In my college search so far, Vanderbilt University has stood out to me for many different reasons, I love the location, the social scene, academic strength, etc. However, they don’t offer a cognitive science major, which has been my top choice for a major right now. Is there a way I can replicate the same type of interdisciplinary study of cognitive science with computer science, philosophy, linguistics, psychology at Vanderbilt? And if so, what would be the best major to pursue that would most similarly resemble it? I think I will apply to Vanderbilt regardless, but it would be a huge plus if I could have something along the lines of cogsci at this otherwise amazing school.
@petrina2 Vanderbilt does have a cognitive science major (as far as I can tell,) it’s just called “Cognitive Studies” and located in Peabody instead of Arts & Sciences.
Cognitive Studies Major: https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/departments/psych/undergraduate_programs/cognitive_studies.php
Here’s a list of the majors offered at Vanderbilt by each of the four schools:
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/academics/disciplines/degree/bachelor
Majors list posted on the Admissions website that separates majors by school (Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Peabody, or Blair:)
https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/major/
This Admissions FAQ states it’s possible to double major across schools (like between CS and Cognitive Studies, for example,) but I couldn’t find further information, so you’ll probably have to do further google searches to find the specifics, check the university catalog etc:
https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/faq/freshman
Undergraduate Catalog: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/catalogs/undergraduate/
Hope that helps! Good luck with admissions!
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@PikachuRocks15 Thanks for your response! I read that page for the Cognitive Studies major, and it seemed pretty different from my understanding of a Cognitive Science major from my own research and what other schools offer. I was thinking I could minor or double major in something that would complete the cogsci area of study, but I suppose I don’t have to make that decision now.
@petrina2 No problem! As at most other similar schools, Vanderbilt allows students to create their own major, so you could consider that if Cognitive Science is a major you would like to study as its own major.
Scroll to the bottom of this page: https://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/policies/declare-major.php
Guidelines w/some examples: https://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/policies/guidelines-for-individually-designed-majors-2018.pdf
Do note that Vanderbilt DOES require you to select the school you are applying to, although you can definitely double major between the schools or even transfer between them (although there are certain requirements to meet, and you have to wait 1 year before doing so: this might impact your ability to gain spots in intro courses in your new majors, and if in Arts & Science, you might still have to take some of the AXLE general-ed courses.) Choose the school that has the major that best fits the “story” your application is trying to tell and you would major in if you didn’t create your own major.
Hope that helps!
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@PikachuRocks15 Thank you so much! This is super helpful.
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@petrina2, I know this is a little old, but I just checked if Vanderbilt has all of the courses that are part of a typical Cognitive Science major. It looks to me like you would have no problem duplicating the major at Vanderbilt.
I looked at the requirements for the Cognitive Science major at Brown and the only course that might not have an exact match at Vanderbilt is the intro course CLPS 0010. And there’s probably something very similar. Even if there isn’t, it’s just an overview/intro to the field.
As long as you think you can get good research opportunities and placement at Vanderbilt, I wouldn’t even think twice. It sounds like you like everything else about the school.
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