Cognitive Systems (BA) at UBC's Vancouver campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

This Arts program provides you with a grounding in the principles and techniques used by intelligent systems, both natural and artificial. It emphasizes the study of existing systems (i.e., linguistics), the design of new ones (i.e., machine intelligence), and the design of interfaces between different forms of intelligent agents. You can choose to specialize in Cognition and the Brain; Language; or Mind, Language, and Computation.

Why this program?

Use tools from computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology to study the basis of human thought, its development, and the ways in which it can be used effectively.
Gain skills that you can use in academic, industrial, and governmental and non-governmental organizations to help make the world a better place.
Establish deep and broad foundations on which to build an understanding of the mind.

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Program information

Campus: Vancouver
Faculty: Faculty of Arts
Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Length 4 yrs
Co-op Yes
You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
Honours No
You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Cognitive Systems sits at the intersection of computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. It is the study of the systems that enable people to think, of the systems that can help and hinder our thinking, and of the artificial systems in which something like cognition is accomplished.

We teach, use, and re-conceptualize the most important and in-demand tools of the 21st century: the tools that every organization, business, and government is hoping to benefit from. We know how to understand data, and we know that data never speak for themselves. We know how to design effective cognitive systems, and we understand the ethical complexities of doing so.

As a student in the Cognitive Systems program, you’ll have hands-on research experiences that will equip you to work at the outer limits of scientific understanding, pushing to increase knowledge of those aspects of human nature that have proved most resistant to scientific explanation.

CPSC 110 - Computation, Programs, and Programming
Fundamental program and computation structures. Introductory programming skills. Computation as a tool for information processing, simulation and modeling, and interacting with the world.
CPSC 121 - Models of Computation
Physical and mathematical structures of computation. Boolean algebra and combinations logic circuits; proof techniques; functions and sequential circuits; sets and relations; finite state machines; sequential instruction execution.

COGS 200 - Introduction to Cognitive Systems
Interdisciplinary examination of human mental processes and how these are mediated by the brain. Will draw on cognitive psychology, linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, artificial intelligence.
LING 100 - Introduction to Language and Linguistics
Study of language as a universal and uniquely human cognitive system: What universals do all languages share and how do languages differ? An investigation of sound systems, word-building, grammatical principles, language change, dialect variation, language acquisition, neurolinguistics. Recommended but not required for an honours, major, or minor in linquistics or speech sciences.
PHIL 220 - Symbolic Logic
Sentential and predicate logic. Translation from natural language; truth tables and interpretations; systems of natural deduction up to relational predicate logic with identity; alternative proof methods. Some sections may use computer-based materials and tests.
PSYC 217 - Research Methods
Focus on various research methods used in psychology, with an emphasis on critical thinking and experimental design. Restricted to students in the Faculty of Arts who have declared their major in one of Psychology, Cognitive Systems, or Speech Sciences (Linguistics Department).
PSYC 218 - Analysis of Behavioural Data
Use of inferential statistics in psychology and conceptual interpretation of data; experimental design (laboratory, field research methods); presentation of data analyses in reports. PSYC 218 excludes credit for a number of other statistics courses in various departments. Please consult the Science Exclusion List (www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414) before registering.

COGS 300 - Understanding and Designing Cognitive Systems
Theory and methods for integrating diverse disciplinary content in cognitive systems.
COGS 303 - Research Methods in Cognitive Systems
Examination and comparison of the research methodologies of different disciplines relevant to cognitive systems.
PHIL 451 - Philosophy of Mind
The nature of the mental and physical; the relation between minds and bodies; the character of psychological explanation.
PSYC 365 - Cognitive Neuroscience
Current research into human brain systems underlying cognitive processes such as perception, attention, memory, and decision-making.

COGS 401 - Seminar in Cognitive Systems
Interdisciplinary seminar integrating theory, methods, and current research topics.
COGS 402 - Research in Cognitive Systems
Supervised research project in a Cognitive Systems-related laboratory.

Life at UBC's Vancouver campus

UBC's Cognitive Systems program covers dangerous and powerful ideas. You'll encounter the most ancient of philosophical enquiries and the most recently developed branches of computational engineering. You'll learn how this knowledge can be used as a force for change.

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Your future

As a Cognitive Systems graduate, you’ll be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to put information to work for the human good: you’ll have an understanding of information, an understanding of the human, and an understanding of the good. Strong, multidisciplinary foundations established through the Cognitive Systems program will provide you with a unique, multifaceted perspective and prepare you to think flexibly. Cognitive Systems graduates are in demand in any number of professions in which computer science, the human mind, and other complex systems interact.

Program graduates

Founder and CEO, PatentPal
Data Science Consultant, Cardinal Path
Business Intelligence Consultant, Visier
Software Engineer, Microsoft

Program requirements

Canadian high schools
International high schools
International baccalaureate

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.
IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Arts

No specific courses required beyond those needed for general admission

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

Language Arts
Mathematics and Computation
Second Languages
Social Studies
Visual and Performing Arts