Home › Rankings › Best Cognitive Science Schools

Best Schools for Cognitive Science in 2026

19 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Cognitive Science, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Cognitive Science graduate earns $47,911/yr across 19 schools.

Programs Ranked
19
Avg Earnings
$47,911/yr
Avg DW Score
45/100
AI Risk
Moderate
33% task exposure

All Cognitive Science Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public 		70
70–70 		$64,559/yr 15.9x
2 University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public 		64
63–64 		$53,962/yr 13.2x
3 University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit 		62
61–62 		$84,314/yr 3.1x
4 University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public 		57
59–57 		$39,839/yr 12.9x
5 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public 		54
55–54 		$41,362/yr 12.8x
6 Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit 		54
53–54 		$105,695/yr 3.2x
7 University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA · Public 		50
55–51 		$35,384/yr 12.1x
8 Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private nonprofit 		48
48–48 		$75,672/yr 1.8x
9 Rice University
Houston, TX · Private nonprofit 		45
44–45 		$47,459/yr 2.1x
10 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public 		44
45–45 		$44,698/yr 5.5x
11 University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public 		43
44–43 		$42,342/yr 5.9x
12 University of California-Merced
Merced, CA · Public 		39
46–40 		$32,419/yr 9.1x
13 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ · Public 		38
42–39 		$38,132/yr 4.5x
14 Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit 		37
39–38 		$42,602/yr 0.7x
15 University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public 		36
43–37 		$27,628/yr 7.2x
16 Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit 		34
37–35 		$38,752/yr 0.5x
17 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit 		29
35–30 		$34,295/yr 0.3x
18 Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit 		26
33–27 		$30,996/yr 0.2x
19 Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH · Private nonprofit 		25
32–26 		$30,198/yr 0.2x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Cognitive Science?
Based on our DegreeWorth Score, University of California-Berkeley ranks #1 for Cognitive Science with a score of 70/100 and graduate earnings of $64,559/yr.
How much do Cognitive Science graduates earn?
Across 19 schools, Cognitive Science graduates earn an average of $47,911/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $105,695/yr.
Is Cognitive Science a good major for AI resistance?
Cognitive Science has an average AI task exposure of 33%, rated "Moderate". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.