A graduate certificate in the exciting and fast-growing interdisciplinary field of Cognitive Science can be earned by completing 12 credits selected from among five disciplinary course groups of contemporary inquiry: Cognition and Computation; Philosophy and Cognition, Psychology and Cognition, Language and Cognition and Neuroscience and Cognition. Any current graduate student at University of Michigan completing a PhD or Master’s degree may apply to the program. Students interested in the Graduate Certificate should email cogsci-gradcertificate@umich.edu.
New Curriculum Beginning Fall 2020
Starting in Fall 2020, there are new requirements for the Cognitive Science Graduate Certificate. Certificate students must complete four classes, including:
COGSCI 700, the new interdisciplinary Current Topics in Cognitive Science seminar class
3 additional classes from at least 2 different disciplinary Groups (Cognition and Computation; Philosophy and Cognition, Psychology and Cognition, Language and Cognition and Neuroscience and Cognition)
Below are the course lists for each disciplinary group. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are less frequently offered courses. Courses marked with double asterisk (**) are topics classes for which only specific sections have been approved.
Students who began the Certificate prior to Fall 2020 can earn a Certificate under the old requirements (see below) or the new requirements.
Computation and Cognition
Language and Cognition
Neuroscience and Cognition
Philosophy and Cognition
Psychology and Cognition
Special Considerations for Masters/Embedded Masters Students
If you are either pursuing a Master's degree or have completed an embedded Master’s while doing a PhD program, there are special considerations regarding overlapping coursework between your home program and your certificate curriculum. Please be sure to review Rackham’s policies on double-counting courses with Master’s degrees here.
Students from non-Rackham programs are responsible for checking with their home programs if any double counting restrictions apply.
Students Enrolled in Graduate Certificate Prior to Fall 2020
Students who began the Certificate prior to Fall 2020 will remain on the old curriculum requirements:
A graduate certificate in the exciting and fast-growing interdisciplinary field of Cognitive Science can be earned by completing 12 credits selected from among five distinct areas of contemporary inquiry: Cognition and Computation; Philosophy and Cognition, Psychology and Cognition, Language and Cognition and Neuroscience and Cognition.
The course list below is organized into these five groupings. Both PhD candidates and Master’s degree candidates from any department are eligible for certification. The interdisciplinary curriculum of the Certificate Program is drawn from existing courses within the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Psychology, Philosophy, Neuroscience, and Linguistics. Of the four required courses (a minimum of 12 credit hours), the Certificate Program requires that at least two courses (a minimum of 6 credit hours) must be taken outside of the student’s home graduate program.
