Course 9: Brain and Cognitive Sciences
The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences is rooted in a tradition of intensive academics and research, where rigorous coursework is coupled with hands-on, collaborative research. Lectures are taught by world-class faculty, and students have access to their professors in the lab. Together, they seek answers to questions about how humans think, learn, behave, and feel.
The Department has created a tiered undergraduate curriculum that ensures graduates have the skills and preparation needed to excel as leaders in their chosen fields. The undergraduate program begins with foundational courses in a broad range of subjects, including computer science and programming, neural computation, and probability and statistics. The second and third tiers allow for increased focus and deeper exploration through course offerings in areas such as cellular neurobiology, psycholinguistics, and genetic engineering.
DEGREE CHART
General Institute Requirements (GIRs)
The General Institute Requirements include a Communication Requirement that is integrated into both the HASS Requirement and the requirements of each major; see details below.
| Summary of Subject Requirements | Subjects |
|---|---|
| Science Requirement | 6 |
| Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Requirement [two subjects can be satisfied by 9.00 and one other HASS subject in the Departmental Program]; at least two of these subjects must be designated as communication-intensive (CI-H) to fulfill the Communication Requirement. | 8 |
| Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirement [can be satisfied by 6.0001/6.0002and 9.01 in the Departmental Program] | 2 |
| Laboratory Requirement (12 units) [can be satisfied by a laboratory in the Departmental Program] | 1 |
| Total GIR Subjects Required for SB Degree | 17 |
| Physical Education Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Swimming requirement, plus four physical education courses for eight points. |
Departmental Program
Choose at least two subjects in the major that are designated as communication-intensive (CI-M) to fulfill the Communication Requirement.
| Required Subjects | Units | |
| Tier I | ||
| 6.0001 | Introduction to Computer Science Programming in Python | 6 |
| 6.0002 | Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science | 6 |
| 9.00 | Introduction to Psychological Science | 12 |
| 9.01 | Introduction to Neuroscience | 12 |
| 9.40 | Introduction to Neural Computation | 12 |
| 9.07 | Statistics for Brain and Cognitive Science | 12 |
| Tier 2 | ||
| Select three of the following; up to seven may be taken: | 36-84 | |
| Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology | ||
| The Human Brain | ||
| Developmental Neurobiology | ||
| Computational Psycholinguistics | ||
| Cellular Neurophysiology and Computing | ||
| Principles and Applications of Genetic Engineering for Biotechnology and Neuroscience | ||
| Perception | ||
| Neural Circuits for Cognition | ||
| Emergent Computations Within Distributed Neural Circuits | ||
| Computational Cognitive Science | ||
| Infant and Early Childhood Cognition (CI-M) | ||
| Tier 3 | ||
| Select up to four of the following: | 0-48 | |
| Disorders and Diseases of the Nervous System | ||
| Current Topics in Developmental Neurobiology (CI-M) | ||
| Genes, Circuits, and Behavior | ||
| The Brain and Its Interface with the Body | ||
| Neuroscience of Morality (CI-M) | ||
| Laboratory | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 12 | |
| Experimental Molecular Neurobiology (CI-M) | ||
| Systems Neuroscience Laboratory (CI-M) | ||
| Laboratory in Psycholinguistics (CI-M) | ||
| Machine-Motivated Human Vision (CI-M) | ||
| Research | ||
| Select one of the following (Laboratory cannot also count for Research): | 12-18 | |
| Experimental Molecular Neurobiology (CI-M) | ||
| Systems Neuroscience Laboratory (CI-M) | ||
| Research and Communication in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (CI-M) | ||
| Research in Brain and Cognitive Sciences | ||
| Laboratory in Psycholinguistics (CI-M) | ||
| Machine-Motivated Human Vision (CI-M) | ||
| Undergraduate Research | ||
| Restricted Electives | ||
| Select zero to four subjects. 9.URG cannot count as a Restricted Elective | 0-48 | |
| Units in Major | 168-174 | |
| Unrestricted Electives | 54-72 | |
| Units in Major That Also Satisfy the GIRs | (48-60) | |
| Total Units Beyond the GIRs Required for SB Degree | 180 | |
The units for any subject that counts as one of the 17 GIR subjects cannot also be counted as units required beyond the GIRs.
