2024 Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Cognitive Science isn't the most popular doctorate program in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #153 in popularity out of 306 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8 doctor's degrees in cognitive science to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on cognitive science students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other cognitive science students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for cognitive science to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized cognitive science related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for cognitive science students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Cognitive Science Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Cognitive Science in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in cognitive science.

Top California Schools for a Doctorate in Cognitive Science

1

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

7 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in cognitive science has to look into University of California - San Diego. UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.More information about a doctorate in cognitive science from University of California - San Diego

2

University of California - Merced
Merced, CA

It is difficult to beat University of California - Merced if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in cognitive science. Located in the rural area of Merced, UC Merced is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in cognitive science from University of California - Merced

Best Cognitive Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Cognitive Science Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded

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Rankings in Majors Related to Cognitive Science

One of 51 majors within the Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies area of study, Cognitive Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Cognitive Science Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Cognitive Science	8

Majors Similar to Cognitive Science

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	47
Nutrition Science	12
Mathematics & Computer Science	10
Computational Science	10
Behavioral Science	8
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	8
Biological & Physical Science	4
Gerontology	4
Cultural Studies & Analysis	4
Systems Theory	2

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Allan Ajifo. More about our data sources and methodologies.