The Visual Cognition Lab is recruiting new graduate students for the 2025/2026 academic year.
There is a modeling track and an experimental track. To get a sense of recent work in the modeling track, check Dr. Petrov’s publications at ICML2020 and CogSci2019. To get a sense of recent work in the experimental track, check his publication at CogSci2024. Interdisciplinary research that combines modeling and behavioral experimentation is possible and strongly encouraged!
We are committed to fostering a diverse and welcoming community that is open to all perspectives in a mutually respectful and emotionally supportive environment that promotes vigorous intellectual debate and constructive criticism. Diversity not only enriches us as individuals, but it also advances the quality of our science. Truth is born in argument.
Prospective Graduate Students:
Dear Colleague,
We live in such exciting times! The most interesting thing in the Universe — the human mind/brain — is beginning to reveal its secrets. We know a great deal about the brain and a great deal about behavior. The time has come to forge a unified understanding about how the former gives rise to the latter. Cognitive science today is at a threshold analogous to where biology was shortly after the discovery of the DNA 50 years ago. The next 50 years will witness similar breakthroughs in cognitive neuroscience. I was introduced to this field many years ago (Thank you, Boicho!) and never looked back. Who knows, you might find it just as exciting. There is plenty of unsolved problems for all of us.
If you want to take part in this adventure and you are prepared to work hard to get to the cutting edge, then you will thrive in our lab. Welcome!!
“Let no one ignorant of geometry come under my roof.” According to tradition, this warning was engraved above the entrance of Plato’s Academy in Athens. An analogous admonition applies to our lab. The research that we do requires considerable mathematical sophistication by the standards of psychology. To do well, a student is expected to have taken a calculus course, a linear-algebra course, and a statistics course at the undergraduate university level. Those who have already taken such courses are off to a good start. The others will be asked to boost their mathematical education during their first year of graduate study. Knowledge of a programming language such as R or Python is also a big plus. Students with undergraduate majors in the hard sciences (e.g., physics, computer science) or philosophy are strongly encouraged to apply. Although it is not mandated by the Department, the applicants to our lab are strongly encouraged to take the GRE test. The academic transcript of a successful applicant typically includes a portfolio of math and programming courses. The more such courses, the better!
Prospective doctoral students seeking to work in our lab must apply to the Cognitive Psychology program. The application deadline is November 15. Visit the Application Information page for detailed instructions and a link to the web-based application portal. Please note that admission to the graduate program in our department is highly selective.
One more thing: I have been doing research for many years now on a variety of topics. There are topics that I was heavily invested in years ago but no longer actively pursue. For example, I have published extensively on various aspects of perceptual learning, but now I’m following this field only from a distance. My interest in analogy making and relational cognition, on the other hand, is as strong as ever. Thus, my publication list is only an incomplete and approximate guide to the current research in the lab. If you have a particular project in mind and want to know whether the Visual Cognition Lab might be a good place to pursue it, please contact me by email (petrov.11@osu.edu).
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you!
— Alex Petrov
Undergraduate Students at OSU:
At different times throughout the year we recruit hard working, enthusiastic, and dependable students who pay exceptional attention to detail and work well with others to serve as research assistants in our lab. Programming skills are particularly valuable, and computer-science and engineering majors are especially encouraged to apply. Experience with computer-graphics software such as Blender Studio is also highly relevant.
If you are interested, please contact Dr. Petrov by email (petrov.11@osu.edu).