Computation and Cognition at MIT

Double Majoring at MIT

Hi all! My name is Ashley, I’m 20 and I’m a rising sophomore at MIT! Before coming to MIT, I finished highschool in Jamaica and then did an extra three years in an American boarding school (The Hotchkiss School). 

My GPA from my highschool in Jamaica was a 4.0 and my GPA from Hotchkiss was a 3.7 unweighted. I got a 1540 on the SAT my junior year. I also took SAT chemistry and scored 770 and SAT math level 2 and scored 760. I also took AP chemistry (5), AP Calc AB (5), AP Physics (4) and AP Biology (4). 

I applied as a chemistry major to every school I applied to. I applied to Harvard, Howard, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, MIT and Yale. I was accepted to MIT and Howard early decision and Brown and UPenn regular decision.

I was especially happy about the schools I got accepted to because MIT, Brown and UPenn have all been my dream schools at different points in my life. However, in the end I knew MIT was where I was meant to be for a number of reasons. I really wanted to go to school in Boston because I love the city and loved that so many colleges were in such a small area. I loved that MIT had opportunities  like UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) that encouraged students to engage with the material they’re learning/are interested in. I really wanted to be surrounded by accomplished professors and students that would motivate and inspire me. I also really loved that MIT allows freshmen to have singles!

Drinking from the Firehose

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located on the edge of the bustling city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 80-mile long Charles River separates MIT from Boston, the economic and cultural hub of New England. MIT admits roughly 1,365 undergrads out of 30,000+ applicants every year to form an undergraduate population of about 4,500 students. 48% of MIT’s undergraduate population identify as women and 56% identify as members of a US minority group.

It is easy to tell that a love for numbers pervades the MIT community and is an essential part of the MIT experience. MIT majors (called “courses”) are numbered rather than named. I, for example, am a course 6-9 with a minor in 21M. This translates to I’m majoring in Computer Science and Neuroscience with a minor in Music. Computer Science (Course 6) is by far the most popular major, accounting for more than 1/3 of the undergraduate population!

My major is a fairly popular joint-major program that has a lot of flexibility to accommodate the wide diversity of interests of the students within the major. 

6-9, like any MIT major, will be a challenging journey. Former MIT president Jerome Wiesner famously said, “Getting an education from MIT is like trying to get a drink from a firehose.” (leading to this iconic MIT hack). However, getting an MIT education will also prove to be an incredibly rewarding and enlightening experience for those who are up to the challenge!

Getting In…

MIT does not do admission based on major. Instead students are admitted to the Institute and asked to choose their major at the end of their freshman year. Overall, MIT admits about 3.9% of applicants. For class of 2026, 1,337 students out of 33,796 applicants were admitted. 

This year, MIT has been ranked as the #1 University in the World by QS World University Rankings for the 11th straight year. MIT also placed first in 12 subject areas including engineering and technology and life sciences. 

MIT boasts a pretty robust core curriculum that forces students to experience a wide range of subjects in addition to their major. MIT students are required to take two semesters of math, two semesters of physics, one semester of chemistry and one semester of biology as well as a minimum of eight subjects in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, including three to four in a concentration of your choice.

MIT also has an impressive faculty (currently including 11 Nobel laureates!) and a faculty to student ratio of 3:1. Students are able to foster relationships with their professors and learn from them outside of the classroom in Office Hours and sometimes even one-on-one meetings. As previously mentioned, MIT also has an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program that allows students to work closely with faculty researchers and graduate students on a wide variety of research topics. 

Another academic strength MIT offers is the lecture/recitation format that most MIT classes take. Most classes have big lectures twice a week where the content is given and then more intimate recitation twice a week with a TA and a smaller group of students where the material is reviewed and the concepts are practiced. Students feel less afraid to ask questions and get the opportunity to practice and collaborate with fellow students and TAs. 

Additionally, if the 4500+ classes MIT offers aren’t enough for you, you can cross-register and take classes at both Harvard and Wellesley. A shuttle connects the three schools and runs daily making it easy for students to get between campuses!

Computation and Cognition Requirements

As previously mentioned, I am a joint-major (Neuroscience and Computer science). This major is called Computation and Cognition or 6-9. This major has three required classes: Intro to Compsci: Programming in Python, Introduction to Neuroscience and Introduction to Machine Learning. This major also requires a foundation in Statistics and Mathematics. 

Students have a good amount of flexibility in choosing two classes in the Brain and Cognitive Science Program (such as Developmental Neurobiology and Computational Psycholinguistics) as well as three classes in The Electrical Engineering Computer Science program (such as Introduction to Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence).

Beyond this, students have a lot of freedom to choose two electives (like Perception and Neuroscience of Morality), one laboratory subject (like Machine-Motivated Human Vision), one advanced undergraduate projects (like Projects in the Science of Intelligence), and two communication-intensive subjects (like Infant and Early Childhood Cognition and Microcomputer Project Laboratory)!

My Experience

My freshman year I focused mainly on GIRs, next year I will be taking 6.100A and 9.01. 6.100A is a fast-paced intro-coding class and 9.01 is a reading-heavy neuroscience class. MIT students are very fortunate because many of the courses are available online at MIT OpenCourseWare. This summer, I am taking the online versions of these classes to give myself an introduction before taking them next fall. They have been very difficult but also very interesting!

When I came to MIT, I initially wanted to be a chemistry major. However, I fell in love with neuroscience towards the end of my first year after reading about some of the campus UROP opportunities in neuroscience. 

Because neuroscience is pretty new to me, I haven’t yet fully dived into the world of neuro-related activities at MIT. However, next semester I will be applying to a UROP focused on human language at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cognition which will research AI models of language!

Other than UROPs, students interested in Computation and Cognition can join one of the many related clubs on campus like the Artificial Intelligence Club!

Job Prospects

Many students go on to careers that have advanced applications of AI and machine learning and many students also go to graduate school to study systems and cognitive neuroscience. One of my senior friends in 6-9 will be going to work in AI at Meta in the fall!

Written by Ashley Williams, PathIvy MIT Ambassador