Master of Science Program in Applied Cognition and
Neuroscience
Professors: Hervé Abdi, Peter Assmann, James C. Bartlett, W. Jay Dowling, George M. Gerken (emeritus), Richard M. Golden, Susan W. Jerger, William F. Katz, Aage R. Møller, Alice O’Toole, Michael Rugg
Associate Professors: Marco Atzori, Lawrence
J. Cauller, Michael Kilgard,
Lucien T. Thompson
Assistant Professors: Cindy de Frias, Francesca
Filbey, Daniel Krawczyk, Sven
Kroener, Christa McIntyre, Jon Plosksi
Distinguished Scholar in Residence: James Jerger
The
Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience (ACN) program is an
applied multidisciplinary program which incorporates and integrates methodologies
from such diverse fields as psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. The
Cognition and Neuroscience specialization
area provides a flexible multidisciplinary curriculum for studying the mind
and brain which is designed to be adaptable to the individual student’s
interests. Students enrolling in the Cognition and Neuroscience specialization
area with backgrounds in psychology and neuroscience will have the opportunity
to gain the diverse skills needed to collect and interpret behavioral and neurophysiological
data. The Computational
Modeling/Intelligent Systems specialization area provides advanced training
applicable to developing mathematical and computer simulation models of the
brain and behavior as well as the development of artificially intelligent
systems. The Human Computer Interaction
specialization area provides excellent preparation for work in areas
involving human computer interactions, such as usability engineering issues
associated with the design and evaluation of user-friendly web-based systems.
The Neurological Diagnosis and Monitoring
specialization area provides advanced training and preparation for using
functional brain imaging methodologies such as: EEG, SPECT, PET, and fMRI for
both clinical and experimental investigations. All four specialization areas
provide excellent preparation for doctoral work in the Cognition and
Neuroscience area as well as medical school.
The Master of Science in
Applied Cognition and Neuroscience (ACN) program is a multidisciplinary program
which should be of interest to business professionals interested in retraining
or continuing education and are currently working full-time in a
professional-level job. Business professionals in different fields should
pursue the appropriate ‘specialization area’ within the ACN degree
program. Many courses in the ACN program are offered periodically as evening
courses which meet either once or twice a week. A few representative career
opportunities in the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience Area are listed as
follows.
o Software
development professionals, whose focus is the development of web sites, can
acquire advanced training in the design and evaluation of web-site
effectiveness using advanced behavioral science methodologies through the Human-Computer
Interaction specialization area.
o Psychological
counselors and Education professionals (e.g., high school science teachers,
adult literacy educators) will greatly benefit from the basic neuroscience and
psychological science courses offered in the Cognition and Neuroscience
specialization area.
o
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.
o Software
development professionals interested in the area of the implementation of
complex mathematical algorithms in software. Such mathematical algorithms are
now widely embedded in a variety of software programs for the purposes of
providing "intelligent assistance" to the end-user. Software
development professionals interested in continuing education in the area of
artificial intelligence and artificial neural network modeling should consider
the Intelligent Systems specialization area in the ACN program.
In
addition to numerous individual faculty research labs, the Applied Cognition
and Neuroscience Program utilizes
several facilities which are shared among faculty and graduate students in the
School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The Computational Systems Laboratory
consists of a network of workstations which are used for computationally
intensive models of perceptual, cognitive, and neural processes as well as
high-volume data analyses. The Computational Systems Laboratory can be accessed
remotely by graduate students and faculty members. The Neuroscience Laboratory
facilities are located in Green Hall and the Multipurpose Building at the
Richardson campus as well. The Callier Center for
Communication Disorders, located adjacent to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, provides access
to brain imaging laboratories and speech, hearing, and language laboratories.
The University’s general admission requirements are
discussed here.
Admission
to the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience Program is based on a review of the
applicant’s GPA, letters of recommendation, and narrative description of
interests and career goals. Both GRE math and verbal scores are required to be
considered for admission.
Students
with strong academic records, who are in the process of completing their
undergraduate degree at UTD, may be admitted as Fast-track Students. Fast-track students may accelerate completion of the degree requirements of the Master
of Science Program in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience at UTD by completing
up to 12 credits of specified fast-track graduate coursework at UTD as an
undergraduate. Fast-track credit hours may be used to fulfill requirements for
the student’s undergraduate UTD degree as well as satisfy course
requirements for the masters’ degree in Applied Cognition and
Neuroscience. Applications to the Graduate Program in Applied Cognition and
Neuroscience can be submitted as soon as the student is an undergraduate at UTD
with no more than 45 credit hours remaining.
The University’s general degree requirements are discussed
here.
