Cognitive Science

Are you interested in how people or computers think? Carleton University offers a stand-alone doctoral program in Cognitive Science. This advanced program spans the fields of the humanities, social sciences and sciences as an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the study of thought. Students spend one term in each of two laboratories or other research venues using two different methods for studying cognition (behavioural, linguistic-theoretic, computational, conceptual, neuroscientific). There are opportunities to do research off campus.

Capital Advantage

Carleton’s location in Ottawa allows students to develop strong collaborations with Statistics Canada, The Government of Canada, the National Research Council, Ottawa Hospital, in addition to a number of other companies that are not as readily available outside of Canada’s capital. Our proximity and relationship with these organizations also offers various career opportunities in the National Capital Region.

Faculty Research Highlights

• How to make computers imagine scenes in the same way humans do.
• Cognitive mechanisms and neurological foundations of how humans comprehend and process language.
• Using human perception and cognition in the design, implementation and evaluation of advanced human-machine systems.
• Foundational research in cognitive science, with an emphasis on formal and experimental linguistics.
• Children’s developing cognitive skills, including their ability to deal with representations