---
title: Is a Cognitive Science degree worth the debt?
cip: 3025
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Cognitive Science degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **16** colleges (16 of 16 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $37,992 ($36,681 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $18,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.42× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $32,896–$43,376 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $37,992 | $18,000 | 0.42× | 16 | 16/16 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $62,295 | $14,589 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $60,724 | $18,820 |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $49,368 | $18,250 |
| University of California-Los Angeles (CA) | $43,778 | $13,000 |
| Tufts University (MA) | $43,242 | $18,000 |
| Rice University (TX) | $42,585 | $13,000 |
| University of California-San Diego (CA) | $39,060 | $17,427 |
| Occidental College (CA) | $38,243 | — |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $37,741 | $22,000 |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $36,727 | $15,000 |
| Vassar College (NY) | $35,926 | — |
| University of California-Santa Cruz (CA) | $33,286 | $18,981 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus (VA) | $31,726 | $15,625 |
| University of California-Merced (CA) | $27,909 | $20,105 |
| University of Delaware (DE) | $21,268 | $25,334 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/cognitive-science.jsonld` · `/education/fields/cognitive-science.json`