• For Individuals
  • For Businesses
  • For Universities
  • For Governments
Coursera
  • Online Degrees
  • Careers
  • Log In
  • Join for Free
    Coursera
    • Browse
    • Cognitive Science

    Cognitive Science Courses Online

    Understand cognitive science principles for studying the mind and behavior. Learn about perception, memory, learning, and decision-making processes.

    Skip to search results

    Filter by

    Subject
    Required
     *

    Language
    Required
     *

    The language used throughout the course, in both instruction and assessments.

    Learning Product
    Required
     *

    Build job-relevant skills in under 2 hours with hands-on tutorials.
    Learn from top instructors with graded assignments, videos, and discussion forums.
    Learn a new tool or skill in an interactive, hands-on environment.
    Get in-depth knowledge of a subject by completing a series of courses and projects.
    Earn career credentials from industry leaders that demonstrate your expertise.
    Earn career credentials while taking courses that count towards your Master’s degree.
    Earn your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree online for a fraction of the cost of in-person learning.
    Complete graduate-level learning without committing to a full degree program.
    Earn a university-issued career credential in a flexible, interactive format.

    Level
    Required
     *

    Duration
    Required
     *

    Skills
    Required
     *

    Subtitles
    Required
     *

    Educator
    Required
     *

    Explore the Cognitive Science Course Catalog

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Michigan

      Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)

      Skills you'll gain: Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Python Programming, Software Installation, Development Environment

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      231K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      J

      Johns Hopkins University

      R Programming

      Skills you'll gain: Statistical Analysis, R Programming, Statistical Programming, Data Analysis, Debugging, Simulations, Computer Programming Tools, Program Development, Data Structures, Performance Tuning, Data Import/Export

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      22K reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      I

      IBM

      IBM Data Analytics with Excel and R

      Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Interactive Data Visualization, Shiny (R Package), Data Wrangling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Relational Databases, Big Data, Data Visualization Software, Ggplot2, Database Design, Data Analysis, IBM Cognos Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Data Presentation, Data Mining, Dashboard, Excel Formulas, Data Manipulation, Web Scraping, Microsoft Excel

      Build toward a degree

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      28K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Accelerated Computer Science Fundamentals

      Skills you'll gain: C++ (Programming Language), Data Structures, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Object Oriented Design, Graph Theory, Development Environment, Engineering Software, Computer Programming, Software Engineering, Algorithms, Debugging, Program Development, Database Systems, Database Theory, Network Routing, Theoretical Computer Science, Data Storage

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      3.5K reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

    • T

      The University of Edinburgh

      Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy

      Skills you'll gain: Research, Scientific Methods, Science and Research, General Science and Research, Biology, Systems Thinking, Anthropology, Cultural Responsiveness, Psychology, Sociology

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.1K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Introduction to Sustainability

      Skills you'll gain: Environmental Policy, Environment, Water Resources, Demography, Energy and Utilities, Environmental Science, Environmental Resource Management, Socioeconomics, Policy Analysis, Natural Resource Management, Systems Thinking, Social Sciences, Trend Analysis, Economics

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.6K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • M

      McMaster University

      DNA Decoded

      Skills you'll gain: Molecular Biology, Medical Science and Research, Biochemistry, Laboratory Testing, Biology, Microbiology, Science and Research

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.3K reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • T

      The University of Edinburgh

      Introduction to Philosophy

      Skills you'll gain: Political Sciences, Social Studies, Research, Science and Research, Psychology, Scientific Methods, Policy Analysis, Ethical Standards And Conduct

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      9.6K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      I

      IBM

      Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations

      Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Big Data, Data Visualization Software, Data Analysis, Dashboard, IBM Cognos Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Data Mining, Apache Hadoop, Tree Maps, Excel Formulas, Data Wrangling, Apache Hive, Data Collection, Data Mart, Microsoft Excel, Data Warehousing, Data Quality, Data Cleansing, Data Import/Export

      Build toward a degree

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      28K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of London

      Foundations of Data Science: K-Means Clustering in Python

      Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Matplotlib, Probability & Statistics, Data Science, Unsupervised Learning, Statistics, NumPy, Python Programming, Pandas (Python Package), Data Analysis, Machine Learning Algorithms, Descriptive Statistics, Data Manipulation

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      718 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      J

      Johns Hopkins University

      Python for Genomic Data Science

      Skills you'll gain: Bioinformatics, Data Structures, Jupyter, Python Programming, Programming Principles, Scripting Languages, Scripting, Data Processing, Computer Programming, Data Manipulation, File Management

      4.3
      Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.8K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      J

      Johns Hopkins University

      A Crash Course in Data Science

      Skills you'll gain: Data Science, Data Management, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Project Design, Performance Metric, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Inference

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      8.3K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    Cognitive Science learners also search

    Cognitive Bias
    Social
    Psychology
    Sociology
    Social Sciences
    Social Psychology
    Learning
    Human Psychology
    1…8910…623

    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular cognitive science courses

    • Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python): University of Michigan
    • R Programming: Johns Hopkins University
    • IBM Data Analytics with Excel and R: IBM
    • Accelerated Computer Science Fundamentals: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy: The University of Edinburgh
    • Introduction to Sustainability: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • DNA Decoded: McMaster University
    • Introduction to Philosophy: The University of Edinburgh
    • Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations: IBM
    • Foundations of Data Science: K-Means Clustering in Python: University of London

    Frequently Asked Questions about Cognitive Science

    To understand Cognitive Science, it’s key to understand cognition: the act or process of knowing and perceiving, including memory, judgment, language, attention, and reasoning. Cognitive Science studies refer to the precise nature of these different mental tasks, and the operations of the brain that enable them to be performed. To carry out such studies, Cognitive Scientists leverage an interdisciplinary approach from Psychology, Computer Science, Philosophy, Linguistics, and related fields.

