Cognitive science is the study of the human mind and brain, focusing on how the mind represents and manipulates knowledge and how mental representations and processes are realized in the brain.

Conceiving of the mind as an abstract computing device instantiated in the brain, cognitive scientists endeavor to understand the mental computations underlying cognitive functioning and how these computations are implemented by neural tissue.

Cognitive science has emerged at the interface of several disciplines. Central among these are cognitive psychology, linguistics, and portions of computer science and artificial intelligence; other important components derive from work in the neurosciences, philosophy, and anthropology.

As a consequence of this diverse ancestry, cognitive science incorporates a variety of perspectives and methodologies. Cognitive scientists share the central goal of characterizing the structure of human intellectual functioning. It is this common object of inquiry that integrates traditionally separate disciplines into the unified field of cognitive science.

Programs in cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, requiring the student to approach the study of the mind/brain from several different investigative perspectives. The programs in cognitive science draw on courses offered by several other departments as well.