
Government
Cognitive Systems Researcher, U.S. Army Research Lab
Research Scientist, State of Minnesota
Research Scientist, Sandia National Laboratories
Discover the science of behavior and the brain in a technological world. Learn how behavior and thought are influenced by neurophysiological, emotional, cognitive, developmental, social, and environmental factors.
Program Overview
The B.S. in Psychological Science at Rensselaer provides students with a technology-driven education for a technology-driven field.
Psychological science is a rapidly evolving discipline that seeks to understand human thought and behavior through the use of scientific methods. With advances in technologies that track and predict thought and behavior, psychological scientists are continually making discoveries that improve the way people live and work.
After Graduation
A degree in psychological science prepares students for:
Graduate studies in psychological science, medicine, education, law, business, and more.
Careers in a wide variety of sectors including business, data science, information technology, health care, government, education, and law.
Think critically about the complex questions of our world. Search for understanding and wisdom through inquiry into fundamental questions regarding existence, knowledge and "how to live a good life."
Program Overview
Agreeing with Socrates that “the unexamined life is not worth living,” the B.S. in Philosophy asks student to think critically about the most complex, enduring questions regarding existence, knowledge, and values facing the world.
- How are right and wrong determined?
- Does science give us objective truth?
- Do humans have free will?
Through research, reflection, and discussion, the program equips students with the reasoning and critical-thinking skills needed to be responsible citizens and tomorrow’s global leaders.
After Graduation
A degree in philosophy provides a solid foundation for careers and graduate studies in law, medicine, journalism, artificial intelligence, and more.
"Philosophy has greatly enhanced my learning experience at Rensselaer by refining my ability to grasp and reason through complex concepts while teaching me how to think more critically about the topics within my major."
— Mina Kodsi
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 |