Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California

8 Ranked Colleges
257 Degrees Awarded
$37,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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.

This year’s “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in computer science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent computer science programs, but they also cost less that 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

The compsci school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 9 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Computer Science in California

#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 #1 for the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 38 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Computer Science at UCSD

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree compsci students list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Computer Science at UC Berkeley

#3

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 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 University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Computer Science Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also took the #5 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 UC Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about Computer Science at UC Irvine

#5

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s compsci students in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 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 University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952.

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

#8 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. 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 UCR are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Riverside Computer Science Report

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 30 degrees to qualified doctorate’s compsci students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Computer Science at University of Southern California

#8

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 32 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 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 Stanford are $55,011.

Full Stanford Computer Science Report

#9

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

California Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value CompSci Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #9. Caltech is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Caltech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Caltech Computer Science Report

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Credits

Featured Computer Science / Programming Schools

Find Schools Near You