Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience

Degree Program

The MS in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience requires the completion of a minimum of 36 semester credit hours.

Degree Requirements

Each student in the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience program is required to select one of the five specialization areas: Neuroscience, Cognition and Neuroscience, Human-Computer Interactions, Computational Modeling/Intelligent Systems, and Neurological Diagnosis and Monitoring. All students in the program are required to regularly review their degree plans with a program advisor. In all areas of specialization, students complete 6 semester credit hours of core courses, 6 semester credit hours of methods courses, 18 semester credit hours of specialization area elective coursework, and 6 semester credit hours of internship courses. A grade of "B" is the required passing grade for coursework used to fulfill the core course and methods course requirements of the degree. Internship coursework must be taken pass/fail. Alternative curriculum proposals may be submitted for consideration to the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience program head.

The Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience (ACN) provides advanced training opportunities in the areas of Neuroscience, Experimental Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, and Human-Computer Interactions. In addition, the ACN program is a multidisciplinary program that should be of interest to business professionals working full-time in a professional-level job who are interested in either a career change or continuing education. Many courses in the ACN program are offered periodically as evening courses that meet either once or twice a week. A few representative career opportunities in the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience Area are listed as follows.

• Software development and engineering professionals interested in pursuing careers in the areas of usability engineering and user-experience (UX) design and development will greatly benefit from the Human-Computer Interactions specialization area. Usability engineering and user-experience design involve the evaluation and design of human-computer interfaces such as website and software graphical user interfaces (GUIs), smartphone interfaces, and voice-user interfaces (VUIs).
• Medical health professionals (e.g., Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists, MRI Technicians, Radiologists) who are working in the area of brain imaging technology will find the Neurological Diagnosis and Monitoring specialization area relevant for improving their knowledge and understanding of functional brain imaging technologies such as EEG, SPECT, PET, and fMRI.
• Software development and engineering professionals interested in machine learning algorithms should consider the Computational Modeling/Intelligent Systems specialization area. Machine learning algorithms are now widely embedded in a variety of systems for the purposes of providing "intelligent assistance" to the end-user. Examples of such systems include web search engines, speech recognition systems, robotics, computer-vision systems, computer games, natural language understanding systems, bionic and prosthetic technology, and data mining systems.
• Professionals working in the area of Neuropharmacology have the opportunity to receive advanced training through both the Neuroscience and Cognitive-Neuroscience specialization areas.
• Psychological counsellors, mental health, and education professionals (e.g., high school science teachers, adult literacy educators, and mental health-related fields) will greatly benefit from the basic neuroscience and psychological science courses offered in the Cognition and Neuroscience specialization area.