Minors and Clusters
Brain and Cognitive Sciences Minor
The department’s brain and cognitive sciences (BCS) minor requires six courses:
- BCSC 110: Neural Foundations of Behavior
- BCSC 111: Foundations of Cognitive Science
- Two of the following:
- BCSC 151: Perception and Action
- BCSC 152: Language and Psycholinguistics
- BCSC 153: Cognition
- Two electives, at least one must be numbered 200 or higher. Independent study courses (39x) CANNOT be included.
A maximum of two courses may overlap between a student’s major and minor. An overlap is a course that is being used to satisfy both major and minor requirements.
Minor in Visual Science
Five courses are required
- One of the following:
- CVSC/BCSC 110:
- CVSC/BCSC 111:
- CVSC/BCSC 153:
- BCSC 240/NSCI 201:
- CVSC/BCSC 151:
- OPT 248/448:
- One of the following upper-level courses:
- CVSC/BCSC 220:
- CVSC/BCSC 245:
- CVSC/BCSC 504: (with permission of instructor)
- CVSC/BCSC 505: (with permission of instructor)
- CVSC/BCSC 391: (one semester only)
Research Minor in Visual Science
Five courses are required
- One of the following:
- CVSC/BCSC 110:
- CVSC/BCSC 111:
- CVSC/BCSC 151:
- OPT 248/448:
- Two semesters of CVSC/BCSC 395: . These may be either with the same faculty member in CVS or with two different faculty.
There is no minor in neuroscience. However, neuroscience courses may be used as electives toward either a BCS minor or a .
Related minors in and are available through the .
Clusters
The department offers nine clusters, all in the natural science and engineering academic division. Related clusters can be found in the .
This cluster introduces students to the human senses, particularly vision and hearing, covering both the basic sensory processes and higher-level perceptual ones.
Students in this cluster learn about the brain and cognitive processes, with a special emphasis on their development. Due to overlap restrictions, this cluster is not available to psychology majors.
This cluster introduces students to perception, cognition, their development, and their underlying brain mechanisms.
Students in this cluster learn about the development of language and cognition and their underlying biological mechanisms.
This cluster introduces animal behavior and its underlying biological and evolutionary mechanisms.
Students in this cluster learn about the biology of the brain and the neural mechanisms underlying behavior.
This cluster introduces the biological mechanisms that underlie behavior with special emphasis on abnormal behavior.
Students in this cluster learn about perception, cognition, learning, memory, and development, considering both the nature of these processes and the brain mechanisms that underlie them. Due to overlap restrictions, this cluster is not available to psychology majors.
This cluster introduces the mental processes involved in human language and cognition.