All
students in the program are required to regularly review their degree plans
with their program advisor. In all areas of specialization, students complete 6
hours of approved core courses, 6 hours of approved methods courses, 6 hours of
approved advanced elective courses, 12 hours of coursework in an approved
specialization area, and 6 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. Coursework used to
fulfill the advanced elective requirement may be taken pass/fail. Internship
coursework must be taken pass/fail.
Select two of the following approved core courses (6 hours).
ACN 6330 Cognitive Science I
ACN 6395 Cognitive Psychology
ACN 6340 Cellular Neuroscience
ACN 6344 Functional Human Neuroanatomy
ACN 6346 Systems Neuroscience
Select at least one approved quantitative methods course approved by the
Program Head or from the following approved list of quantitative methods
courses (3 hours).
ACN 6312 Research Methods in Behavioral and Brain Sciences ∼ Part I
ACN 6313 Research Methods in Behavioral and Brain Sciences ∼ Part II
ACN 6314 Research Methods
in Behavioral and Brain Sciences ∼
Part III
ACN 6351 Quantitative Methods in Neuroscience
ACN 6348 Neural Net Mathematics
ACN 6347 Intelligent Systems Analysis
ACN 6349 Intelligent Systems Design
Select at least one methods course (3
hours).
Select
two advanced elective courses: These courses may be chosen
from either the Graduate Program in Human Development and Communication
Sciences or the Applied Cognition and Neuroscience Program or the courses may
be chosen from outside the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences with
approval from the ACN program head. Advanced elective courses may be taken
pass/fail or for a grade.
The
following four specialization areas have been approved for the Applied
Cognition and Neuroscience program but alternative specialization area
proposals may be submitted for consideration to the Applied Cognition and
Neuroscience program head.
Students
selecting this specialization area are approved to select any four courses from
the ACN program (i.e., courses with the prefix ACN) or the Cognition and
Neuroscience Area of the Graduate Program in Human Development and
Communication Sciences (i.e., courses with the prefix HCS).
Students
selecting this specialization area should take two of the following three
courses: ACN 6341 Human Computer Interactions I, ACN 6342 Human Computer
Interactions II, and ACN 6343 Human Computer Interactions Lab. Students
pursuing the behavioral sciences track
should additionally take two courses from the Cognition and Neuroscience
Specialization Area course selections. Students pursuing the user-interface development track should
take: CS 5343 Algorithm Analysis and Data Structures and CS 6354 Software
Engineering. Note that the prerequisites for CS5343 are: CS5303 Computer
Science I (or equivalent) and CS 5333 Discrete Structures. Students
specializing in the Human Computer Interactions area should regularly review
the Arts and Technology courses offered in the School of Arts and Humanities,
which have the course prefix ATEC, and discuss relevant course offerings with
the ACN Program Head.
Students
pursuing the computer simulation modeling
track should take four courses from the Cognition and Neuroscience
Specialization Area which include at least one of the following courses: ACN
7335 Computational Neuroscience, ACN 7367 Speech Perception Lab, ACN 6322
Computational Models of Language Understanding. Students pursuing the mathematical modeling track will satisfy
the advanced elective requirement in this specialization area by taking the
sequence: ACN 6346 Neural Net Mathematics, ACN 6347 Intelligent Systems
Analysis and ACN 6349 Intelligent Systems Design and one additional course from
the Cognition and Neuroscience Specialization Area course selection. Note that
STAT 5351, linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and ACN 5314 Cognitive and
Neural Modeling Lab are recommended prerequisites for: ACN 6346. The following
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering courses are pre-approved electives
for students specializing in the Intelligent Systems area who have the
appropriate prerequisite background in computer science and/or electrical
engineering: CS6320 (Natural Language Processing), CS 6321 (Discourse
Processing), CS6364 (Artificial Intelligence), CS6373 (Intelligent Systems),
CS6375 (Machine Learning), CS6384 (Computer Vision), EE6362 (Speech
Processing), EE6363 (Digital Image Processing), EE6364 (Pattern Recognition),
and EE 6365 (Adaptive Signal Processing).
Students should take ACN 6344 Functional Human Neuroanatomy and ACN 6346 Systems
Neuroscience. Students should also choose at least 2 of the following courses
as specialization area electives: ACN 6310 Fundamentals of Functional Brain
Imaging, ACN 6373 Intraoperative Monitoring I, ACN 6374 Intraoperative
Monitoring II, ACN 7315 Statistical Analysis of Brain Imaging Data, ACN 7329
Functional Brain Imaging Practica, ACN 6372
Pathophysiology of Disorders of the Nervous System, and ACN 7330 Advanced
Functional Brain Imaging.