FAQ

COGS is a Program (not a Department, nor a Faculty). B.Sc. and B.A. students majoring in COGS will be affiliated with one of four Departments (CPSC, PSYC, LING, or PHIL) depending on which stream of COGS they are majoring in:

• The Computer Science stream of COGS (B.Sc.) is offered through the Computer Science Department.
  • Students in the Computer Science stream of COGS are categorically Computer Science students, and are granted access to restricted seats in Computer Science courses.
• The Cognition and Brain streams of COGS (both B.A. and B.Sc.) are offered through the Psychology Department.
  • Although the B.Sc. Cognition and Brain stream of COGS is associated with Neuroscience, students should be aware that Neuroscience is not a Department, but a Program offered jointly by the Departments of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Psychology, and Zoology. Access to restricted seats in NSCI courses for students in the B.Sc. Cognition and Brain stream of COGS is not guaranteed.
• The Language stream of COGS (B.A.) is offered through the Linguistics Department.
• The Mind, Language, and Computation stream of COGS (B.A.) is offered through the Philosophy Department.

As a COGS student, if you are advised to "speak to your Faculty advising office", you will want to contact Arts Advising or Science Advising.

If in the context of course offerings (grades, registration, etcetera), if you are advised to "consult with the Department offering the course", you will want to reach out to whichever unit is offering the course in question. Although the word "Department" is often used in this context, sometimes courses are offered by non-Departmental units. Questions about COGS courses should be directed to COGS Advising, for example; and likewise, questions about NSCI courses should be directed to NSCI Advising.

As a COGS student, if you are advised to speak to your Program Advisor, you will want to reach out to cogs.advising@ubc.ca.

A COGS degree does not dictate the careers of alumni. Rather, COGS alumni take ownership over deciding what their interdisciplinary COGS degree means to them, and how it fits into their lives. Because there may be significant differences in each COGS student’s degree (due to the variety of streams and module courses), each alum will likely have a different answer. Streams alone do not predict career progressions – the path taken (or created) will depend on each alum’s combination of skills and interests.

More information can be found here.

It is somewhat of a tradition for COGS spaces to be in hidden locations.

We are currently based in the basement of the Iona Building (6000 Iona Drive). The trick to finding the COGS space in Iona is to not use the main entrance: instead use the West Wing entrance (the residential "Iona House" entryway), take the elevator to level "R" (or the stairs to the right of the elevator), then turn right. There will be signs.

Become a member of the Cognitive Systems Society (CSS), and attend their events! Even better - become an executive member of the CSS. The CSS hosts board game and movie nights, industry events, and various workshops over the course of the year in addition to the annual larger events such as the Welcome-Back BBQ and Robot Party. Learn more about the CSS on their website.

If you’d like to learn more about becoming an undergraduate TA for COGS, and what the responsibilities and expectations are, contact the Program Coordinator. Applications to become a COGS TA for the next winter session will typically open in Term 2 of the preceding winter session (February - April, for placement in Term 1 or Term 2 for the following/upcoming academic year). Please note that COGS courses requiring TAs are not offered over the summer terms, so there are no summer TA opportunities.

To apply, go here (log in with your CWL).

Tuition for undergraduate students is calculated on a per credit basis. For more information, click here.

Click here to find out more about awards and financial assistance. If you would like to apply for funding from one of the university’s undergraduate research competitions, the appropriate competition will depend on your faculty of study, on whether you are an international or domestic student, and on the area of your project. Information for Arts students can be found here, and information for Science students can be found here and here, though these sites do not exhaustively list the possible sources of funding. It may be also worthwhile to use the UBC Award Search tool, and the general Undergraduate Student Research webpage.