History

It started out as a side project between three friends. 

In 2000, Chris Mathieson had just gotten a paper published in the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy. Understanding this was a rare opportunity for an undergraduate student like him, he wanted to provide his peers with a similar opportunity. “We were having a few beers at the pub,” he says. “I think I was the one who suggested it [to the others].” 

Kimberly Voll and Jeremy Holman were immediately on board. The journal, for them, had two goals: to publish undergraduate work and to establish cognitive science as a respected and interdisciplinary field. “Because the cognitive science department at [Simon Fraser University (SFU)] was so new, cognitive science students had to advocate for themselves to be heard by the university,” Mathieson explains. “We hoped that by having an undergraduate journal in cognitive science, we could put ourselves on the map.”

“[We didn’t know] where it would go,” Voll recalls over email. “[We were] just excited to celebrate the wonderful work that our fellow cognitive science students were doing.”

And exciting it was! In 2002, a year after their idea was born, the first edition of the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science was published, with Mathieson serving as executive editor and Voll and Holman as associate editors. Sam Scott, a PhD student at Carleton University, helped serve as a graduate reviewer for the journal. Four papers were published in its inaugural issue: one about linguistics and three on cognitive psychology. A year and a half later, another issue was published – this time marking the first time papers from outside of Canada were published in the journal. 

The first issue of the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science was heavily supported by Carleton University’s cognitive science department. “Dr. Akins, one of the cognitive science professors and a supporter of the journal, went to Carleton for a conference,” Mathieson explains. “I think [Voll] went with her. At the conference, they met a bunch of Carleton graduate students and told them about the journal. Many agreed to help serve as graduate reviewers.” The Carleton University graduate students continued providing support for the journal and its editorial boards over the next few editions. 

In addition to an ever-changing editorial board with each issue, the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science has witnessed change after change. 

In 2002, the journal was run and published by the Cognitive Science Student Association (CSSA) – now, it is run and funded by the Cognitive Science Student Society (CS^3) and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) and published independently under “the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science”. 

The first CUJCS website first found its home on the cognitive science departmental website, but it was abandoned only a few years later, in 2008. Announcements about the 2013 issue of the journal were only posted on the CS^3 facebook page. After a 7-year hiatus, Rollin Poe, the then-president of the CS^3, decided to revive the journal after seeing immense interest among the CS^3 executives and cognitive science students. As part of his re-introduction of the journal to the academic world, he also created a new website to host the journal. Then, in 2023, Devin Bates, the editor-in-chief of the SFU undergraduate philosophy journal Jove’s Bodega, introduced CUJCS to a new platform called Open Journal Systems (OJS): the current home of the journal.  

Lastly, the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science originally focused on publishing Canadian papers first and foremost. While most journal editions featured one paper from outside Canada (usually from the USA), the editors-in-chief of the 2023 edition decided to do something different. Acknowledging the lack of undergraduate cognitive science journals, they opted to expand the journal to a more international lens to provide equal opportunity for all undergraduate students to publish their work. 

Amidst all this change, one thing remained: the desire to showcase exemplary student work. And year after year, the editorial board has achieved that goal. One student author, Jesse Rutschman, has seen their paper “Effects of Techniques of Receptive Meditation and Relaxation on Attentional Processing” cited in 17 journal articles since it was published in CUJCS’ 2004 issue. 

What began as a passion project has now expanded into a competitive international journal of cognitive science. In the 2023 edition, only 11 papers were published out of 80 submissions – a 13% acceptance rate. It is anticipated that the journal will only become more international and competitive in the future.

The Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science has served as a platform of creativity, research, and scholarly excellence for over two decades – thank you for supporting us in our unending goal of showcasing student work.

— By Hilary J. H. Tsui, 2023 Editor-in-Chief