Parallel Planning
The Faculty of Arts recommends that students aiming for competitive majors take courses which keep them eligible for alternative options, planning for both majors in parallel. This may be a challenge for Computer Science students as the number of comparable programs are notably limited within Arts.
Cognitive Systems
The Cognitive Systems major involves the study of natural and artificial intelligent systems across Computer Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology courses. As described on the program's website, "it emphasizes the study of existing systems (e.g., perception; language), the development of new ones (e.g., robotic agents; computational models), and the design of interfaces between different forms of intelligent agents (e.g., user experience, human-computer interaction)." Cognitive Systems is not a drop-in replacement for Computer Science. Integration of Computer Science courses is extremely limited for Arts students, the core curriculum is focused on developing a different skillset, and students are not eligible for Computer Science Co-op. However, many students in Cognitive Systems follow similar career paths to Computer Science students.1
Eligibility to apply requires 2nd year standing and at least 9 credits across at least 2 of CPSC_V, PHIL_V, PSYC_V, LING_V, and COGS_V.2 For prospective B.A. CS students, the CPSC_V requirements can apply towards this requirement, and thus you must only take 3 credits of PHIL_V, PSYC_V, LING_V, or COGS_V in order to parallel plan for Cognitive Systems. Entrance to Cognitive Systems is based on an application, with 80% of their seats allocated to students based purely on normal GPA. For students with more than 27 credits, up to 12 of your lowest credits may be excluded from their calculations so long as those credits were not earned in any of the Cognitive Systems fields (or STAT_V). The remaining 20% of Cognitive Systems seats are allocated to students with consideration of academic performance, a resume/CV, and a short personal statement.3
Students can apply to both Computer Science and Cognitive Systems at the same time during April. Upon admission to Cognitive Systems, students are given a choice to accept their offer, which they may choose to decline upon notification of admission to Computer Science in order to free their seat for another applicant. There are currently 60 seats allocated to Arts students, with no distinction made between domestic or international applicants. The minimum accepted GPA per year is traditionally lower than Computer Science, only recommending students to submit a resume/CV and personal statement with GPAs of 80% and below.4
1. Careers | Cognitive Systems Program, as of November 20 2025 ↩
2. Admission Requirements | Cognitive Systems Program, as of November 20 2025 ↩
3. Application Evaluation | Cognitive Systems Program, as of November 20 2025 ↩
4. Applying to the COGS Program | Cognitive Systems Program, as of November 20 2025 ↩