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2024 Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

40 Colleges in California
8,452 Bachelor's Degrees
$69,948 Avg Early-Career Salary
Computer Science is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #16 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 40 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,452 bachelor's degrees in computer science to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Computer Science School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The compsci bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer science students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More CompSci Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Computer Science in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in CompSci

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
260 Annual Graduates
$136,126 Median Starting Salary
$10,399 Median Student Debt

Stanford University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in computer science. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of approximately $66,178 over the average earnings of computer science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford University

2
797 Annual Graduates
$125,250 Median Starting Salary
$13,900 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in computer science needs to look into University of California - Berkeley. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer science major at University of California - Berkeley make $55,302 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - Berkeley

3

It is hard to beat California Institute of Technology if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Caltech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from California Institute of Technology receive an earnings boost of around $59,745 above the typical earnings of computer science graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from California Institute of Technology

4
293 Annual Graduates
$104,298 Median Starting Salary
$20,178 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in computer science needs to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of about $34,350 over the typical earnings of computer science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of Southern California

5
537 Annual Graduates
$87,738 Median Starting Salary
$16,550 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - San Diego earn a boost of about $17,790 over the typical income of computer science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - San Diego

6
822 Annual Graduates
$70,796 Median Starting Salary
$15,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduation, compsci bachelor's recipients generally earn around $70,796 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - Irvine

7
Harvey Mudd College crest
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA
48 Annual Graduates
$123,339 Median Starting Salary
$22,949 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Claremont, Harvey Mudd College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from Harvey Mudd College earn a boost of about $53,391 over the average earnings of computer science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from Harvey Mudd College

8
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA

Pomona is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont.

Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from Pomona College earn a boost of around $40,790 above the average income of computer science majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from Pomona College

9
171 Annual Graduates
$86,276 Median Starting Salary
$11,000 Median Student Debt

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Those computer science students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Barbara receive $16,328 more than the typical compsci grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - Santa Barbara

10
670 Annual Graduates
$63,040 Median Starting Salary
$16,666 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the compsci program make about $63,040 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - Santa Cruz


 

Best Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 1,122
Oregon 185 1,049
Nevada 129 135
Hawaii 112 132
Alaska 75 29

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Computer Science is one of 10 different types of Computer & Information Sciences programs to choose from.

CompSci Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Computer Science 8,452

Majors Similar to CompSci

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 2,105
Computer Software & Applications 325
Information Technology 205
Computer Programming 52
Information Science 48
Computer Systems Analysis 47
Computer Systems Networking 29
Data Processing 16
Other Computer & Information Sciences 1

Notes and References

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