The Symbolic Systems Program, colloquially abbreviated as SymSys, is a unique degree program at Stanford University for undergraduates and graduate students. It is an interdisciplinary degree encompassing the following:
It is separate from Cognitive Science in that it is more expansive in scope. On March 7, 1986, the degree program was approved by the Stanford University Faculty Senate.
In the Linguistics Society of America report Linguistics in the Study of Information and Intelligence, Tom Wasow, founder and former director of the program, states in his report that the program is a program of which:
Linguistics plays a central role in the program because, as the systematic study of human language, it can contribute greatly to the development of a general theory about how information is conveyed through symbols. The field of linguistics also deals with an exceptional range of phenomena, and is intellectually and practically accessible to an undergraduate student, making it an especially suitable vehicle for teaching undergraduates how to evaluate theories.
The report continues with the following idea in its introduction: A child answers the phone and is instructed to hand the telephone to an adult. The report then presents with the need for an interdisciplinary approach for creating computer technology to do the same actions as the child would do when answering the phone.
Inaugurated in 2001, the K. Jon Barwise Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Symbolic Systems Program was created in honor of the late Kenneth Jon Barwise, Professor in the Department of Philosophy, who served as the first faculty director of Symbolic Systems and a member of the program's founding committee.
Inaugurated in 2021, the award recognizes the contributions to the teaching of Symbolic Systems. With support from the School of Humanities and Sciences, the award recipients each receive a certificate and a monetary award.