| 1 |
These subjects can count toward either the Laboratory or or the Research requirement, but not both. |
Restricted Electives
| 2.003[J] | Dynamics and Control I | 12 |
| 2.184 | Biomechanics and Neural Control of Movement | 12 |
| 5.07[J] | Biological Chemistry I | 12 |
| 5.12 | Organic Chemistry I | 12 |
| 5.13 | Organic Chemistry II | 12 |
| 6.003 | Signals and Systems | 12 |
| 6.027[J] | Biomolecular Feedback Systems | 12 |
| 6.034 | Artificial Intelligence | 12 |
| 6.036 | Introduction to Machine Learning | 12 |
| 6.042[J] | Mathematics for Computer Science | 12 |
| 6.045[J] | Automata, Computability, and Complexity | 12 |
| 6.046[J] | Design and Analysis of Algorithms | 12 |
| 6.801 | Machine Vision | 12 |
| 6.803 | The Human Intelligence Enterprise | 12 |
| 6.806 | Advanced Natural Language Processing | 12 |
| 6.819 | Advances in Computer Vision | 12 |
| 7.03 | Genetics | 12 |
| 9.72 | Vision in Art and Neuroscience | 12 |
| 18.03 | Differential Equations | 12 |
| 18.06 | Linear Algebra | 12 |
| 18.404 | Theory of Computation | 12 |
| 24.211 | Theory of Knowledge | 12 |
| 24.900 | Introduction to Linguistics | 12 |
| 24.901 | Language and Its Structure I: Phonology | 12 |
| 24.902 | Language and Its Structure II: Syntax | 12 |
| 24.903 | Language and Its Structure III: Semantics and Pragmatics | 12 |
| 24.904 | Language Acquisition | 12 |
FALL 2020
| Subject # | Units | Title | Time | Location | Faculty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.01 | (4-0-8) U | Intro to Neuroscience | MW 1–2:30pm + recitation | Virtual | Bear | |
| 9.011 | (6-0-12) G | Systems Neuroscience | MWF 2–4pm | Virtual | Desimone, Miller | |
| 9.014 | (3-1-8) G | Quantitative Methods and Computational Models in Neurosciences | MW 11am–12pm, F 10am–12pm | Virtual | Jayazeri | |
| 9.015J | (3-0-9) G | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Core I | TR 1–2:30pm | Virtual | Littleton, Sheng | Same as 7.65J |
| 9.016 | (4-0-8) G | Acoustics, Production and Perception of Speech | TR 1–2:30pm + recitation | Virtual | Gosh, Nakajima | Same as HST.714J |
| 9.07 | (4-0-8) U | Statistics for Brain and Cognitive Science | MW 9:30–11:30am + recitation | Virtual | Brown | |
| 9.17 | (2-4-6) U | Systems Neuroscience Lab | M 3–4pm, F1–5pm + recitation | Virtual | Flavell, Harnett | |
| 9.175 | (3-0-9) G | Robotics | TR 1–2:30pm | Virtual | Slotine | Same as 2.165 |
| 9.19 | (4-0-8) U&G | Computational Psycholinguistics | MW 9:30–11am | Virtual | Levy | |
| 9.21/9.021J | (5-2-5) U | Cellular Neurophysiology and Computing | MW 11am–12:30pm + recitation | Virtual | Han, Heldt | Same as 2.791J, 6.021J, 20.370J, 2.794J, 6.521J, 20.470J, HST.541J |
| 9.41 | (2-12-4) U | Research and Communication in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science | M EVE 7–9pm | Virtual | Ogren, Wilson | |
| 9.422J | (3-0-9) G | Principles of Neuroengineering | TR 10:3-am–12pm | Virtual | Boyden | Same as 20.452J, MAS.881J |
| 9.455J | (2-0-7) G | Revolutionary Ventures: How to Invent and Deploy Transformative Technologies | R 2–4pm | Virtual | Boyden, Jacobson | Same as 15.128J, 20.454J, MAS.883J |
| 9.49/9.490 | (3-0-9) U&G | Neural Circuits for Cognition | TR 2:30–4pm | Virtual | Fiete | |
| 9.520J | (3-0-9) G | Statistical Learning Theory and Applications | TR 11am–12:30pm | Virtual | Poggio, Rosasco | Same as 6.860 |
