This UCSD department, the first Co …
This UCSD department, the first Cognitive Science Department in the world, provides a focus for the continued evolution of the discipline of cognitive science.
Cognitive science is a diverse field unifying three broad categories: the brain, behavior and computation. It's the study of how people, animals and computers think, act and learn. In order to understand the mind/brain, cognitive science brings together the methods and discoveries from neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, philosophy and computer science.
The interdisciplinary aspects of cognitive science continue to flourish, and the participation of the broader cognitive science community on campus continues to be fundamental to cognitive science as practiced at UCSD. The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program continues to be offered as a degree option (in addition to the departmental Ph.D.), with participation by members of the Departments of Anthropology, Biology, Cognitive Science, Communication, Computer Science and Engineering, Linguistics, Music, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, and Sociology.
Cognitive Science is a relatively young field that focuses on conducting new research into the field or applying existing knowledge into new applications. This Department contains several research labs each specializing in different areas and the Department's faculty has also been published many times in various publications.