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.

If you are advised to speak to Program Advising, or to your Major Advisor, you will want to reach out to cogs.advising@ubc.ca

A COGS degree does not dictate the careers of alumni. Rather it is the alumni that take ownership and decide on what their COGS degree means to them and how their COGS degree fits into their lives. Since there are significant differences in each COGS student’s degree (due to the variety of streams and module courses), each alum will 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.)

Due to construction in the Iona building, we are temporarily based on the second floor of the LIFE building, which can be entered through two card-access doors (framing the outdoor courtyard). These doors should be unlocked for the duration of COGS labs and office hours. If you require access to the space outside of lab and office hours, please reach out to cogs.advising@ubc.ca.

We are normally based in the Iona Building (6000 Iona Drive)'s basement. The trick in Iona is to NOT use the main entrance. Use the Iona Building's "Iona House" entrance (it is on the west side of the building) and take the elevator to level "R" (or the stairs to the right of the elevator with the card reader beside it), and turn right.

• Become a member of the Cognitive Systems Society (CSS) and volunteer at their events! Even better - become an executive member of the CSS! The CSS hosts board game nights, movie nights, study nights, and various workshops over the course of the year in addition to the annual larger events e.g. Welcome-back party, Careers Night, Alumni Night, End-of-year party. Learn more about the CSS here.
• Start volunteering at a research lab in UBC! (This will also prepare you for your COGS 402.)

If you’d like to learn more about becoming a TA and what the responsibilities and expectations are, contact the Program Coordinator. To apply for becoming a COGS TA, go here (log in with your CWL). TA applications will open at the beginning of February and close at the beginning of April.

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, but these sites do not exhaustively list the possible sources of funding. It may be also worthwhile to use the UBC Award Search tool.