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Bachelor of Cognitive Science (B.Cog.Sc.)

Courses

Table of Contents

1. Concentrations
2. Course Requirements
3. Forms and Documents
4. FAQ and Useful Links
5. For Returning Students
5.1 Program Requirements – The Calendar vs. Your Audit
5.2 Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 2nd Year
5.3 Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 3rd Year
5.4 Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 4th Year

The Bachelor of Cognitive Science (B.Cog.Sc.) is intended for students who do not already have an undergraduate degree. There are two paths. The 15-degree and the more comprehensive honours degree. 

The Bachelor of Cognitive Science degree requires 15.0 credits and normally takes 3 years to complete. It provides the same broad interdisciplinary training as the Honours degree, but without the intensive focus in a particular concentration area. 

The Bachelor of Cognitive Science (Honours) requires 20.0 credits and normally takes 4 years to complete. Students may choose from one of three pathways, leading to either 

Students in the Honours program select one of five concentrations.

What is a credit?

Carleton University has three terms per year. Most students take classes during the fall (September to December) and winter (January to April) terms. There is also a summer term that has more limited course offerings. Most courses are one term long. These are half-credit courses. More rarely there are longer courses that cover both the fall and winter terms. These are 1 credit (or “full credit”) courses. The Honours degree requires 20 credits, which means 40 semester-length courses.

How do I declare my major or minor in cognitive science?

If your current major at Carleton is undeclared or in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS):

  1. Log into Carleton Central
  2. Find Student Online Applications
  3. Open Change of Program Elements (COPE)
  4. Select the change you want (Add/Drop/Change Major, etc.) and submit
  5. Confirmation might take a few days.

If you don’t know if your major is in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), review the FASS list of programs.

If your current major is not in FASS, you will need an internal application. 

Concentrations

What is Cognitive Science?

Cognitive Science brings together various approaches to the study of cognition, drawing from psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy and computer science. Historically, study in Cognitive Science has been conducted within each of these traditional disciplines and this approach still represents important areas of research (for example, cognitive psychology, part of the discipline of psychology, or artificial intelligence, part of the discipline of computer science). However, many researchers, practitioners, and students are feeling a need for an approach to understanding the mind that integrates basic knowledge in the foundational disciplines and prepares them to work across multiple academic fields. Carleton University has the only department of cognitive science in Canada.

Cognitive scientists use theories and methods from a variety of other disciplines to study the mind. The Honours degree requires you to specialize in one of them. You should choose one during your first or second year. They have different course requirements, so changing your concentration later might mean you need to take additional courses. To see the different requirements of these various concentrations, see the B.Cog.Sc. concentration page.

Course Requirements

The courses offered by the university are listed in the Undergraduate Calendar.

The Cognitive Science program consists of these elements:

  1. a core set of courses taken by all students together in each year;
  2. an area of specialization selected from five possible concentrations;
  3. optional courses

View a year-by-year chart listing program requirements.

We also offer two undergraduate courses, which are open to all students across the university: CGSC 1001 – Mysteries of the Mind, and CGSC 2001 – Introduction to Cognitive Science.

Forms and Documents

Registration Documents 2025-2026

Application For Independent Study (CGSC 4801/4802)

Honours Thesis Contract and Guidelines 

Archived Course Requirements 

For Returning Students

Program Requirements – The Calendar vs. Your Audit

Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 2nd Year

Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 3rd Year

Things to Keep in Mind Going Into 4th Year


In addition to your course requirements, it is important to be aware of CGPA requirements needed for graduation. Please refer to your audit for more information and contact us if you have any questions.

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