Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Double Majors in Cognitive Science

Hello!

My name is Carly Karas, and I'm a senior Cognitive Science major. Welcome to the world of cog sci! Let me start off my inaugural post with this shocking revelation:

I was not originally a Cognitive Science major.

Gasp! Scandalous, right?

Well, not so much. In fact, I'm not sure how many of us actually started as cog sci majors here at SUNY Oswego; I remember when I took my first cog sci class, there were maybe two. I started here as a Graphic Design BA student, and I still am. In my sophomore year, after taking Linguistics 100 and Anthropology 112 for general education credits, I decided that I was really leaning towards Humanities, but then I couldn't decide which one I wanted to major in!

Then I found the Cognitive Science major. With it, I was able to explore all of the different areas that I loved. I even thought I liked computer science, and I do to a certain extent, but I got just enough into it to pass the two classes you need to take for the BA.

Before I started the major, I took Cognitive Science 166, just to see if I liked it. It was definitely an eye-opener to the major. We learned a different way of thinking, and then I knew I liked that way of thinking, and now I had to do it. I signed up as a Cognitive Science major at the end of that semester, and after taking one more class I decided on the double major, and was congratulated on converting to the Dark Side!

So, you might ask, what might the Cognitive Science senior be doing in their last year with the major? Because I got into the major late, I'm still playing catch-up while also taking my capstone! I have had a really great time with this major, though, so I wouldn't have changed anything - except, maybe, to have started it a little sooner.

For any of you thinking about doing cog sci as a second major, try it! I will most likely graduate on time, and if I don't it's because of my language gen ed and not my two majors. If you like thinking about people, and thinking about people who are thinking, and so on, definitely try cog sci. If you think it won't mesh with your current major, nonsense! In graphic design we learn about what humans find aesthetically pleasing, and in cognitive science we learn about vision and even some of the same principles; so even as one of the odd ones out as far as double majors go, I can still enjoy both and enjoy what each contributes to the other.

2 comments:

  1. You mentioned that Cognitive Science taught you a different way of thinking, which you liked. After deciding to double major in Cog Sci, has this new way of thinking affected how you view Graphic Design?

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  2. Do you think that you will be able to find a job that incorporates both of your passions (Graphic Design and Cognitive Science)?

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