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Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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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.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Colleges.

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

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per 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.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of California - Berkeley

Out of the 9 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 2 spot on the list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

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

Full Computer Science at University of California - San Diego Report

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of California - Santa Barbara helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in California. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Read full report on Computer Science at University of California - Santa Barbara

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UC Irvine graduate students pay an average of $13,356 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Computer Science at University of California - Irvine Report

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 city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UCR graduate students pay an average of $13,467 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.

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#7

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree computer science programs. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Stanford is ranked #1 for overall quality for compsci in California.

Read full report on Computer Science at Stanford University

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 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 landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree computer science programs. USC is a fairly 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.

USC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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Best Value Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Computer Science Schools 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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