Advising Appointments
Students may use the links below to schedule a fifteen-minute advising appointment with a Cognitive Science Major Advisor. Advising appointments become available each weekday, up to one week in advance. If you don't see any appointments available, please try again the following day or see below for drop-in advising with major and peer advisors.
Meet the Cognitive Science Advisors
Major Advisors
MacKenzie
MacKenzie Moore (she/her) is the Student Services Lead & Program Development Coordinator. In addition to providing on-on-one student advising, she oversees Cognitive Science advising and student services and conducts strategic planning for the program as a whole. She began her career in higher education upon admission to the PhD program in History here at UC Berkeley. She worked as a history instructor and lecturer for 9 years, through which she discovered her passion for working directly with students as an advisor. She first worked as student advisor with the American Studies program at UC Berkeley before transitioning to the Cognitive Science program. She loves talking with students about all aspects of their academic lives. She is a skilled educator with tremendous problem solving skills just waiting to help students when they need it!
Catherine
Catherine Byrne (she/her) earned her Master's degree in Counseling from Sonoma State and has worked in Higher Education since 2010. In 2017 she joined the Cognitive Science program as a Student Services Advisor. Catherine is grateful for the opportunity to work with students one-on-one and enjoys watching students progress through their college careers. Catherine is passionate about providing individualized, strengths‐based, and culturally competent services to students. She's also interested in food, art, music, and international travel, and speaking to students about what makes them tick. She enjoys getting to know her students and following them through their academic and personal development.
Sofia
Sofia Vita-Casquejo (they/them) got their B.A. in Sociology at UC Santa Cruz and their M.A. in Counseling at Saint Mary’s College of California. In the last year of their graduate program, they worked as a career counseling intern at the Tang Center where they helped students home in on their passions and interests. Their favorite part about working with students is listening to their enthusiasm for their studies and supporting their goals. Outside of their role working with students, they enjoy astrology, reading (fantasy & sci-fi), and cooking with friends! Whether you have questions about the major, are curious about career options, have concerns about your courses, etc. feel free to schedule an appointment!
Peer Advisors
Anishi
Hi! My name is Anishi (she/her) and I’m a third year majoring in Cognitive Science and Data Science. I’m a Projects Developer and former news reporter with The Daily Cal, as well as the Marketing Chair at Asha for Education. I've worked as a Research Assistant with the Coleman Research Lab on data privacy and as a volunteer with the Basic Needs Center’s CalFresh team. My favorite classes so far include AGRS 36, Data C100, and CogSci 190. I’m interested in data analytics, so please reach out if you’d like to chat! My recommendation for your Berkeley bucket list: visit the Ferry Building Farmers Market in SF on Saturday mornings (the F bus takes you super close!).
Major Courses Taken: Data 8 (Adhikari & Wagner), CS 61A (Hilfinger & Fox), Math N55 (Farahmand), CogSci 190-01 (Chan), Psych 117 (D'Esposito), Psych 110 (Foster), CogSci C100 (Chan), AGRS 36 (Ferrari), & Rhetoric 167* (Weston), Data C100 (Perez & Fithian), CogSci 131 (Ramirez), & Ling 100 (Jenks)
Current Courses: Educ 140AC (Hull), CogSci 144 (Croom), Data C104* (Edmundson & Mazzotti), Eng 177* (Saha)
*Course approved via elective petition
Kavya
Hi! My name is Kavya Marrapu (she/her/hers) and I am a fourth year Cognitive Science and Data Science major. I came in as a Cognitive Science major who wanted to be premed. However, after taking my first data science and computer science class I knew premed wasn’t for me and data and computer science was truly my passion. I decided to become both a Cognitive Science and Data Science major because I love how interdisciplinary both majors are. I specifically love how Cognitive Science lets me explore all my interests, instead of just a single interest. My favorite classes so far are Psychology of Sleep (Psychology 133) and Urban Data Analytics (CYPLAN 101). On campus, I am an officer in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and in the Cognitive Science Student Association (CSSA). CSSA has given me the opportunity to not only meet some amazing fellow Cognitive Science majors, but through planning our yearly conference and other events I have worked with various Cognitive Science faculty around the nation! I also work at the Basic Needs Center as a Data Lead where I manage their data system. Over the summer, I have worked as a Software Engineer Intern for a couple tech companies. Outside of campus, I love to hang out with my friends, get boba or iced coffee, bake, and run half marathons. Feel free to hit me up about Cognitive Science/Data Science, computer science internships, baking, running or anything at all.
