Research emphases include the workings of the human mind in multimodal communication, design, art, and technology, the origins of human higher-order cognition, interaction of brain and culture in development and evolution, the role of the body and social interaction in shaping human cognition, and the operation of systems that human beings have invented to guide their thought and action individually and culturally.

The Department of Cognitive Science at CWRU makes use of the traditional methods of linguistics, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, biology, and anthropology along with new,?integrated methods?that have been invented within cognitive science over the last several years.

The department provides basic training in core disciplines, as well as in a range of philosophical, evolutionary, linguistic, and computational issues bearing on cognitive science. It seeks to place cognitive science in a wider, more ecologically valid context than traditional programs in this field have typically allowed, so as to broaden our theories of those high-end cognitive capacities that mark human beings as distinctive.

The department offers an undergraduate major and minor in cognitive science and a master?s degree in cognitive linguistics. By developing wide-ranging expertise in at least two or three relevant disciplines, our students can prepare for a variety of career options. Training in several disciplines will also provide increased choices for postgraduate study.