Graduate Courses

To see a complete list of courses offered and their descriptions, visit the online course catalog.

For current course schedule information and registration, visit SIS.

Fall 2020

Semantics I
AS.050.617 (01)

Also offered as AS.050.317. This is an introduction to the study of meaning in natural language. We address the conceptual and empirical issues in semantic theory and introduce some formal machinery that has been developed to deal with such problems. After discussing foundational questions, we turn to formal semantics and pragmatics, as well as their interfaces with syntax and the lexicon. Specific topics include presupposition, type-driven composition, quantification, lexical aspect, argument structure, and lexical representations of meaning.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Instructor: Rawlins, Kyle
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
AS.050.632 (01)

In-depth examination of the current literature on cognitive development in the context of developmental cognitive neuroscience. Meets with AS.050.332.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Landau, Barbara
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

First Language Acquisition
AS.050.648 (01)

This course provides an introduction to the fields of first and second language acquisition by looking at questions such as the following: Can the grammar of a native language be learned solely on the basis of noticing statistical correlations among words? How does native language acquisition explain — or is explained by — the universal properties, shared by all languages, of words and grammars? How does being exposed to multiple languages from birth affect language acquisition and what happens when a child is not exposed to any language early in life? Does the same cognitive mechanism guide language learning in children and adults? What factors account for individual differences in ease and ultimate attainment when a second language is learned later in life? Is it possible to become indistinguishable from a native speaker in a foreign language? What changes take place in the brain when a new language is learned? Recommended background: An introductory course in a linguistic course such as world of language, phonology, or syntax as well as a linguistics course such as language and mind or bilingualism. Also offered as AS.050.348.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Yarmolinskaya, Julia S
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (01)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Landau, Barbara
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Intro to Bilingualism
AS.050.606 (01)

Do children get confused when they grow up exposed to more than one language? Is it possible to forget one’s native language? Are the first and second language processed in different areas of the brain? How does brain damage impact the different languages of a polyglot? Does knowing a second language affect non-linguistic cognitive processing? This course will address questions such as these through an exploration of mental and neural processes underlying bilingual and multilingual language processing. Also listed as AS.050.206.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Yarmolinskaya, Julia S
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/5

Cracking the code: Theory and modeling of information coding in neural activity
AS.050.665 (01)

One of the most foundational concepts in neuroscience is the idea that neural activity encodes information about an animal’s sensory environment and internal mental states. This idea is closely connected to the concept of mental representation in cognitive science and philosophy, whereby the mind is proposed to contain internal symbols that represent things in the external world. There have been many fascinating discoveries about how neural signals encode information, but we are still far from a comprehensive theory of neural representation. Recent major developments in neuroscience and machine learning have opened up a new world of possibilities for investigating the underlying principles of information coding in the brains of humans and other animals. In this course, we will discuss primary research articles on neural representation and information processing, and students will implement computational analyses that address issues in these domains. We will mostly focus on vision as a system that illustrates broader principles of information processing in the human brain. The reading material will include work from philosophy, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and computational modeling. The topics covered include mental and neural representation, neural tuning, population coding, information theory, encoding and decoding models, dimensionality reduction, computational models, deep learning, and other applications of machine learning in neuroscience. Enrollment is limited to Juniors and Seniors. While this class does not have formal prerequisites, programming experience (e.g., AS.250.205 Introduction to Computing) and mathematical preparation (e.g., AS.110.107 Calculus II) are essential. It is also highly recommended that students have previously taken introductory courses in cognitive or systems neuroscience (e.g., AS.050.203 Neuroscience: Cognitive) and machine learning or neural network modeling (e.g., AS.050.372 Foundations of Neural Network Theory).

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Bonner, Michael
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 0/5

Probabilistic Models of the Visual Cortex
AS.050.675 (01)

The course gives an introduction to computational models of the mammalian visual cortex. It covers topics in low-, mid-, and high-level vision. It briefly discusses the relevant evidence from anatomy, electrophysiology, imaging (e.g., fMRI), and psychophysics. It concentrates on mathematical modelling of these phenomena taking into account recent progress in probabilistic models of computer vision and developments in machine learning, such as deep networks. Also offered as AS.050.375.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Yuille, Alan L
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 10/20

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (02)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Legendre, Geraldine
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (03)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: McCloskey, Michael E
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (04)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Linzen, Tal
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (05)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Bonner, Michael
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (06)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Rapp, Brenda C
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (08)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Smolensky, Paul
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (10)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Yuille, Alan L
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Research Seminar in Cognitive Processes
AS.050.802 (01)

Permission required. Current issues and ongoing research on human cognition are discussed.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Rapp, Brenda C
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15

Research Seminar in Computational Cognitive Science
AS.050.809 (01)

This seminar is on computational models for vision and its interaction with language. For Cognitive Science, computational models, like Deep Nets, offer the possibility of developing computational theories which can be tested on natural, or realistically synthetic images. But Deep Nets by themselves are unable to capture the richness and flexibility of human perception, so we will discuss other classes of model with more compositional structure and ability to represent the physical properties of the 3D world. These will be related to, and motivated by, behavioral and electrophysiological experiments.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Instructor: Yuille, Alan L
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 13/15

Research Seminar in Language & Cognition
AS.050.811 (01)

A specialized research seminar for individuals researching language acquisition, cognitive development and the interface between language and cognition. Students must actively carry out empirical or theoretical research in these areas. Permission required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Landau, Barbara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (07)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Rawlins, Kyle
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 4/5

Research Seminar in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience
AS.050.812 (01)

This seminar will discuss papers and ongoing research in the areas of computational cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on different areas of visual and social perception.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Isik, Leyla
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 14/15

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (09)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Wilson, Colin
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Directed Readings in Cognitive Science
AS.050.690 (11)

Directed readings on current topics in cognitive science. Instructor approval required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Isik, Leyla
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 5/5

Research Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience and Machine Learning
AS.050.806 (01)

Participants in this seminar will read and discuss current research articles in the fields of cognitive neuroscience, computational neuroscience, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The seminar will focus on research that provides insights into the representations and algorithms of the human brain, with an emphasis on vision and natural semantic understanding.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Bonner, Michael
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 14/15

Research Seminar in Cognitive Neuropsychology
AS.050.801 (01)

Participants in this graduate seminar will read and discuss current research articles in cognitive neuropsychology of vision or language, and present their own research.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: McCloskey, Michael E
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15

Research Seminar in Computer Vision
AS.050.814 (01)

This seminar is based on topics in computational vision with the option of attending additional subgroup meetings on specific topics.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: F 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Yuille, Alan L
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15

Research Seminar in Semantics
AS.050.817 (01)

A critical analysis of current issues and debates in natural language semantics. Discussion of on-going research. Permission required.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Rawlins, Kyle
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 14/15

Research Seminar on Formal Theory in Cognitive Science
AS.050.829 (01)

Topics range from mathematical analysis of neural networks to computational studies of linguistic structure. Focus is ongoing research and current literature.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Smolensky, Paul
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10

Research Seminar in Language Acquisition
AS.050.827 (01)

Focus is on current research in acquisition of syntax.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times:
Instructor: Legendre, Geraldine
Room:
Status: Canceled
Seats Available: 15/15

Seminar on Special Topics: African American English
AS.050.830 (01)

This seminar will focus on Special Topics of current interest in Cognitive Science and reflect the breath of expertise in the department.

Credits: 0.00
Level: Graduate
Days/Times: W 3:30PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Legendre, Geraldine
Room:
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 15/15

Research in Cognitive Science
AS.050.839 (01)