<div dir="ltr"><div><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Dear Colleagues,</span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><br></span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Please help us circulate the message. </span><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">Apologies for cross postings.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><br></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The </span><a href="https://www.umass.edu/psychological-brain-sciences/research/cognition-and-cognitive-neuroscience" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Graduate Program</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> at the </span><a href="https://www.umass.edu/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">University of Massachusetts Amherst</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> is recruiting PhD students to start in fall 2026. Across different labs, we study various aspects of cognition including attention, categorization, decision-making, memory, multisensory perception, numerical cognition, psycholinguistics, reading, and visual cognition. Our program overall is committed to rigorous quantitative analyses and computational approaches to illustrate theories and interpret experimental data. There is a high level of collaboration across labs within our program, within the department, and across different departments. Our graduate students are funded through a mix of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Among faculty members within the Cognitive program, the following are actively reviewing graduate applications for fall 2026.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><b>Dr. Lauren Aulet</b> &lt;Cognitive and Neural Development Lab; </span><a href="https://www.auletlab.com/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://www.auletlab.com</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">&gt; studies the development of high-level perception and cognition, such as numerical cognition, mental rotation, and intuitive physics. Dr. Aulet\u2019s lab works with both children and adult participants, and uses behavioral (psychophysics, eye-tracking) and neuroimaging methods (fMRI). Candidates will ideally have programming skills and/or experience working with kids, and a general interest in the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying perception and development.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><b>Dr. Andrew Cohen</b> &lt;Reasoning, Decision Making, and Computational Modeling Lab, </span><a href="https://websites.umass.edu/rdcl" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://websites.umass.edu/rdcl</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">&gt; studies how fundamental cognitive processes, such as memory and decision making, drive human behavior. The current focus addresses the application of these processes to choice, eyewitness lineups, and fingerprint analysis. Computational models are used to instantiate theories, improve procedures, and develop measurement tools. Competitive candidates can come from any background, but should possess scientific curiosity and strong quantitative skills.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><b>Dr. Joonkoo Park</b> &lt;Cognitive &amp; Developmental Neuroscience Lab, </span><a href="https://www.codeneuro.net/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://www.codeneuro.net</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">&gt; is most interested in studying foundational cognitive capacities for uniquely human conceptual representations. His current research specializes in numerical cognition using integrated methods, including psychophysical, developmental, neuroimaging (fMRI &amp; EEG), and computational modeling approaches. Candidates interested in fundamental cognitive science questions with strong quantitative skills are particularly encouraged to apply. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><b>Dr. Benjamin Pitt</b> &lt;Cognitive Construction Lab, </span><a href="https://cognitiveconstructionlab-com.l.ink/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://cognitiveconstructionlab-com.l.ink</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">&gt; </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">studies how people&#39;s minds are actively shaped by their everyday experiences, leading people in different contexts to think in systematically different ways, even about fundamental concepts like space, time, and numbers. To do this, Dr. Pitt conducts behavioral experiments with children and adults across cultures, including indigenous groups living in the Amazon. Grad applicants should have excellent written and oral communication, quantitative and technical skills (i.e. basic statistics in R, programming), organizational abilities, and motivation to learn. The most competitive candidates will also have relevant research experience in cognitive science or related fields. See this </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pt4h_n29Sxo0uCezAVwsrHNnwFv_pir4q-1JQYTAl40/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">FAQ</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> for more.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The deadline is Dec 1, 2025. For instructions to apply, please see: <a href="https://www.umass.edu/psychological-brain-sciences/graduate/cognition-and-cognitive-neuroscience/how-apply">https://www.umass.edu/psychological-brain-sciences/graduate/cognition-and-cognitive-neuroscience/how-apply</a>. For additional questions about our program, please contact our Program Head, Professor Kyle Cave at <a href="mailto:kcave@psych.umass.edu">kcave@psych.umass.edu</a>.</span></p><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div><br></div><div>Joon</div><div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Joonkoo Park, Ph.D. (he/him)</div><div>Associate Professor &amp; Honors Faculty</div><div>Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences</div><div>Commonwealth Honors College</div><div>University of Massachusetts at Amherst</div><div><a href="http://www.joonkoo.org" target="_blank">http://www.joonkoo.org</a></div><div><a href="https://www.codeneuro.net/" target="_blank">https://www.codeneuro.net/</a></div></div></div></div></div>