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2024 Best Value Colleges for Cognitive Science in California

10 Ranked Colleges
1,765 Degrees Awarded
$18,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California” ranking.

Cognitive Science is the 172nd most popular major in the country with 2,776 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, cognitive science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $39,216 and had an average of $16,566 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,765 cognitive science graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,333 and $15,352 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in cognitive science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent cognitive science programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the cognitive science program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Cognitive Science Schools

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The cognitive science school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Cognitive Science in California

1

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. UCLA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 208 ’s cognitive science degrees in 2020-2021.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $15,023 for California Cognitive Science students.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Cognitive Science at University of California - Los Angeles

2

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #2 spot on the list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s cognitive science degrees to 265 students in 2020-2021.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. It costs about $16,032 for California Cognitive Science students per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Cognitive Science at University of California - Berkeley

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s cognitive science degrees to 708 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $15,240 for california cognitive science students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Cognitive Science at UCSD

4

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 184 ’s cognitive science degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $15,768 for California Cognitive Science students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read more about Cognitive Science at UC Davis

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified ’s cognitive science students in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,209 for california cognitive science students per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Irvine Cognitive Science Report

6

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school awarded 140 diplomas to qualified ’s cognitive science students in 2020-2021.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #8 spot in our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $17,930 for california cognitive science students per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Cognitive Science Report

7

University of California - Merced landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 67 ’s cognitive science degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Merced also took the #10 spot in our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Merced is $13,691 for california cognitive science students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Cognitive Science at UC Merced

8
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Stanford University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 77 diplomas to qualified ’s cognitive science students in 2020-2021.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford University is $12,894 for california cognitive science students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Cognitive Science at Stanford University

9
Oxy crest
Occidental College
Los Angeles, California

Occidental College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 14 diplomas to qualified ’s cognitive science students in 2020-2021.

Oxy not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list. It costs about $34,032 for california cognitive science students per year to attend Occidental College.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Cognitive Science at Occidental College

10
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s cognitive science degrees to 60 students in 2020-2021.

USC also made our “Best Cognitive Science Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $32,569 for california cognitive science students.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Cognitive Science at University of Southern California

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