Hey all! I'm Batu. I'm a '26 from Istanbul, Turkey, and I am passionate about the cognitive science of design, developmental psychology, aesthetics research, postcolonial literature, and social media marketing! Be sure to reach out with questions about exploring the liberal arts, learning a new language at Dartmouth, cafes in town (one of my favorite blog series dare I say), study abroad programs, and research on campus!
Writing 5 is one of the courses that count towards the first-year writing requirement. The course covered content relating to the self, transformation, and social dynamics relating to majority and minority. Dr. Godley is simply phenomenal. Her instruction was extremely accessible even though she covered intense topics. I could not have enjoyed my Writing 5 more!
Design Thinking was above and beyond my expectations. The course is structured around weekly projects, where we apply different cognitive strategies to cover topics like design principles, human need-finding, brainstorming, scenario building, and visual thinking.
Introduction to Cognitive Science covers a variety of fields including psychology, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy to provide insight into cognitive processes. This course helped me develop an understanding of all facets of cognitive science and which ones I would be interested in further pursuing as part of my major.
SummerIstanbul, Turkey
I was home during my first summer! A non-exhaustive list of things I've done includes sunbathing, coding my personal blog, and going on runs. #rest #relaxation
Psychology 10 is a deep dive into almost everything you might need to become well-versed in conducting research, analyzing data, and interpreting findings in a statistically sound manner. Professor Pfister is the most approachable professor I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. Statistics isn't exactly my forté, but I now feel confident in my stats foundation!
I loved taking this class with Madame Alverde, a professor from Université Toulouse ; Jean Jaures was an incredible experience. She made sure to correct our mistakes on the spot and improve them eloquently.
This course allowed me to explore the intersection of aesthetics and digital media, focusing on how digital environments reshape traditional concepts like materiality and form. I particularly enjoyed comparing human and AI-generated analyses of art and examining the frameworks that shape contemporary digital studies, from visual culture to design philosophy.
SummerHanover, NH
I was on campus pursuing full-time research in the Cognitive Science department. My research focuses on children's capacity to imagine and reason about possibilities!
A Summer of Discovery: My Full-Time Research Experience
In my previous post, I reflected on all the fun aspects of sophomore summer and promised that I would dedicate an entire post to my research experience. So here it is—my deep dive into full-time research!
For sophomore summer, I decided to pursue full-time research through an Undergraduate Research and Advising grant. This not only allowed me to cover my room and board expenses but also helped me save for my upcoming study abroad in Paris this winter. I had the privilege of working at PhilLab, one of Dartmouth's premier cognitive science labs. The project I was involved in focused on assessing children's cognitive abilities, particularly how they reason about different possibilities and generate creative options—key to understanding their imaginative capacities.
Compared to part-time research during a regular term, I dedicated significantly more hours to this full-time role. My responsibilities went beyond what I initially expected. I drafted experimental documents, strengthened our literature review by analyzing similar studies, and even played a key role in shaping the overall rationale for our research. What surprised me the most was how involved I became in the ideation process. Despite being the only undergraduate conducting full-time research that term, my contributions were truly valued at every step.
The lab booth we set up at a local farmers market to recruit subjects!
One of the more challenging aspects was working directly with kids, which initially made me nervous. However, as we conducted more studies and attended community events, my confidence grew. Our outreach efforts took us to local kindergartens and farmers markets, which ended up being some of our largest pools for subjects. I particularly loved setting up booths at farmers markets in Orford and Norwich, towns near Dartmouth, and taking ownership of the research process from start to finish. Seeing the community's enthusiasm made the experience all the more rewarding.
I also had the opportunity to attend lab meetings, where I got to hear about the diverse research projects graduate students were working on. Learning about their areas of interest and career paths in cognitive science was incredibly inspiring and invaluable for my own professional growth.
I got to share my ideas for future research with the lab towards the end of the term.
Overall, this full-time research experience taught me so much about experimental design and reinforced my passion for cognitive science. It has solidified my desire to continue pursuing research beyond my undergraduate years at Dartmouth.
Unlike some other universities, many of the STEM lecture classes at Dartmouth require concurrent enrollment in a laboratory section. What is it like navigating that time as a student?
