Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences
About our Program
From a lensworthy location and culture of collaboration to field-shaping faculty and powerhouse programs, the reasons top students choose the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences for graduate study are many. The UCI graduate program administered by the school's cognitive sciences department offers students five years of funding. Scholars in the department have a proven track record of earning competitive research funding from national agencies - including the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health - and from campus-level fellowships.
In 2024-25, UCI cognitive sciences brought in $3.27m in external grant funding. Faculty in the department publish regularly in the field's top academic journals, and graduate students have incredible opportunities to publish alongside them.
Learn more about
Recent Rankings
top10
public university in the U.S.
- U.S. News & World Report
#02
“coolest school” for sustainability efforts
- Sierra Club Magazine
#03
nationally for diversity
- Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education 2022 College Rankings
top10
best value public university in the U.S.
- Princeton Review
Quick Facts
LOCATION
Campus is located less than 10 miles from Newport Beach.
FUNDING
Admitted students are offered 6 years of funding.
CENTERS & LABS
The department collaborates with 6 centers/institutes and has 22 labs dedicated to
research.
DEGREE
Ph.D.; a master's degree may be earned while in pursuit of the Ph.D.
ENROLLMENT
Full-time, on-campus with housing.
CONCENTRATION JOINT PROGRAM
Concentration in cognitive neuroscience & joint M.S. in statistics and Ph.D. in cognitive
sciences.
Recent Job Placements
Apple
Army Research Labs
Boston University
Carnegie Mellon University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Meta
Mind Research Network
Navy Research Labs
University of Pennsylvania
University of Zurich
Yale University
Research Concentrations
Computational and mathematical cognitive modeling
Cognitive neuroscience (a concentration is offered in this topic)
Artificial Intelligence
Memory and decision making
Cognitive development
Learning
Social cognition
Visual and auditory perception
Attention
Student Voices
The mysteries of the mind
Cognitive control in focus
Navigating the brain's complexity
Music with a scientific twist
Graduate Student Spotlight: Vanessa Ceja | Area of Concentration: Decision Neuroscience
Graduate Student Spotlight: Kenta Watanabe | Area of Concentration: Auditory Neuroscience
Further information on the graduate program and life as a graduate student visit the
What makes us UNIQUE
The cognitive sciences department at UCI uses a combination of innovative approaches with modern tools to study fundamental human abilities including attention, memory, language, decision making, and problem solving.
Students work together with faculty advisors who are highly experienced in the use of leading technologies such as EEG, fMRI, and robotics, and of modern research tools such as computational methods, big data, and Bayesian statistics.
And, students have an opportunity to earn a master's degree in cognitive sciences, cognitive neuroscience, or statistics (depending on approval) while in pursuit of their Ph.D.
Graduate students from UCI's cognitive sciences program have gone on to work in high-tech and research consultancy companies; government, science, and technology labs; and in professorial posts around the world.
The UCI campus is located less than 10 miles from Newport Beach, is the #1 university doing the most for the American dream (New York Times Access Index), a top 10 best value university (Princeton University) and a top 10 best public university in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report and Forbes).
- Tiffany Hwu, '19
Learn More
If funding, opportunities to publish, and a proven track record of excellence in the field are what you’re looking for, contact us today to learn more about UCI’s graduate program in cognitive sciences.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
MEET OUR EXCITING FACULTY
REQUIREMENTS
Contact Us
Mark Steyvers
Department Chair
mark.steyvers@uci.edu
Megan Peters
Director of Graduate Studies
cogsci-graddirector@uci.edu
Jennifer Gerson
Graduate Advisor
jennifer.gerson@uci.edu