Major Courses Taken: Data 8 (Sridaaran and Sahai), Cognitive Science 1 (Paul Li), MCB C61 (Presti), CS 61A (DeNero), CS 70(Rao), Cognitive Science C100 (Chan), Data C100 (Joseph & Perez), CS 188 (Dragan, Abbel), Ling 100 (Jenks), Psychology 133 (Walker), Cognitive Science 190 (Chan), & Info 103 (Duguid), Philos 3 (Lee)
Current Courses: Info 159 (Bamman)
Nicole
Hi, I’m Nicole (She/Her)! I’m a fourth year pursuing majors in Cognitive Science, Psychology, and Public Health along with a minor in Education. Cognitive Science was the first major I declared given its combination of my interests in neuroscience, understanding the brain, AI, and learning how to code! I’m also very passionate about mental health and clincial psychology, which led me to pursue additional majors in Psychology and Public Health. Combining my majors and passions, I am currently a Fung Fellow under the Health + Tech Track. On campus, I have pursued research experiences in a neuroscience lab and through URAP (Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program). I enjoy supporting incoming students as a current Senior Resident Assistant (SRA) and former RA for the STEM Excellence through Equity & Diversity (SEED) Scholars Honors Program, where I planned programs and presentations to support incoming freshmen during their first summer of taking classes at Cal. I also spent my past two summers interning at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I worked on projects related to Science Strategies and Advisory Committees. In my free time, I love hiking, going to concerts, binge-watching Netflix, playing board games, and trying new types of food; feel free to reach out to chat about different cafes/study spots, classes, double/triple majoring, research, or anything at all! (:
Major Courses Taken: CS 61A (Hilfinger & Fox), Data 8 (Sridharan & Sahai), CogSci 1 (Li), Math 1A (Paulin), Math 55 (Haiman), Psych C61 (Presti), Psych 133 (Walker), Psych 147 (Kidd), CogSci 190 (Ramirez), CogSci C142 (Regier), Educ 140AC (Hull & Fogel), Psych 160 (Chen), Psych 150 (Ayduk), Psych 130 (Bishop), Philos 3 (Campbell), Psych 135 (Harvey), CogSci C100 (Chan), & CogSci C127 (Ivry)
Current Courses: Psych 110 (Foster), PBHLTH 188*
*Course approved via elective petition
Ruisi
Hello hello! My name is Ruisi (she/her/hers pronouns). I'm a 4th year Cognitive Science major with minors in Computer Science and Philosophy. I first came to Cal as an undecided major, and after taking classes from 9 disciplines in my freshman year, I discovered my passion for brain, coding and philosophical readings and therefore created such a combination of major and minor to fit all the classes I want to take in my 4-year plan. In regards to extracurriculars at Berkeley, I was one of the lead organizers of CS Kickstart, a weeklong Computer Science introductory program for incoming female-identifying freshmen. I'm also doing brain stimulation research at the Cognition and Action Lab under professor Richard Ivry. Career-wise, I have internship experience in product management and venture capital. I also spent my past summer doing an academic internship at Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo. Overall, I believe college is the time for exploration. I have been benefited a lot from this interdisciplinary education and strongly encourage you to do so as well (please let me know if you have any questions!). In my spare time, I like to hike, play golf and sudoku. I believe every Cal student should visit Berkeley Botanic Garden at least once before they graduate (it's a beautiful beautiful place!). I'm really excited to be part of cogsci advising and hope you all have a great semester!
Major Courses Taken: MCB C61 (Presti), CogSci 1 (Li), CogSci 190 (Chan), Philos 3 (Campbell), Philos 135 (MacFarlane), CS 61A (DeNero), CS 70 (Sinclair and Song), CS 188 (Dragan), Psych 133 (Walker), Psych 150 (John), Econ 119 (Acland), & Psych 130 (Johnson)
Current Courses: Ling 100 (Garrett)
Sophia
Hello! My name is Sophia and I am a senior majoring in Cognitive Science and Business, with a minor in Data Science. I originally came to Berkeley and wanted to pursue Business and Biology, then Business and Economics, then Business and Public Health, then Business and Data Science and then spring of sophomore year I found that Cognitive Science fit all of my interests. Cognitive Science was the perfect blend of the sciences and social sciences, and I was able to combine my interests in biology, data science, and psychology. My favorite CogSci classes so far have been CogSci 190T (Neuropsychology of Happiness) with Davina Chan, Psych 160 (Social Psychology) with Sara Gorchoff, and Data C100 (Principles & Techniques of Data Science) with Josh Hug & Lisa Yan. My career interests include consulting, especially how consumer psychology affects business, and I plan to pursue a career in consulting post-graduation for a few years and then go onto graduate school. On campus, I have been involved in Data C8 on course staff as an Academic Intern, worked at the Study Abroad Office, as well as being a member of a sorority and a consulting club. Off campus, I enjoy hiking, exploring San Francisco, and finding new restaurants to eat. A fun fact about me is that I studied abroad in London, and I traveled to nine different countries around Europe when I was there! Feel free to ask about Cognitive Science, major planning as a double major, summer classes, or anything else that comes up!
Major Courses Taken: Data C8 (Ayazifar & Sahai), Math 1A (Salavatori), CS 61A (Fox & Hilfinger), CogSci 1B (Ramirez), Math 55 (Farahmand), MCB W61 (Presti), Philosophy 25A (Christensen), CogSci 190T (Chan), UGBA 177* (Groth), Data C100 (Hug & Yan), Psych 140 (Xu), & Psych 160 (Gorchoff), CogSci 131 (Ramirez) & CogSci 132 (Ramirez)
Current Courses: CogSci 144 (Croom)
*Course approved via elective petition