Advising

As director of the Undergraduate Degree Program in Cognitive Science, I discuss the major with interested students, help students fill out declaration of major forms, advise students during enrollment periods, and provide general advice on a variety of issues. When choosing a major and also when picking a concentration within the major, students tend to believe that they must narrow their interests in selecting a program of study. I attempt to help them see that it is equally an opportunity to broaden their horizons. Rather than ask them what they want to do with their degree when they graduate, I phrase the question as, "What doors do you want to have open for yourself when you graduate?" The advising exercise then becomes one of maximizing the number of open doors. farside cartoon