| 9.58 | (3-0-9) U | Projects in the Science of Intelligence | W 1:30–3:30pm + recitation | Virtual | Poggio | |
| 9.66J/9.660J | (3-0-9) U | Computational Cognitive Science | TR 1–2:30pm + recitation | Virtual | Tenenbaum | Same as 6.804J |
| 9.72/9.720 | (2-2-8) U | Vision in Art and Neuroscience | TR 3–5pm | Virtual | Sinha | BCS majors may count subject as a restricted elective |
| 9.85 | (3-0-9) U | Infant and Early Child Cognition | TR 1–2:30pm | Virtual | Schulz | |
| 9.S911 | (1-0-0) G | Fellowship Applications Workshop | TBA | Virtual | Kanwisher | |
| 9.S917 | (2-0-4) G | MIT Colloquium on the Brain and Cognition: Background Research Seminar | W 12pm | Virtual | DiCarlo | |
| 3.056/3.64 | (3-0-9) U&G | Materials Physics of Neural Interfaces | MW 11am–12:30pm | Virtual | Anikeeva |
SPRING 2021
| Subject # | Units | Title | Time | Location | Faculty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.00 | (4-0-8) U | Intro to Psychological Science | TR 2–3:30pm + recitation | TBA | Gabrieli | |
| 9.012 | (6-0-12) G | Cognitive Science | TR 1–4pm | TBA | Gibson, Sinha, Tenenbaum | |
| 9.013J | (3-0-9) G | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Core II | MW 1–2:30pm | TBA | Feng, Tsai | Same as 7.68J |
| 9.017 | (2-2-8) G | Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Computations | MW 11am–12pm, Lab F 1–3pm | TBA | Halassa | |
| 9.073 | (3-0-9) G | Statistics for Neuroscience Research | MW 9:30–11am | TBA | Brown | Same as HST.460 |
| 9.09J | (3-0-9) U | Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology | MW 1–2:30pm + recitation | TBA | Heiman, Littleton | Same as 7.29J |
| 9.110J | (3-0-9) G | Nonlinear Control System Design | TR 1–2:30pm | TBA | Slotine | Same as 2.152J |
| 9.12 | (2-4-6) U | Experimental Molecular Neurobiology | T 3–5pm, Lab R 9am–1pm and F 1–5pm | TBA | Choi, Flavell, Zhang | |
| 9.13 | (3-0-9) U | The Human Brain | MW 11am–12:30pm | TBA | Kanwisher | |
| 9.123 | (3-6-3) G | Neurotechnology in Action | TR 2:30–4pm | TBA | Jasanoff, Boyden, Jonas | Same as 20.203J |
| 9.18J/9.181J | (3-0-9) U&G | Developmental Neurobiology | TR 2:30–4pm | TBA | Heiman, Nedivi | Same as 7.49J/7.69J |
| 9.24 | (3-0-9) U | Disorders and Diseases of the Nervous System | F 1–4pm | TBA | Sur | |
| 9.26J | (3-0-9) U | Principles and Applications of Genetic Engineering for Biotechnology and Neuroscience | F 10am–1pm | TBA | Zhang | Same as 20.205J |
| 9.271J | (3-0-9) G | Pioneering Technologies for Interrogating Complex Biological Systems | MW 1–2:30pm | TBA | Chung | Same as HST.562J/ 10.562J |
| 9.28 | (3-0-6) U | Current Topics in Developmental Neurobiology | TR 2:30–4pm | TBA | Nedivi | |
| 9.301J | (3-0-6) G | Neural Plasticity in Learning and Memory | R 1-4pm | TBA | Tonegawa | Same as 7.98J |
| 9.35 | (4-0-8) U | Perception | TR 2:30-4pm + recitation | TBA | McDermott | |
| 9.357 | (2-0-7) G | Current Topics in Perception | M 3–5pm | TBA | Adelson | |
| 9.40 | (4-0-8) U | Introduction to Neural Computation | TR 10:30am–12pm + recitation | TBA | Fee | |
| 9.521J | (4-0-8) G | Mathematical Statistics: A Non-Asymptotic Approach | TR 1–2:30pm | TBA | Rakhlin | same as IDS.160 |
| 9.53/9.530 | (4-0-8) U&G | Emergent Computations within Distributed Neural Circuits | MW 3:30–5pm | TBA | Ajemian | |
| 9.55 | Consumer Behavior | TBA | Rand | Same as 15.847 | ||
