Having recently (more or less) completed my first year of university, I have a few choices to make. One of which is the usual choosing of my major. At the moment, I'm sort of torn between computer science and something called "Cognitive Systems", with a specialization in "Computational Intelligence and Design". This has the exact same first-year course requirements, and more or less the same CS course requirements in the other years. However, the 2nd and 3rd year maths courses seem to be replaced by philosophy and linguistics. It looks like an AI degree of sorts. Now, having an interest in AI, and a mild interest in philosophy, this looks like something I might be interested in. The only thing is that I'm not sure what this would do for job prospects. My question to you all is: how widely-known is this field of "cognitive systems", and what sorts of jobs could I get with a bachelors in COGS? And if I were to pursue a career in game development, would it be wise to go for the COGS degree? Or perhaps even a double major, since there's undoubtedly significant overlap between the two degrees? [Edited by - Oberon_Command on April 25, 2009 6:55:06 PM]

Major in Computer Science, minor in Philosophy. Fill your minor with the classes you would have taken in the other major. (Unless of course you are somewhere with a different system than I'm accustomed to, and you don't have electives.) Or double major as you already said.

I personally haven't come across the term, but it does appear in quite a few university web pages. However none of them appear to be undergrad studies.

I've known a few people in HR at software development companies and they have commented on how they often end up cutting people early based on an odd sounding degree. Unfair I know, but when you are given a week to sort through 2000 resumes that were dumped on the company to fill a single position, you tend to go with what sounds familiar.

In one sense I agree with Talroth. If it's possible for you to major in computer science and take the extra classes that cognitive systems would have you take either as a minor or a second major, this seems wiser. Whether it's fair or not, computer science is a highly recognized degree. Your use of quotes around cognitive systems suggests you find the name of the degree a little mysterious as well.

That said, I feel that college should be about more than just getting a slip of paper. It should be about exploring whatever subjects take your fancy and growing with your peers. It'd be a shame to go to college, spend so much money on it (or spend somebody else's money--like your parents' or that of scholarship donors [smile]), and hold back your studies because a certain name is more immediately recognizable to employers than another. So if you feel like you'd be holding back your interests by getting a traditional CS degree, personally if I was in your shoes I'd go for cognitive systems.

I agree that college should be more about getting the slip of paper, but the "more than the slip of paper" is something that should be done outside of class. Get the CS degree and learn all the unpleasant math stuff, and learn about the stuff that interests you in your own time.

It's a lot easier to learn about things you like in your spare time, than to learn about things you dislike.