2025 Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools

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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for cognitive science students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 76 doctor's degrees in cognitive science to qualified students.

What's on this page: * 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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to cognitive science students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of cognitive science students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt cognitive science students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• 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 schools for cognitive science students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 the Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Cognitive Science in the United States

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

Top Schools for a Doctorate in Cognitive Science

1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

10 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in cognitive science. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a doctorate in cognitive science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

15 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of California - San Diego if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in cognitive science. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in cognitive science from University of California - San Diego

Cognitive Science by Region

View the Best Cognitive Science Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Cognitive Science Related Rankings by Major

Cognitive Science is one of 51 different types of Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies programs to choose from.

Cognitive Science Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Cognitive Science	76

Majors Similar to Cognitive Science

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	196
Nutrition Science	178
Behavioral Science	150
Computational Science	91
Biological & Physical Science	83
Interdisciplinary Studies	71
Geography and Environmental Studies	52
Sustainability Science	50
Systems Theory	41
Cultural Studies & Analysis	29

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.