Cognitive Science M.S./Ph.D.

See Cognitive Science Department website for further information about the Cognitive Science Programs

Introduction

The objective of our graduate programs is to offer students with different backgrounds breadth of knowledge and research techniques in a wide range of areas in Cognitive Science, but not restricted to the areas of expertise of our staff.

The Cognitive Science Department at METU Graduate School of Informatics brings together the research and teaching of academicians in computer engineering, psychology, philosophy and linguistics. It aims to extend its interdisciplinary links to as many parts of METU as possible, as well as to other universities in Turkey and abroad. It aims to develop a collaborative atmosphere that attracts researchers and postgraduate students interested in all aspects of cognition.

The training we offer in Cognitive Science is theoretically and methodologically oriented. It is interdisciplinary and includes a whole range of applications, as manifested by our various research activities and labs.

Four specialization areas are represented in the graduate programs of Cognitive Science at METU.

  • The Psychology group concentrates on cognitive processes such as perception, attention, reasoning and decision making through empirical research on human behavior.
  • The Language group investigates the nature of human language and its manifestation as a mental ability; it also involves research on (annotated) corpora as a means of supplementing qualitative studies.
  • The Computer Science group creates computational models of cognitive processes for purposes of understanding similar abilities in humans and designing intelligent systems.
  • The Philosophy group addresses questions about the essential nature of mind, knowledge, representation, and language.

These traditional specialization groups have recently been complemented by cognitive neuroscience research.

There are three programs in Cognitive Science department at METU Graduate School of Informatics: Master’s Program with Thesis Option, Master’s Program with Non-Thesis Option, and the PhD Program. Each program provides extensive interdisciplinary training as each enables students to enroll in courses from different specialization groups.

Admission 

Please check our department web page for detailed information on admission process and criteria. 

Program Structures

The full list of courses is provided in the graduate course list.  Each term we announce which ones are offered.

M.S. Program with Non-Thesis Option

  • 2 COGS Deficiency Courses: COGS507(Primer I), COGS508(Primer II)
  • 3 must courses: COGS501 (3 credits), COGS502 (3 credits) and COGS500 (0 credit)
  • 4 COGS courses (one from each group; 3 credits each)
  • 4 electives (either from elective list or COGS list, 3 credits each)
  • COGS 589 Graduation Project (0 Credit) HERE is the syllabus

M.S Program with Thesis Option

  • 3 must courses: COGS501 (3 credits), COGS502 (3 credits) and COGS500 (0 credit)
  • 4 COGS courses (one from each group; 3 credits each) (If a student holds a degree in Cognitive Science, the group constraint does not apply)
  • 1 elective (either from elective list or COGS list, 3 credits )
  • 1 seminar course (0 credit)
  • Master's Thesis (0 credit)

Ph.D. Program

  • Depending on the candidates’ qualifications and needs, we may ask the candidates to take at most two deficiency courses. (COGS507 Primer I and COGS508 Primer II)
  • 3 must courses (if not taken in the M.S. or exempted): COGS501 (3 credits), COGS502 (3 credits) and COGS500 (0 credit). 
  • 1 seminar course: COGS690 lectures and seminar presentation (0 credit)
  • At least 21 credits of elective courses (7 courses x 3 credits). The students should take elective courses according to the multiple constraints stated below:
    Their distribution is as follows:
  • At least one course must be a philosophy course.
  • At least four courses should have the COGS course code
  • If a student does not have a previous degree in Cognitive Science, then 4 COGS courses must be taken, one from each specialization group.
  • At least four courses should be selected from the graduate course list.
  • At most two courses may be taken outside of the department course list (those courses can be taken from any department at METU or from another university). Before enrolling in a course that is not in the department course list, the student should first seek the approval of the advisor. Courses taken without the written consent of the advisor will not be counted towards degree requirements.
  • Ph.D. Qualifier Exam: The students should pass the written and oral Ph.D. qualifier exam

Please see Ph.D. Qualifier Exam guidelines

  • Ph.D. thesis (0 credit)

Career Prospects

Language technology, innovative uses of computers, man-machine interfaces, academic track on Cognitive Science or related disciplines, such as Computer Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Philosophy.