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Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$27,443 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,333 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for cognitive science majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Cognitive Science Schools

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best value school for cognitive science students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per 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 also took the #3 spot in our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California rankings.

Read full report on Cognitive Science at University of California - Berkeley

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great value for cognitive science students. 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.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

UCSD undergraduate students pay an average of $14,700 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCSD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list.

Read full report on Cognitive Science at University of California - San Diego

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Davis are $14,645 per year. After completing their degree, cognitive science graduates from UC Davis carry an average student debtload of $13,892.

UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $13,775 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Cognitive Science at University of California - Irvine

$14,070 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for cognitive science students. It came in at #6 on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the small 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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#7

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
$56,169 Average Tuition & Fees

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.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stanford are $56,169 per year. Cognitive Science majors at Stanford take out an average of $9,742 in student loans while working on their egree.

Stanford also made our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list, coming in at #1.

Read More…

$13,657 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Merced landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value cognitive science programs. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Merced are $13,657 a year. On average, cognitive science graduates from UC Merced take out $21,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Cognitive Science at University of California - Merced

$61,503 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Southern California came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at USC are $61,503 a year. The average amount in student loans that cognitive science majors at USC take out is $14,500.

USC also claimed a spot on our Best Cognitive Science Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Cognitive Science at University of Southern California

#10

Occidental College

Los Angeles, CA

Occidental College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Cognitive Science Schools in California ranking. Oxy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Oxy undergraduate students pay an average of $58,426 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Cognitive Science at Occidental College Report

Best Value Cognitive Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Oregon 10

One of 44 majors within the area of study, cognitive science has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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