Beginning with the fall 2015 semester, the Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science will offer a graduate certificate in cognitive science.

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes and behavior. The program encompasses multiple research disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics and economics.

Eligible Ph.D. and master’s degree graduate students can earn their certificate by completing 12 credits selected from five categories within cognitive science, including cognition and computation, philosophy and cognition, psychology and cognition, language and cognition, and neuroscience and cognition.

Students in the certificate program will have the chance to work in a cross-disciplinary environment and enhance their prospective funding, network of colleagues and career options.

“The inherently multidisciplinary nature of cognitive science, including the quest to understand how we humans think, perceive, feel, remember and act, is not only important to virtually every aspect of human existence, but at the same time makes for a fascinating intellectual challenge of widespread interest that can — and should — be available to undergraduates and graduate students alike,” says Samuel Epstein, director of the Weinberg Institute, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of linguistics.

Funded by a gift from U-M alumnus Marshall M. Weinberg, the Weinberg Institute was founded in 2014 and aims to be a world-class center for teaching and research in the field. It builds on a rich history of cognitive science and related fields at U-M, which has been a key home for the emerging discipline, contributing major discoveries and graduating several alumni who are considered founding members of the field.

Epstein says he believes the graduate certificate will complement the center’s undergraduate major in cognitive science.

“We hope to explore ways of integrating aspects of graduate and undergraduate teaching and learning experiences both in the classroom and in the lab,” Epstein says.

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• Weinberg Center for Cognitive Science