2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Computer Science in California
13
Ranked Colleges
253
Degrees Awarded
$38,900
Avg Cost*
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 “Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 59,565 people earned their degree in computer science, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, computer science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $67,538 and had an average of $23,620 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 13,342 computer science graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,080 and $19,754 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 253 computer science graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in computer science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular computer science programs in the United States.
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 “Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate
The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree compsci students.
Top 13 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Computer Science in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. University of California - Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 51 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Computer Science at University of California - Berkeley
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 36 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read more about Computer Science at Stanford University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 28 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Riverside Computer Science Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 27 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Southern California Computer Science Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 27 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Computer Science at University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - San Diego landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Computer Science at University of California - San Diego
With a ranking of #7, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 21 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Irvine Computer Science Report
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 16 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Computer Science at UCSB
With a ranking of #9, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Computer Science at UC Davis
With a ranking of #10, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read full report on Computer Science at University of California - Santa Cruz
With a ranking of #11, Northcentral University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Northcentral University is a fairly large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Northcentral University Computer Science Report
California Institute of Technology ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate list. Caltech is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Computer Science at California Institute of Technology
Naval Postgraduate School came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended CompSci Major in California for a Doctorate ranking. Naval Postgraduate School is a small school located in Monterey, California that handed out 40 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Naval Postgraduate School 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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
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