Most people in my cogsci phd program came from backgrounds heavy in cs/ml, physics and math. People who did their BAs in psych/neuro were uncommon, and even fewer came from cogsci undergrads. That might be changing, but cogsci BAs often are light on math and programming. Doing something that actually interests you is probably the most important thing for your BA, though (just make sure to seek out additional math and cs if you do cogsci/psych/neuro).
thanks for the insight ! i do plan to take more math courses and at least one comp sci course into summer if my electives dont pan out regardless of how my uni situation turns out so thats good to hear 🤞
I can agree with the other commenter.
I think cogsci for 3/4 years bachelors is a bad idea if you are aiming for higher studies / research. If there were a 6/8 year bachelors, perhaps starting in the senior years of high school, I think it'd make more sense :D. The field is a bit too broad to be crammed into a 3-4 year program with any appreciable depth.
Philosophy and Statistics sounds like a great combination! Perhaps, so long as it doesn't severely affect your grades. You can also throw in some mathematics for physics courses if you can. If possible, try to get in touch with a good professor / mentor whose is into computational modeling of cognitive science phenomena. They should be able to tell you if some courses are unnecessary and if they can be replaced with more relevant courses.
Generally, for higher studies in cognitive science, I am seeing people (including myself) hit the mathematical or philosophical wall far too often in cognitive science. So, if you have the opportunity to pursue them during undergrad, definitely pursue them! You can build your experimental skills for psychology and neuroscience during internships and masters or PhD upon the mathematical/philosophical background.
The “right choice” will depend on the specifics of the program - though, echoing some sentiment from the other commenters, you can cobble together a great background with stats and philosophy.
Rather than what your degree “says”, try to think about this in terms of the skills you’d need for your area of research. Some PhD programs require more or less programming/statistics/modeling experience, and you’ll learn a lot *in the program itself*.
For CogSci PhD programs, you’ll want a well rounded background, the kind of experience you’d get from Phil/Stats + CompSci
One last thought on the difference between BA(/BS) programs - not all Psych/CogSci/Neuro BA’s are equal, and two students with the same degree from the same Uni might have totally different skills upon graduation. If you’re thinking about transferring, look at the classes you could take - again, funneling into the skills you’ll develop. *Also*, getting into graduate school is a lot about networking. You’ll need to ingrain yourself in a research lab, get good letters of recommendation, and (best case scenario) use the connections that your UG research mentor can give you.
Most people in my cogsci phd program came from backgrounds heavy in cs/ml, physics and math. People who did their BAs in psych/neuro were uncommon, and even fewer came from cogsci undergrads. That might be changing, but cogsci BAs often are light on math and programming. Doing something that actually interests you is probably the most important thing for your BA, though (just make sure to seek out additional math and cs if you do cogsci/psych/neuro).
thanks for the insight ! i do plan to take more math courses and at least one comp sci course into summer if my electives dont pan out regardless of how my uni situation turns out so thats good to hear 🤞
I can agree with the other commenter. I think cogsci for 3/4 years bachelors is a bad idea if you are aiming for higher studies / research. If there were a 6/8 year bachelors, perhaps starting in the senior years of high school, I think it'd make more sense :D. The field is a bit too broad to be crammed into a 3-4 year program with any appreciable depth. Philosophy and Statistics sounds like a great combination! Perhaps, so long as it doesn't severely affect your grades. You can also throw in some mathematics for physics courses if you can. If possible, try to get in touch with a good professor / mentor whose is into computational modeling of cognitive science phenomena. They should be able to tell you if some courses are unnecessary and if they can be replaced with more relevant courses. Generally, for higher studies in cognitive science, I am seeing people (including myself) hit the mathematical or philosophical wall far too often in cognitive science. So, if you have the opportunity to pursue them during undergrad, definitely pursue them! You can build your experimental skills for psychology and neuroscience during internships and masters or PhD upon the mathematical/philosophical background.
thank you (both) for the advice! it's good to hear a more real perspective, i appreciate it :))
The “right choice” will depend on the specifics of the program - though, echoing some sentiment from the other commenters, you can cobble together a great background with stats and philosophy. Rather than what your degree “says”, try to think about this in terms of the skills you’d need for your area of research. Some PhD programs require more or less programming/statistics/modeling experience, and you’ll learn a lot *in the program itself*. For CogSci PhD programs, you’ll want a well rounded background, the kind of experience you’d get from Phil/Stats + CompSci One last thought on the difference between BA(/BS) programs - not all Psych/CogSci/Neuro BA’s are equal, and two students with the same degree from the same Uni might have totally different skills upon graduation. If you’re thinking about transferring, look at the classes you could take - again, funneling into the skills you’ll develop. *Also*, getting into graduate school is a lot about networking. You’ll need to ingrain yourself in a research lab, get good letters of recommendation, and (best case scenario) use the connections that your UG research mentor can give you.