    One example of Cognitive Science in action is an individual having a stroke in a part of the brain dedicated to language, thus producing an inability to speak sentences. Examples like this are why it’s critical to learn Cognitive Science, so that successful learners may gain the skills to explain and treat mental illnesses.‎

    An education in Cognitive Science is considered highly versatile, with its interdisciplinary characteristics. Learners can find opportunities in various fields, such as Telecommunications, Medical Analysis, Research, Data Representation and Retrieval, Intelligence Analysis, Human Factors Engineering, Computer-Human Interaction, Human Performance Testing, Speech Synthesis, Linguistic Analysis, Education, Marketing, and Science Writing.‎

    Learners interested in Cognitive Science courses offered through Coursera can enjoy a multidisciplinary approach to the subject. Cognitive Science courses are taught in tandem with Philosophy, Psychology, Neurobiology, Computational Neuroscience, and even Consumer Behavior, among others.

    Learners can explore topics at the juncture between Philosophy and the Cognitive Science; how our brains process spatial information; different cognitive abilities such as memory, learning, attention, perception, and consciousness; basic brain mechanisms in consumer choice; and more.‎

    The skills and experiences you may need to already have to learn cognitive science could include the broad ability to think critically and to problem-solve. In addition, it can help you better understand cognitive science if you have some experience studying or working in the fields of biology, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, math, anthropology, and philosophy. Knowing about brain-imaging techniques, such as functional MRI or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), may give you some important skills needed for learning cognitive science. You may already have some of the experience necessary to learn cognitive science if you have worked in the fields of health care, business, law, psychology, or education because you likely need to understand how people think and make decisions. In addition, if you have a basic knowledge of computational neuroscience, artificial neural networks, and reinforcement learning, you may have some advanced experience that could be helpful when learning cognitive science.‎

    The kind of people who are best suited for roles in cognitive science want to understand the evolution of the human mind, the nature of consciousness, and how the nervous system works to drive people to think, behave, make decisions, or communicate in specific ways. People well suited to work in roles in the cognitive science field want to understand the deeper intricacies of how the brain processes information. They want to understand how memory, language, reasoning, attention, and motor control affect the ability to communicate and learn from the world.‎

    Learning cognitive science may be right for you if you wonder what motivates others to behave in certain ways or how artificial intelligence (AI) works to predict certain human behaviors. You may benefit from learning cognitive science if you're interested in jobs in education, health care and medical research, marketing, AI, or software development. If you are interested in the growing area of the scientific research of neurobiology, learning cognitive science may be right for you. Also, if you want to understand the growing importance of connections between the human mind and AI, then you may benefit from learning about cognitive science. In addition, someone who is interested in the field of neuroeconomics, or the study of how people make decisions or help others decide, may be the right type of person to learn cognitive science.‎

    Online Cognitive Science courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Cognitive Science skills. Choose from a wide range of Cognitive Science courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.‎

    When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Cognitive Science, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

    Other topics to explore

    Arts and Humanities
    338 courses
    Business
    1095 courses
    Computer Science
    668 courses
    Data Science
    425 courses
    Information Technology
    145 courses
    Health
    471 courses
    Math and Logic
    70 courses
    Personal Development
    137 courses
    Physical Science and Engineering
    413 courses
    Social Sciences
    401 courses
    Language Learning
    150 courses

    Coursera Footer

    Technical Skills

    • ChatGPT
    • Coding
    • Computer Science
    • Cybersecurity
    • DevOps
    • Ethical Hacking
    • Generative AI
    • Java Programming
    • Python
    • Web Development

    Analytical Skills

    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Big Data
    • Business Analysis
    • Data Analytics
    • Data Science
    • Financial Modeling
    • Machine Learning
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Power BI
    • SQL

    Business Skills

    • Accounting
    • Digital Marketing
    • E-commerce
    • Finance
    • Google
    • Graphic Design
    • IBM
    • Marketing
    • Project Management
    • Social Media Marketing

    Career Resources

    • Essential IT Certifications
    • High-Income Skills to Learn
    • How to Get a PMP Certification
    • How to Learn Artificial Intelligence
    • Popular Cybersecurity Certifications
    • Popular Data Analytics Certifications
    • What Does a Data Analyst Do?
    • Career Development Resources
    • Career Aptitude Test
    • Share your Coursera Learning Story

    Coursera

    • About
    • What We Offer
    • Leadership
    • Careers
    • Catalog
    • Coursera Plus
    • Professional Certificates
    • MasterTrack® Certificates
    • Degrees
    • For Enterprise
    • For Government
    • For Campus
    • Become a Partner
    • Social Impact
    • Free Courses
    • ECTS Credit Recommendations

    Community

    • Learners
    • Partners
    • Beta Testers
    • Blog
    • The Coursera Podcast
    • Tech Blog
    • Teaching Center

    More

    • Press
    • Investors
    • Terms
    • Privacy
    • Help
    • Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Articles
    • Directory
    • Affiliates
    • Modern Slavery Statement
    • Manage Cookie Preferences
    Learn Anywhere
    Download on the App Store
    Get it on Google Play
    Logo of Certified B Corporation
    © 2025 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.
    • Coursera Facebook
    • Coursera Linkedin
    • Coursera Twitter
    • Coursera YouTube
    • Coursera Instagram
    • Coursera TikTok