The Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science advances the scientific understanding of mind through teaching, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of ideas both inside and outside of the classroom.
The Institute administers an undergraduate major in Cognitive Science (BA or BS degree) and a Graduate Certificate Program in Cognitive Science, sponsors interdisciplinary seminars and speaker series, hosts the annual Marshall M. Weinberg Symposium, and supports a postdoctoral scholar and visiting faculty program.
Participating faculty, students, and post-doctoral researchers come from multiple academic programs and disciplines, including computer science, linguistics, philosophy and psychology. A key part of the Institute’s mission is to bring these scholars together in the shared pursuit of a deeper understanding of the mind—an understanding unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries.
History of the Weinberg Institute
The Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science was created in 2014 through a generous gift from Marshall M. Weinberg ('50). His passion for cognitive science and interdisciplinary scholarship prompted him to sponsor the first Marshall M. Weinberg Cognitive Science Symposium at U-M in 2009. The success of the symposium and the development of a viable undergraduate cognitive science major were important antecedents of the Institute. The first director of the Weinberg Institute was U-M Professor of Linguistics Samuel D. Epstein, who served until 2017. Following Richard Lewis, U-M Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, served as director of the Weinberg Institute until 2023. Chandra Sripada, U-M Theophile Raphael Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy, currently is serving as the director of the Weinberg Institute as of July 1, 2023.
