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2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

9 Ranked Colleges
257 Degrees Awarded
$37,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 53,722 people earned their degree in computer science, making the major the 19th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, computer science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $66,561 and had an average of $23,565 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 12,060 computer science graduates with average earnings and debt of $70,794 and $21,538 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 257 computer science graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in computer science. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality computer science programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the computer science program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Computer Science Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree compsci students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Computer Science (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011.

Read more about Computer Science at Stanford

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 1 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full California Institute of Technology Computer Science Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 38 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Berkeley Computer Science Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 27 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Computer Science at UC Irvine

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - San Diego is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 38 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UCSD Computer Science Report

#6

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSB, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670.

Full UCSB Computer Science Report

#8 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.

UCR also made our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#8

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 7 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Computer Science Report

#9

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715.

Full USC Computer Science Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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