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Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$28,541 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$112,216 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Computer Science Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, computer science was ranked 9th in California. In fact, 13,148 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for compsci students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Computer Science

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best value school for computer science students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great value for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Riverside is a great value for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCR are $13,467 per year.

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University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

UC Santa Cruz graduate students pay an average of $13,895 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stanford are $55,011 per year.

Stanford also made our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #1.

Full Computer Science at Stanford University Report

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With a ranking of #7, California Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Pasadena.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Caltech are $58,443 per year.

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University of Southern California came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at USC are $61,396 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USC also is in the top 15% of our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Full Computer Science at University of Southern California Report

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Best Value Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,551
Oregon 1,282
Nevada 152
Hawaii 152
Alaska 31

Computer Science is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Information Technology 40,555
Information Science 18,325
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Negative Space.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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