Symbolic Systems Program

What is Symbolic Systems?

What's New in Symbolic Systems?

The Symbolic Systems Program (SSP) focuses on computers and minds: artificial and natural systems that use symbols to represent information. SSP brings together students and faculty interested in different aspects of the human-computer relationship, including...

cognitive science: studying human intelligence, natural languages, and the brain as computational processes;
artificial intelligence: endowing computers with human-like behavior and understanding; and
human-computer interaction: designing computer software and interfaces that work well with human users.

Symbolic Systems' affiliated faculty come from several departments at Stanford University, including Computer Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Communication, and Education. Our students are exposed to the tools of these disciplines -- formal methods, philosophical analysis, computer programming, and empirical research -- with the aim of being able to apply the appropriate tool(s) to a chosen area of specialization. SSP alumni are found in various occupations, including software design and applications, teaching and research, law, medicine, and public service.

Welcome alums! If you are an SSP alum and you do not know how to access your account, contact Todd Davies at the email address "davies at csli dot stanford dot edu". If you know how to log into your account, you can edit your profile by signing in and clicking on "Update profile" under "Your account" on the left sidebar. Also, please contact us if you have address information for alumni whose email addresses do not appear in our database after you sign in.

Match Madness is here! The matching process for Symbolic Systems Summer Internships is now active on the internships subsite. The deadline to post for "first visibility" of profiles and internships is Wednesday, February 17.

The next Symbolic Systems Forum will be on Thursday, February 11, 2010 (4:15-5:30 pm in 380-380C), featuring Sam McClure of the Psychology Department. Check the SSP calendar page for details and abstracts for Forum talks as they are scheduled.

Office hours for the Symbolic Systems Advising Fellows and Program Administrators are listed below for Winter Quarter. Watch here for updates:

Zavain Dar, AF, T.TH 12:15 - 2:15 in 460-040A
Todd Davies, Associate Director, TWTh 10:30-11:55 am, or by appointment, in 460-040C (no office hours on Thursday, Feb. 11)
Christopher Lin, AF, TW 1:00-3:00pm in 460-060A
Mike Mellenthin, AF, W 9:00-11:00am and F 12:15-2:00pm in 460-040A
Clayton Mellina, AF, T 10:00am-12:00pm and W 3:00-5:00pm in 460-040A
Conal Sathi, AF, Th 1:00-3:00pm, F 2:00-4:00pm in 460-040A
Ken Taylor, Director, MW 1:15-3:15 pm, T 10:30 am-12 noon in 100-102N

A listing of Suggested Potential Advisors for each undergraduate concentration is now available to majors. Log in first to see more info about each faculty member.