The Department of Cognitive Sciences offers a Ph.D. program in cognitive sciences to prepare students for research and teaching careers in academia, industry, and government. The department is regarded as one of the world's leading centers for mathematically oriented research in cognitive sciences. The Ph.D. program places particular emphasis on modern and leading-edge techniques of experimental and theoretical research into the function of the human mind and brain. Special attention is given to providing hands-on research experience and equipping students with sophisticated mathematical and computing skills. There are three tracks within the program: Cognitive Sciences, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Statistics, identified by a distinct Master's degree earned within the program.
The department faculty, which includes two members of the National Academy of Sciences, has many who serve as editors or editorial board members of leading professional journals, board members of international professional societies, and as members of study panels at the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Cognitive Sciences faculty members have joint appointments and research collaborations with other departments including Biomedical Engineering, Logic and Philosophy of Science, Computer Science, Neurobiology and Behavior, and Statistics. Many Cognitive Sciences faculty are also members of research units at UCI such as the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, the Data Science Institute, the Facility for Imaging and Brain Research (FIBRE), the Center for Hearing Research, and the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.