Hi, I'm a first year student in Science. I'm thinking of entering the Cognitive Science of Language program. There aren't many recent comments about the program here. Are there any students out there currently in this program who would care to share their experience with it, what they like/dislike about it, what to avoid, which courses you were particularly fond of, etc?

Thanks!

The program is amazing. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the courses that I have taken so far, and I've taken almost all of the requirements. I would definitely recommend the program. The profs are all very friendly and helpful. It's hard to just pick things out of thin air to talk about, but if you have some more specific questions about the program, I'd be happy to answer them.

Wow, thanks!
Let's see...do you find that the courses you have taken focus more on the theoretical aspects or on the practical, real-life applications of what you are learning, or an even mix of both? What were your favourites course so far, as well as your least favourites, and why?

Some of both. You have to take the "core" linguistics courses that are mostly theoretical, like phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, but then you also take more practical courses, like psycholinguistics, child language acquisition, and labs and stuff.

Some of my favourite courses have been:
Ling 2LC3 (Historical linguistics) - This is where you learn how language has changed over the years. You learn about typical patterns and things like that. The prof is awesome, and extremely knowledgeable, and the evaluations are very simple. However, if you're not someone who likes to listen to a rambling genius, you might not love this one.
Ling 2PS3 (Psycholinguistics) - This is where you learn about how we understand language. It's a really interesting course, where you basically look at the findings of a bunch of experiments. The prof is really nice, and really cheerful.
Ling 2SY3 (Syntax) - This course is all about sentence structure. It is really fun if you enjoy patterns and things like that. The prof is extremely intelligent, but some people find her intimidating. I think she's awesome.
Ling 3C03 (Child language acquisition) - I'm in this course right now. It is about how children acquire language. You learn about how amazing this process is. It blows my mind. Same prof as Psycholing.

Some of my least favourite have been:
Ling 2D03 (Research methods) - Although very useful, this class is quite boring for obvious reasons. The prof is really nice though.
Ling 2DD3 (Statistics for language research) - Same as 2D03

Overall, I've pretty much loved all the courses. There are many that I didn't mention because they didn't quite make my favourites list, but they were amazing nonetheless.

Feel free to ask me any more questions that you have. I hope I was helpful.

I am not in the Cognitive Science of Language but I am in the Honours Linguistics program which has the same type of courses as the Cognitive Science part but it focuses more on languages rather the psychology part. I love the program and I am thoroughly enjoying all the courses I am taking in the program. The Honours Linguistics degree focuses more on languages so you have to take a lot of language courses.

As Allana said, you take some of both theoretical "core" courses and practical ones. I have to do that in the Honours Linguistics program too...

My favourite courses so far:

Linguistics 2S03 (Sociolinguistics) - This talks about how language relates to the society overall. It talks about where dialects and accents come from and how it is develop. It is a very interesting course and I find the assignments fun to do. Dr. Penner teaches this course

Linguistics 3M03 (Morphology) - This is the study of words and how it develops from patterns of sounds to words. I like this course because it's pretty easy to follow and the assignments are not too hardcore. Dr. Stroinska teaches this course

Linguistics 2LL3 (Linguistic Typology) - This is the study of languages overall and how it is analysed by linguist. The prof teaching this course this year (Dr. George Thomas) makes this course really interesting and it's not as boring as how some people would say. I'm currently in the course and I'm enjoying it.

Linguistics 3TT3 (Translations Theory) - This is the study of how translation works and how it is develop. You learn about how to translate certain texts and what to consider when translating something. This course is not offered every year and Dr. Stroinska did a great job teaching this course. There is no final exam but a final paper. I enjoyed this course because it makes me practice translating text to my native language. It makes me think.

My least favourite courses:

Linguistics 2L03 (Phonetics) - This is the study of individual sounds of language. You learn about where in the mouth a certain sound is develop, etc. I didn't enjoy this course very much. Although the assignments was ok to do, the tests were hardcore. Dr. Yoon teaches this course but I don't know about next year though, there might a different prof for this one.

Linguistics 2PH3 (Phonology) - This is the study of sound patterns in language. It's pretty much like phonetics but you learn about sound environments and stuff. Dr. Yoon taught this course when I took it but I think this semester, there is a new prof.

I'm also here if you have questions that needs answering. I'll be happy to help.

I'm doing a combined Honours Cognitive Science of Language and Anthropology degree and I LOVE IT. I had planned to major in History, took the Linguistics courses as electives and loved it. The CogSci/Linguistics program at Mac is actually pretty unique, in that most universities don't offer it.

This program offers a diverse selection of courses, like mentioned above, so you gain a comprehensive understanding of language and how the mind processes it. My favourite courses so far are Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics. My least favourite are Research Methods/Stats and Phonetics; like in any program, they are mandatory courses that you sort of just have to grit your teeth and get through.

The professors in this department are pretty awesome; they really care about our success and you can see that they love what they are teaching.

If you are thinking about CogSci or Linguistics, I would definitely recommend it!!

You guys have been a great help, thanks for all the wonderful advice!

To Allana, or any CogSci out there, what do you know about the SLP practicum? I know it has limited space-- from what you have heard, is it particularly competitive to get into?

Originally Posted by katyc

You guys have been a great help, thanks for all the wonderful advice!

To Allana, or any CogSci out there, what do you know about the SLP practicum? I know it has limited space-- from what you have heard, is it particularly competitive to get into?

I have no idea about the SLP practicum, as I am not interested in SLP. However, what I DO know is that if you want to be an SLP, don't wait for the practicum - you need to start volunteering now.