Introducing the Cognitive Science MA Program at Bogazici University

Boğaziçi UniversityCognitive Science Program

BOĞAZIÇI UNIVERSITY - BRIEFLY

Boğaziçi University - Briefly...

Established in 1863 as the first American educational institution outside USA, as Robert College.

A public university since 1971. Spread over 6 campuses. Teaching language is English. Faculties:

Education, Arts and Sciences, Economy and Adm. Sciences, Engineering, Applied Disciplines

Institutes: Grad. Studies in Social Sciences, Inst. For Modern Turkish

History, Biomed. Eng., Envir. Sciences, Grad. Studies in Science and Engineering, Earthquake Research Inst.

The founders

Boğaziçi University - Briefly...

12.300 undergrad students 2.050 Masters students 850 PhD students Students from Europe (200), Asia (200) and USA (60). 84 Erasmus students in 2009, 181 in 2010.

Boğaziçi University - Briefly...

One of the leading universities of Turkey.

Library contains close to 600.000 items, and subscriptions to many major databases, used by 3.500 users daily.

Active social life promoted by student clubs and associations

Istanbul as seen from Boğaziçi Univ.

COGNITIVE SCIENCE – PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Cognitive Science Program

An interdisciplinary program of the Computer Engineering, Linguistics, Philosophy and Psychology Departments.

Confers a Master of Arts (MA) degree. First student graduated in 2005.

Usually takes three years to complete. Requires a remedial year to prepare students for

interdisciplinary work. Students take 8 graduate courses focused on two

disciplines + a seminar course. Students prepare a Masters thesis in their last year.

Example Curriculum

This student had a PHIL background. In this case, the remedial semesters include undergraduate courses from the other three disciplines, including an introductory COGS course. If the student has an interdisciplinary background, the remedial stage can be shorter.

Remedial Semester I Cognitive Psychology (PSY) Intro. to Language and Linguistics (LING) Introduction to Computing (CMPE)

Remedial Semester II Intro. to Neuroscience: Brain & Behavior (PSY) Morphology & Syntax (LING) Introduction to Cognitive Science (COGS) Fundamentals of Object Oriented Programming (CMPE)

Example Curriculum (PHIL-CMPE)

The graduate courses the student took are in PHIL- CMPE areas. They related to the thesis topic the student would like to pursue, in this case probably knowledge acquisition in artificial agents...

Advance Neuroscience (PSY) Epistemology (PHIL) Aspects of Phonology (LING) Principles of Artificial Intelligence (CMPE) Cognitive Psychology (PSY) Special Topics: Evidence (PHIL) Mind and Cognition (PHIL) Autonomous Robots (CMPE) Complex Systems (CMPE) Curiosity (PHIL)

THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM

Computer Engineering Dept.

Computer Engineering Dept. is research-oriented, with groups working on artificial intelligence and robotics, perceptual intelligence, computer networks, natural language processing, computer vision, pattern recognition and machine learning. In 2012, 15 PhDs graduated from the program.

Levent Akın (robotics) Ethem Alpaydın (machine learning) Haluk Bingöl (complex systems) Tunga Güngör (natural language processing) Fikret Gürgen (speech and multimedia) Albert Ali Salah (human behavior analysis) Pınar Yolum (multiagent systems)

Typical Area Electives

The following graduate courses are preferred by CogSci students: Principles of Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence Computer Vision Computer Analysis of Human Behavior Pattern Recognition Artificial Neural Networks Natural Language Processing Bayesian Statistics and Machine Learning Interaction Design Autonomous Robots Speech Processing Intelligent Control

Each semester new courses are added to this list. Recent topics are dealt with in “Special Topics” courses.

The CogSci program also has additional “Special Topics” courses.

Linguistics

The Linguistics Program offers courses including phonology, morphology, syntax and discourse analysis, with interrelation with fields such as psycholinguistics, philosophy and computer science being possible. The main line of research in the program is aimed at investigating the nature of the rules and principles that determine the structure of Turkish.

Meltem Kelepir (sign languages) Mine Nakipoğlu-Demiralp (neurolinguistics) Sumru Özsoy (cognitive linguistics) Marcus Pöchtrager (phonology)

Typical Area Electives

Phonology in the 20th Century Language and Identity Language and Gender Introduction to Discourse Analysis Brain and Language Aspects of Phonology Issues in Government Phonology English-Turkish Contrastive Grammar and its Application Syntactic Theory Discourse Analysis Special Topics in Linguistics Topics in Linguistic Theory

Psychology

Psychology Department offers specialization in Clinical Psychology and Psychological Sciences. Under the heading of Psychological Sciences program are the subfields of Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychobiology & Learning, Developmental Psychology. The program also offers Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Cognitive Psychology.

