Symbolic Systems

The Symbolic Systems Program (SSP) focus on the relationship between natural and artificial systems that represent, process, and act on information. The program is built on the key observation that both human beings and computers manipulate symbols.

By bridging the humanities, social sciences, and STEM, the program investigates concepts such as computation, representation, communication, and intelligence. Our curriculum integrates disciplines including philosophy, computer science, linguistics, psychology, statistics, neurobiology, and communication, prompting students to explore how the interaction between people and computers can be made easier, safer, and more beneficial.

Academic Programs and Technical Training

The Symbolic Systems Program offers interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees designed to equip students with both humanistic perspectives and technical expertise:

• Rigorous Core Curriculum: Both the B.S. and M.S. programs require students to master a common core of required courses before selecting an area of specialization. Core coursework spans symbolic logic, the philosophy of mind, formal linguistics, cognitive psychology, computer programming, the mathematics of computation, statistical theory, artificial intelligence, and interdisciplinary approaches to cognitive science.

• Integrating Science and Humanities: SSP courses prepare students with the vocabulary, theoretical background, and technical skills needed for advanced research. While most courses are drawn from affiliated departments, courses designed specifically for SSP are aimed at integrating and synthesizing these diverse fields of study.

Research Frontiers and Cognitive Science

SSP research lies at the intersection of human cognition and computational systems, exploring fundamental questions about language, intelligence, and technology:

• Natural and Artificial Intelligence: Examining the ways in which computers, algorithms, and computer languages mimic or differ from human minds and natural languages.

• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI): Analyzing and designing systems to optimize how humans interface with computational technology, natural language processing, and the Internet.

• Cognitive and Information Systems: Investigating how representation and computational frameworks can model complex biological and artificial processes.