2023 Best Value Computer Science Master's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Computer Science Master's Degree School for You
Computer Science is the #12 most popular major in the country with 59,565 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Computer Science Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 215 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for compsci students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Computer Science
Our 2023 rankings named Brigham Young University - Provo the best value school in the United States for computer science students working on their master’s degree. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Provo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at BYU are $7,700 per year.
BYU also claimed a spot on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwest Missouri State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in the United States. Northwest is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Maryville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northwest are $7,064 per year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great value for computer science students working on their master’s degree. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at ASU - Skysong are $9,982 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saint Martin’s University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Lacey, Saint Martin's is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Saint Martin’s are $15,840 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a large student population.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in tuition and fees each year.
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Seattle University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Seattle U are $14,310 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Seattle U also is in the top 10% of our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at North Dakota State University are $12,028 a year.
North Dakota State University also claimed a spot on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Fitchburg State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Fitchburg, Fitchburg State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Fitchburg State are $6,012 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, Metropolitan State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Metro State are $10,237 a year.
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Villanova University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Villanova are $21,199 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Villanova also is in the top 5% of our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Saint Cloud State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Saint Cloud.
St. Cloud State University graduate students pay an average of $13,412 in tuition and fees each year.
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Cornell University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree computer science programs. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cornell are $30,006 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cornell also did well on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #13, University of Akron Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Akron.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,936 per year.
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Delaware State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Dover, Del State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Del State are $11,726 per year.
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With a ranking of #15, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $21,133 per year.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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University of Central Arkansas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UCA is a large public school located in the city of Conway.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCA are $11,835 per year.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $29,262 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UC Berkeley also did well on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree computer science programs. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
UIUC graduate students pay an average of $30,862 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UIUC also did well on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree computer science programs. UNOMAHA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Omaha.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNOMAHA are $16,374 a year.
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Missouri State University - Springfield ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Missouri State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Missouri State are $12,618 per year.
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Lewis University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Lewis graduate students pay an average of $14,960 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #22, Louisiana Tech University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Louisiana Tech is a large public school located in the distant town of Ruston.
Louisiana Tech graduate students pay an average of $12,690 in tuition and fees each year.
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Loyola University Chicago came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
Loyola Chicago graduate students pay an average of $19,894 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. UW Tacoma is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW Tacoma are $31,032 per year.
UW Tacoma excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list.
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University of California - San Diego landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree computer science programs. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $28,666 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCSD is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list.
Full Computer Science at University of California - San Diego Report
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Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Computer Science Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Michigan Technological University | Houghton, MI |
| 34 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI |
| 34 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
| 36 | Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus | Madison, NJ |
| 36 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 38 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 39 | Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, IN |
| 39 | California State University - Channel Islands | Camarillo, CA |
| 39 | Bradley University | Peoria, IL |
| 42 | Stanford University | Stanford, CA |
| 43 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
Computer Science by Region
View the Best Value Computer Science Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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Majors Related to CompSci
One of 10 majors within the area of study, computer science has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 25 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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