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In 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Cognitive Science degree recipients are San Diego, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Berkeley, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Cognitive Science degree recipients are University of California-Merced, CA, Santa Cruz, CA, and Vassar College, NY. The most common degree awarded to students studying Cognitive Science is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Cognitive Science and the types of students that study this field. University of California-San Diego awards the most degrees in Cognitive Science in the US, having also the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Cognitive Science, followed by Occidental College.
Tuition costs for Cognitive Science majors are, on average, $12,109 for in-state public colleges, and $65,127 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Cognitive Science programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (43 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (2,159 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Cognitive Science, is Public, 4-year or above (2,159 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Cognitive Science programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
University of California-San Diego has the most Cognitive Science degree recipients, with 762 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Cognitive Science.
Out of all institutions that offer Cognitive Science programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, University of California-San Diego has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Cognitive Science, with 6%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Cognitive Science by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Interdisciplinary Studies graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Interdisciplinary Studies majors is $96,551 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Physicians.
The industry that employs the most Interdisciplinary Studies majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Clay building material & refractories manufacturing.
The average salary for Interdisciplinary Studies majors is $96,551 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Physicians.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Interdisciplinary Studies majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Interdisciplinary Studies majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Interdisciplinary Studies majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for Interdisciplinary Studies majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Physicians.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Interdisciplinary Studies majors working as Dietitians & nutritionists, Chiropractors, and Optometrists.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Interdisciplinary Studies majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Boilermakers.
The number of Interdisciplinary Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.93%, from 1.01M in 2023 to 1.04M in 2024.
The largest single share of Interdisciplinary Studies graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (4.86%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Interdisciplinary Studies majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.
The highest paying industries of Interdisciplinary Studies majors, by average wage, are Clay building material & refractories manufacturing, Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, and Metal ore mining.
The number of Interdisciplinary Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.93%, from 1.01M in 2023 to 1.04M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Interdisciplinary Studies graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Interdisciplinary Studies.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Interdisciplinary Studies majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Interdisciplinary Studies majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies is 41.6.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, and Asian students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies (1,089 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 31 years old, which represent 3.22% and 3.19% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Cognitive Science are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Interdisciplinary Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Cognitive Science.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Cognitive Science for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, Asian students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Cognitive Science.
Asian Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Iceland that hold Interdisciplinary Studies degrees (4.31 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (26,993 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Cognitive Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cognitive Science majors need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Cognitive Science majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, and Operations Analysis.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Cognitive Science majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.
Photo by UC Davis College of Engineering