Cognitive Program

The Cognitive Program at the University of Pittsburgh offers research and training leading to a PhD in psychology, preparing students for jobs in academic and nonacademic settings.

Our research labs have particularly strong representation within and across:

  • Cognitive neuroscience
  • Language, reading, and text processing
  • High-level cognition, instruction, and complex learning

Distinctive features of our graduate program

Our faculty and students have a strong interdisciplinary and collaborative perspective. Almost all faculty have joint grants and publications, affiliations with other departments and research centers, and expertise in multiple research methodologies. This interdisciplinary focus keeps the program at the cutting edge of psychological research.

Many of our faculty and students have a keen interest in bridging basic and applied research by understanding and applying cognitive principles to complex real world problems. In turn, they can use the insights gained to inform theories of cognition.

Our program's faculty serve as editors of major journals, receive national and international awards, and bring in millions of dollars of research funding every year. Such contributions are fundamental to maintaining the University of Pittsburgh's outstanding reputation for psychological research.