Ercan Alp (cognitive development) Elif Aysimi Duman (behavioral epigenetics) Ayşecan Boduroğlu (visuospatial working memory) Reşit Canbeyli (behavioral neuroscience) Esra Mungan (cognitive psychology) Ali Tekcan (memory and metacognition)

Typical Area Electives

Advanced Research Methods I & II Advanced Cognitive Psychology Memory Advanced Developmental Psychology Cognitive Development Special Topics in Cognitive Psychology Visual Attention and Working Memory Behavioral Neuroscience

Philosophy

The Philosophy Department combines individual specialization with departmental comprehensiveness and a general branching out, joining analytic and continental viewpoints as well as historically and scientifically-minded approaches. The Philosophy program offers courses in three groups: Group 1: ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of

law. Group 2: logic, philosophy of science, epistemology, metaphysics and ontology,

philosophy of language, philosophy of mind. Group 3: history of philosophy.

İlhan İnan (philosophy of language) Berna Kılınç (cognitive psychology) Karanfil Soyhun (philosophy of language and mind) Lucas Thorpe (history of philosophy) Steven Voss (philosophy of mind)

Typical Area Electives

Philosophy of Mind Philosophy of Language Theory of Knowledge Special Topics in Philosophy Directed Study Philosophy of Action Topics in the Philosophy of Science Topics in Logic Freedom and Determinism

Other supporting faculty members

Ata Akın (Biomedical Eng., FNIRS) Burak Güçlü (Biomedical Eng., tactile

sensing, EEG) Yağmur Denizhan (Electrics and Electronical

Eng., biosemiotics) Taner Bilgiç (Industrial Eng., decision

analysis) ... and more

Cognitive Science Laboratory

BrainVision 32 channel EEG ExG for bipolar sensor data

acquisition (inc. Galvanic Skin Response, acceleration, temperature, blood pulse)

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (FNIRS)

Tactile stimulator Augmented reality equipment Analysis and experiment

design software, including E-Prime

Application requirements

2.5 / 4.0 GPA ALES score of 55 English requirements Coursework that shows interest in

interdisciplinary work Applications in April for the Fall semester.

Some Completed Theses...

Elif T. Kuş, "A temperature-based, stochastic model of mate-choice with incomplete information and evolving representations", MA thesis, June 2005, (advisors: Ali Tekcan, A.C.Cem Say).

Hakan Ünlü, "A visual search task to evaluate top-down and bottom up control of pre-attentive stage and the ACT-R/PM vision module", MA thesis, July 2006, (advisors: Resit Canbeyli, A.C.Cem Say).

Robert Ian Bowers, "Fake sex: diploidy, dominance, coupling, attraction", MA thesis, 2006, (advisors: Steven Voss, Pinar Yolum)

Emre Sevinc, "The Effects of Extensive Musical Training on Time Perception Regarding Hemispheric Lateralization, Different Time Ranges and Generalization to Different Modalities", MA thesis, July 2008, (advisors: Resit Canbeyli, A.C. Cem Say).

Elif Eyigöz, A lexicon for idiomatic compounds in Turkish, MA thesis, 2007, (advisors: Mine Nakipoğlu Demiralp, A.C. Cem Say).

Ahmed Emin Orhan, Unsupervised learning of high-level invariant visual representations through temporal coherence, MA thesis, 2008, (advisor: Ethem Alpaydin).

Some Completed Theses...

Tuna Çakar, Detecting emotions during the application of skin conductance and heart rate measurement techniques, MA thesis, 2009, (advisors: Burak Güçlü, Karanfil Soyhun).

Aysegül Çetinkaya, ACT-R based memory models of iterated prisoner’s dilemma, MA thesis, 2009, (advisors: Esra Mungan, Taner Bilgiç).

Ediz Dikmelik, The charge of c in animal behavior: a philosophical analysis, MA thesis, 2009, (advisors: Berna Kilinç, Falih Köksal).

Asli Selim, Gigerenzer’s eclectic normativism, MA thesis, 2009, (advisors: Berna Kilinç, Taner Bilgiç).

Ahmet Subasi, Cognitive dynamics of scientific curiosity, MA thesis, 2009, (advisors: Ilhan Inan, Sumru Özsoy).

Avni Burak Erbora, Mental representation in phonology: a case study in the philosophy of cognitive science, MA thesis, 2011, (advisor: Markus Pöchtrager).

Ömer Daglar Tanrikulu, Biases in probability judgments: hot hand versus gambler's fallacy, MA thesis, 2011, (advisors: Berna Kilinç, Hasan Galip Bahçekapili).

Further information

Check www.cogsci.boun.edu.tr Send an e-mail to the program coordinator

(you will find the e-mail address on the program website)