Cognitive Science Society

What Cognitive Science Society does

The Cognitive Science Society (CSS) is a non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1979, headquartered via its secretariat in Seattle, WA (managed by Podium Conference & Association Specialists). Its mission is to promote cognitive science as an interdisciplinary discipline and to foster scientific interchange among researchers across Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Education. CSS serves an international base of academic researchers, graduate students, and cognitive science program administrators.

The society operates three peer-reviewed journals — Cognitive Science (flagship), topiCS (Topics in Cognitive Science), and Progress & Puzzles of Cognitive Science — published in partnership with Wiley (John Wiley & Sons). Its flagship event is the annual CogSci conference (CogSci 2026 scheduled), which includes registration, program tracks, workshops, tutorials, satellite meetings, a mentoring program, and sponsorship/exhibit opportunities. Supporting programs include multiple branded awards (Rumelhart Prize, Elman Prize, Gleitman Prize, Glushko Dissertation Prize, FABBS Early Career Impact Award, Fellows Program, and Conference Awards), two listservs (general announcements; program administrators), the CogSci GROVE online community platform, the CogSci Mind Challenge initiative, the CogSci X GORILLA Grant 2025, a Broadening Participation initiative, the Higher Education Webinar Series, and the CogSci Unpacked blog series.

CSS monetizes through four primary streams: recurring annual membership dues (bundled with a Cognitive Science journal subscription), one-time conference registration fees, Wiley journal publishing/licensing royalties, and professional-services-style conference sponsorships and exhibits. Marketing and distribution run through the society website (cognitivesciencesociety.org), ConfManager self-serve platform, Constant Contact newsletter, Bluesky/Twitter/YouTube social channels, Mailman-operated listservs, and event-based marketing. Operating geographies span the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada, and broader global markets.

Name

Cognitive Science Society

Legal name

Cognitive Science Society

Website

https://cognitivesciencesociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Cognitive Science Society is a 1979-founded international nonprofit professional organization serving academic researchers, graduate students, and program administrators across seven cognitive science disciplines through its annual CogSci conference, three Wiley-published journals, awards programs, and member services, with its secretariat in Seattle, WA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Society

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Academic society membership
• Scholarly journal publishing
• Academic conference services
• Scientific association services
• Research community programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Wheat Ridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership in the society includes a subscription to the Cognitive Science journal. Members also receive access to members-only resources and can participate in the society's listservs.
2. Conference registration: Registration fees for the annual CogSci conference, which includes programs, workshops, tutorials, satellite meetings, and a mentoring program.
3. Journal publishing (Wiley): Cognitive Science is the official journal of the society, published by Wiley. Society membership includes a journal subscription. Additional journals include topiCS and Progress & Puzzles of Cognitive Science.
4. Sponsorships and exhibits: Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities at the annual CogSci conference connecting companies with international attendees and key decision makers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Cognitive Science Society is a nonprofit professional membership organization that promotes cognitive science as an interdisciplinary discipline. Its core offerings include three peer-reviewed journals (Cognitive Science, topiCS, and Progress & Puzzles of Cognitive Science) published in partnership with Wiley, an annual CogSci conference with workshops and mentoring programs, the CogSci GROVE collaborative online platform, and a membership program that bundles journal subscriptions and access to member-only resources for an international community of researchers.

Product overview

The Cognitive Science Society operates as a professional scholarly organization promoting cognitive science as a discipline. The society's portfolio consists primarily of academic publications (three peer-reviewed journals: Cognitive Science, topiCS, and Progress & Puzzles of Cognitive Science), the annual CogSci conference, an online collaboration platform (CogSci GROVE), two listservs for announcements and program administrators, various awards (Rumelhart Prize, Elman Prize, FABBS Early Career Impact Award, Gleitman Prize, Glushko Dissertation Prize, Fellows, and Conference Awards), educational initiatives (Higher Education Webinar Series), grant programs (CogSci X GORILLA Grant), and community-building initiatives (Broadening Participation Initiative, CogSci Mind Challenge). The society also produces the CogSci Unpacked blog series summarizing academic research for the public. Membership includes journal subscriptions and access to members-only content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiley is the official publisher of the society's journals including Cognitive Science and topiCS. The Cognitive Science journal is the flagship publication of the society and is published by Wiley, with society membership including a journal subscription.
• Podium Conference & Association SpecialistscoreOthersPodium Conference & Association Specialists serves as the society secretariat, managing the society's operational logistics. Located at #124-4730 University Way NE 104, Seattle, WA 98105.
• Higher Education Committee (CSS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn internal society committee leading the 'Cognitive Science: Perspectives for Higher Education' webinar series, with roundtables featuring speakers from Northwestern University, University of Edinburgh, Princeton University, Max Planck Institute, University of Pennsylvania, York University, and UC Merced.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI): AAAI is a peer scholarly society promoting AI research with its own conference, journals, and membership program. It directly overlaps with one of the seven core disciplines the Cognitive Science Society serves (Artificial Intelligence) and competes for the same interdisciplinary researchers.
• Association for Psychological Science (APS): APS is a major professional society for psychology researchers with annual conventions, journals, and member services. It directly overlaps with the Psychology discipline within cognitive science and competes for affiliated researchers' dues, submissions, and conference attendance.
• Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS): CNS is a scholarly society dedicated specifically to cognitive neuroscience, with its own annual meeting and journal (Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience). It is the most narrowly direct peer, serving the same interdisciplinary research community that the Cognitive Science Society addresses.
• Society for Neuroscience (SfN): SfN is a large professional society for neuroscience researchers with a massive annual meeting and multiple journals (e.g., Journal of Neuroscience). It overlaps heavily with the Neuroscience wing of the Cognitive Science Society's membership and competes for the same research community.
• Linguistic Society of America (LSA): LSA is the principal scholarly society for linguists, with an annual meeting and the journal Language. It directly serves one of the seven core disciplines (Linguistics) within the Cognitive Science Society's interdisciplinary scope.
• Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS): FABBS is a coalition of scientific societies that co-administers the Early Career Impact Award with the Cognitive Science Society. It represents an umbrella federation of behavioral and brain sciences organizations with overlapping member communities and policy advocacy interests.

Emerging players

• Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL): ACL is the leading scientific and professional society for computational linguistics and NLP, with major annual conferences (ACL, EMNLP) and journals (TACL). It increasingly absorbs the computational side of cognitive science research, particularly where it intersects with large language models.
• International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES): IMBES is an interdisciplinary society linking cognitive science research with educational practice, publishing the journal Mind, Brain, and Education. It overlaps with the Education wing of cognitive science and represents an emerging player in a related interdisciplinary niche.

Broad incumbents

• American Psychological Association (APA): APA is the largest professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with journals, conventions, and member benefits. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps substantially with the psychology side of cognitive science but is much larger and more general in scope.

Regional players

• European Cognitive Science Society: The European Cognitive Science Society organizes EuCogSci, a regional counterpart to the CogSci annual meeting focused on European cognitive science research. It is a regional peer addressing the same interdisciplinary scope but serving primarily European researchers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cogsci_soc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cogscisociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/cognitivesciencesociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cognitive Science Society