| 9.59J | (3-3-6) U | Laboratory in Psycholinguistics | MW 1-2:30pm, Lab F 1–4pm | TBA | Gibson | Same as 24.905J |
| 9.60 | (2-1-9) U | Machine Motivated Human Vision | TR 11am–12:30pm | TBA | Sinha | |
| 9.822J | (4-0-8) G | Psychology and Economics | W 4–7pm | TBA | Prelec | Same as 14.137J |
| 9.S914 | Language in the Mind and Brain | TBA | Fedorenko | |||
| 9.S918 | (2-0-4) G | MIT Colloquium on the Brain and Cognition: Background Research Seminar | W 12–1pm | TBA |
The Minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences consists of six subjects arranged in two tiers of study, intended to provide students breadth in the field as a whole and some depth in one or two areas of specialization. To find out more, please visit the course catalog.
How to Declare a Minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences
- The Minor Application should be filled out by the end of your sophomore year, but no later than Add Date one full term before the term in which you expect to receive the S.B. degree.
- Visit the Registrar website to print out the Minor Application form.
- Please contact bcs-undergrad-admin@mit.edu to set-up a time to discuss applying for a minor in BCS, and completion of minor. You must bring your unofficial transcript which can be obtained from Student Services in 11-120.
NOTE: If you decide not to earn a Minor after applying for one, it is essential that you promptly notify the Academic Office.
MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) cultivates and supports research partnerships between MIT undergraduates and faculty. Participating in a UROP through the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences gives students an incredible opportunity to be a part of the exciting research taking place here in Bldg. 46.
Please take some time to explore BCS faculty profiles on our website and learn about what their labs are investigating!
Browse current UROP opportunities posted on MIT’s UROP website.
For more information or questions please contact bcs-undergrad-admin@mit.edu
Graduates of our program are superbly equipped for the next stage of their career, whether they plan to enter the field directly or pursue further education and training. The paths they choose are as varied as the interests that brought them to MIT. From medicine and computer science to K-12 education, robotics, artificial intelligence, and academia, BCS alumni can be found working in many different settings.
Example careers of alumni who entered the Cell/Molecular Neuroscience field:
- Pharmaceutical Scientist
- Senior Research Scientist
- Project Manager
- Graduate school or Medical School
Example careers of alumni who entered the Systems Neuroscience field:
- Data Scientist
- Research Technician
- Senior Business Analyst
- Graduate school or Medical School
Example careers of our alumni who entered the Cognitive Neuroscience field:
- Clinical Research Coordinator
- Management Consultant
- Analyst
- Graduate school, Medical School, or Law School
Example careers of alumni who entered the Computational Neuroscience field:
- Computational Neuroscientist
- Software Developer
- Computational Modeling and Machine Intelligence Scientist
- Data Analytics Specialist
- Graduate school
For more information, contact:
BCS Academic Office
Building 46 Room 2005