Each year the Cognitive Science Honors Committee invites outstanding undergraduates to participate in the Cognitive Science Honors Program. Typically, juniors with at least a 3.5 grade point average in the courses for the major are invited to apply. These invitations are sent by letter each year in the winter quarter. In addition, the committee will consider other candidates whose GPAs are below 3.5 if they have demonstrated promise in other ways (e.g. research). In this regard, the committee solicits and evaluates nominations from the faculty affiliated with the Cognitive Science Program.

Students who accept the invitation must find a faculty sponsor for their honors project from one of the disciplines within Cognitive Science. In this regard, the Junior/Senior Cognitive Science Proseminar provides an excellent introduction to the research of a number of faculty affiliated with the Cognitive Science Program. It is expected that students will have identified a sponsor no later than the end of their junior year. By this time, students should inform the Cognitive Science Undergraduate and Honors Advisor of their sponsor.

Honors candidates are expected to carry out a research project which demonstrates their own original thinking and creativity. Usually, the nature of the project springs from a student's idea. The faculty sponsor may suggest important theoretical issues that the student could explore in deciding on a project and provides general guidance on how to carry out the project. In addition, students will write a manuscript describing their project and will give an oral presentation of their project at a public forum attended by members of the Cognitive Science community and held in the spring quarter. Members of the Cognitive Science community include the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who belong to the various subdisciplines of Cognitive Science. At the public forum, the student will give a brief (30 minutes or so) presentation of his/her research project. After the presentation, there will be a short question and answer period.

Participation in the honors program requires at least two quarters of independent study. In the Fall, all honors students must register for the 398: Honors Thesis Seminar which involves weekly class meetings with the Cognitive Science Undergraduate and Honors Advisor. Subsequently, students have the option to register for either 398 through Cognitive Science or 399 through the home department of their faculty sponsor. In addition, honors candidates are expected to have regular one-on-one meetings with their faculty sponsor throughout the year.

To be considered for nomination, honors candidates must have (a) completed a research project to which they substantially contribute and which demonstrates their own original thinking and creativity, (b) written a document which clearly and eloquently describes the project and its theoretical importance, (c) presented their research at a public forum, and (d) secured a letter of recommendation from the faculty sponsor and a cosponsor (i.e., a second faculty person familiar with the research topic associated with the project). In regard to requirement (d), the sponsor and cosponsor must read the student's manuscript and provide letters which evaluate the quality of the student's project and the nature of the student's contribution to the project.

Typically, students are invited to participate in the honors program. However, students who are not explicitly invited may petition the Cognitive Science Honors Committee to be considered for honors. Requirements (a)-(d) still apply to these students although they may have completed a research project through some other means (e.g., by taking several 399 independent study courses).