Cognitive science studies the human mind viewed as a computational process. It lies at the confluence of computer science, educational and cognitive development, linguistics, neuroscience, neurobiology, philosophy, psychology, and certain areas of mathematics. Cognitive science has arguably been the most important development in the study of human thinking in the past twenty years; its influence can be seen across a wide variety of disciplines, from logic to communication disorders.

Theoretical cognitive science seeks to model and explain such phenomena as perception, memory, reasoning and language. The goal of theoretical cognitive science is to determine those knowledge structures and processes that characterize organisms as biological information processing systems, to explain how these organisms come to possess this knowledge, and to account for the patterns in the breakdown of this knowledge.

Applied cognitive science studies the educational and social uses of the findings of theoretical cognitive science. One area of growing interest is instructional or cognitive learning strategies that change the way teachers and students interact in the classroom. Cognitive learning strategies are grounded in theories of how children learn, think, remember, and solve problems, and are applied to knowledge domains that are included in school instruction (i.e., mathematics, science, reading, and writing). The purpose of this research is to understand how students become expert at learning and to design more creative learning environments.

History of Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware 

The University of Delaware has a number of faculty members with strengths in both applied and theoretical cognitive science. For years, an informal research group has met regularly to discuss recent research in Cognitive Science. Similarly, faculty members in the Departments of Linguistics and Computer and Information Science, and at the Center for Applied Science and Engineering are actively involved in collaborative research associated with cognitive engineering and speech science.

In 2006-2007 the Department of Linguistics at the University of Delaware officially became the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science. Now information about our programs, research and events in Cognitive Cognitive is offered within the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science pages.

Research and Funding Announcements

1) The David A. Plastino Scholars Program

 The Plastino Scholars Program was established in 2007 by a gift from UD alumnus David A. Plastino. The Program awards study grants to selected undergraduate students at the University of Delaware who exhibit extraordinary talent, promise and imagination. The grants support self-designed, off-campus learning experiences that make a transformational difference in the lives of Plastino Scholars and enable them to pursue a passionate interest to a degree not otherwise possible.

The amount of each award will depend on the nature of the experience proposed.

Any undergraduate student at the University of Delaware may apply provided that, at the time of application, he or she is enrolled for at least twelve semester hours and has completed at least one but not more than six semesters.

Further information and application materials are available at
http://www.art-sci.udel.edu/plastino-scholars/

2) Horne-Terry Delaware Speech-Language-Hearing Association Scholarship Fund