2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Cognitive Science School for You
Cognitive Science is the #62 most popular major in California with 1,765 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for cognitive science students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Cognitive Science Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for cognitive science students. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, cognitive science majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $13,683 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $326, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best cognitive science schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that cognitive science majors at UCLA take out is $13,000.
UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCSD are $14,700 a year. While working on their degree, cognitive science majors at UCSD accumulate an average of around $17,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $276, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCSD also did well on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Davis helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best cognitive science schools in California. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.
UC Davis undergraduate students pay an average of $14,645 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, cognitive science graduates from UC Davis carry an average student debtload of $13,892.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UC Davis also did well on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.
UC Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $13,775 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cognitive science students. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.
UC Santa Cruz undergraduate students pay an average of $14,070 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Cognitive Science majors at UC Santa Cruz take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $396, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Stanford University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stanford are $56,169 a year. Cognitive Science majors at Stanford take out an average of $9,742 in student loans while working on their egree.
Stanford also took the #1 spot in our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California rankings.
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University of California - Merced came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. UC Merced is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.
UC Merced undergraduate students pay an average of $13,657 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, cognitive science graduates from UC Merced take out $21,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Southern California ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USC are $61,503 per year. The average amount in student loans that cognitive science majors at USC take out is $14,500.
USC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list.
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With a ranking of #10, Occidental College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for cognitive science students. Oxy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Oxy are $58,426 a year.
Request InformationBest Value Cognitive Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Cognitive Science Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 10 |
More Cognitive Science Rankings in California
Majors Related to Cognitive Science
One of 44 majors within the area of study, cognitive science has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | 34,975 |
| Biological & Physical Science | 30,075 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | 9,074 |
| International Studies | 7,368 |
| Nutrition Science | 5,330 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
- 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.
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