Which California cognitive science program has the lowest debt?

Stanford University reports the lowest median federal debt, $8,055, with first-year pay of $105,695.

How much do cognitive science graduates earn in California?

The median across 8 California cognitive science bachelor's programs is $41,091 in the first year after graduating and $78,267 five years after.

How many cognitive science bachelor's programs are in California?

8 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Cognitive Science (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Cognitive Science

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California cognitive science bachelor's program pays its graduates $41,091 in their first year, $272 less than the national median. Stanford University reports the highest first-year pay ($105,695), and Stanford University the lowest median debt ($8,055).

Median first-year pay$41,091National $41,362

Median pay after 5 years$78,267National $74,189

Median federal debt$16,241National $17,750

Debt-to-earnings40%National 44%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Stanford UniversityStanford · private nonprofit	$105,695	Not reported	$8,055	8%
2	UC BerkeleyBerkeley · public	$64,559	$100,651	$13,950	22%
3	UCLALos Angeles · public	$53,962	$78,267	$13,000	24%
4	UC DavisDavis · public	$42,342	Not reported	$15,000	35%
5	UC San DiegoLa Jolla · public	$39,839	$85,159	$17,481	44%
6	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz · public	$35,384	$76,561	$19,500	55%
7	USCLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$34,295	Not reported	$19,669	57%
8	UC MercedMerced · public	$32,419	$57,358	$21,000	65%

Debt and first-year pay at every California cognitive science program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Stanford University$105,695
UC Berkeley$64,559
UCLA$53,962
UC Davis$42,342
UC San Diego$39,839

Lowest median debt

Stanford University$8,055
UCLA$13,000
UC Berkeley$13,950
UC Davis$15,000
UC San Diego$17,481

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to cognitive science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Self-Enrichment Teachers

$49,570

Median pay in California. 60,260 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 50,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $36,850Top 10%: $102,720

Natural Sciences Managers

$210,230

Median pay in California. 14,950 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $130,730Top 10%: $330,050

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

$61,570

Median pay in California. 3,200 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $41,600Top 10%: $118,710

Common questions

Stanford University in Stanford reports the highest median first-year pay, $105,695. Its median federal debt is $8,055.

Cognitive Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked19 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the cognitive science bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024