The study of decision making covers descriptive questions like how people, institutions, and nations make judgments and decisions; normative questions about rationality, such as what constitutes the best judgments and decisions; and prescriptive questions, such as how the process of decision making can be improved to make actual decisions closer to optimal ones. By virtue of its broad interdisciplinary nature, the study of decision making covers work found in a variety of more traditional disciplines including psychology, cognitive science, economics, philosophy, computer science, and neuroscience.
The concentration is designed so that students develop a foundation in the science of human decision making, acquire expertise in at least two of the core areas of decision making (psychology, economics, computer science, and philosophy), and learn about applications of the science of decision making. In the process, students will learn how to apply quantitative and other research methods and will produce a piece of integrative research.
The Behavioral Decision Sciences concentration offers an A.B. degree.
Standard Requirements Approved Student Specialization Areas Area Specialists Infographic of old & new requirements
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of higher cognitive functions in humans and its underlying neural bases. By definition, it is an integrative area of study drawing principally from cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience. There are two broad directions which can be taken in this concentration—one is behavioral/experimental and the other is computational/modeling. In either case, the goal is to understand the nature of cognition from a neural perspective.
The Cognitive Neuroscience concentration offers A.B. and Sc.B. degrees.
Concentration Worksheet Infographic of old & new requirements
The field of Cognitive Science uses scientific methods of experimentation, computational modeling, and brain imaging to study mental abilities such as perception, action, memory, cognition, speech, and language, as well as the development of those processes. Students must become knowledgeable in four areas of emphasis: perception, cognition, language, and cognitive neuroscience, as well as a set of methods relevant to Cognitive Science research. Students then create their own focus area of study, potentially integrating coursework from the Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences department with a diverse subset of fields including Anthropology, Applied Math, Education, Neuroscience, and Philosophy.
The A.B. program is primarily for students interested in studying human mental processes and acquiring a research orientation to the study of the mind. The Sc.B. program is designed for students who wish to develop a stronger background in Cognitive Science and requires students to engage in a specific research project in the focus area of their choosing. We recommend that prospective concentrators register for one of the gateway courses and at least one of the other core courses preferably in their first or second year.
Concentration Worksheet Book an Appointmentinfographic of old & new requirements
Psychology encompasses a range of phenomena and levels of analysis in pursuit of three goals: to deepen our understanding of cognitive and neural mechanisms of sensation, perception, learning and emotion; to probe the biological and evolutionary foundations of animal behavior; and to clarify the social perception and assessment of individuals and groups. In contrast to the other concentrations
In this department, the Psychology concentration places the greatest emphasis on understanding human and animal behavior at different levels of analysis – biological, neural, evolutionary, cognitive, developmental, and social. Students choosing this concentration are often interested in clinical and mental health issues, and will be well prepared for careers in medicine, law, education, business administration, as well as both clinical and experimental psychology.
The Psychology concentration offers A.B. and Sc.B. degrees.
Standard Requirements Concentration Worksheet Info for Prospective ConcentratorsInfographic of old & new requirements
Students are strongly encouraged to take CLPS 0900 Statistical Methods to fulfill the Psychology concentration statistics requirement. However, there are other statistics courses taught at Brown and elsewhere, and some would make a reasonable alternative to CLPS 0900. Because what material different courses cover changes over time and over instructors, providing a blanket list of acceptable alternative courses is not appropriate. Instead, it is more useful to describe the characteristics a statistics course would need to be able to substitute for CLPS 0900. Things to look for in a syllabus: probability theory, hypothesis testing or inference, techniques for categorical data, analysis of variance, and/or regression. If you identify an alternative statistics course that you believe includes these topics, speak with your concentration advisor for approval to add that course to your concentration plan.
AP and IB credits do not carry concentration credit in the CoPsy concentrations.
Students with a score of 5 on the AP Psychology test or IB Psychology credit may replace CLPS 0010 with another CLPS foundation course, with justification and advisor permission. The department does not grant concentration credit for AP or IB Statistics, regardless of exam scores.
Students requesting transfer credit, either from study abroad or from study at another US institution, must submit their request via ASK. A copy of the complete course syllabus must be provided with the request. A catalog description is not a sufficient substitute for a syllabus.
Upon receiving the request via ASK, the transfer credit advisor will consult with the instructor(s) of the appropriate CLPS course for determining course equivalency. Students must allow a minimum of 2 weeks for the approval process.
Students wishing preliminary approval for transfer credit should contact the transfer credit advisor with a copy of the complete course syllabus. Final approval of transfer credit will be determined by the Dean's Office and Registrar, in compliance with grading policy and credit hour requirements.