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2024 Best Computer Science Schools in California

40 Colleges in California
13,342 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$72,080 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in computer science, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #12 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 40 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for computer science students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,342 degrees in computer science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Computer Science School

Best Computer Science Schools in California The compsci program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Computer Science rankings. We derive our Best Overall Computer Science School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Computer Science Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in CompSci
Master's Degrees in CompSci
Doctor's Degrees in CompSci

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Computer Science Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Computer Science in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the compsci degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in CompSci

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
628 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$147,928 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a degree in computer science. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 628 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from Stanford University receive an earnings boost of about $75,848 over the typical income of computer science graduates.

More information about a degree in computer science from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
856 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$125,250 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a degree in computer science. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 856 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of around $53,170 over the typical earnings of computer science majors.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of California - Berkeley

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 CompSci Degrees Awarded
13.1% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in computer science has to look into California Institute of Technology. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Pasadena. A Best Colleges rank of #31 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Caltech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 84 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Caltech in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the computer science major at California Institute of Technology make $57,613 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in computer science from California Institute of Technology

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,386 CompSci Degrees Awarded
8.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is a good option for students interested in a degree in computer science. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 1386 computer science students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science major at University of Southern California get $35,467 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of Southern California

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
868 CompSci Degrees Awarded
11.6% Growth in Graduates

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 868 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from University of California - San Diego get an earnings boost of around $35,673 over the average income of computer science majors.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of California - San Diego

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,007 CompSci Degrees Awarded
10.9% Growth in Graduates

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were about 1007 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. After graduation, compsci degree recipients generally earn around $70,796 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of California - Irvine

7
Harvey Mudd College crest
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 CompSci Degrees Awarded
2.1% Growth in Graduates

Harvey Mudd College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #35 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvey Mudd College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 48 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Harvey Mudd College in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from Harvey Mudd College earn a boost of approximately $51,259 over the typical income of computer science graduates.

More information about a degree in computer science from Harvey Mudd College

8
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
33 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$110,738 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Claremont, Pomona is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #57 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pomona is a great college overall.

There were roughly 33 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Pomona in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Pomona College receive $38,658 more than the average compsci student.

More information about a degree in computer science from Pomona College

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
729 CompSci Degrees Awarded
2.2% Growth in Graduates

UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz. A Best Colleges rank of #102 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.

There were approximately 729 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the compsci program report average early career income of $63,040.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of California - Santa Cruz

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
215 CompSci Degrees Awarded
7.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 215 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara earn a boost of approximately $14,196 above the average income of computer science graduates.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of California - Santa Barbara


 

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 300 1,481
Oregon 266 1,282
Nevada 192 152
Hawaii 164 152
Alaska 119 31

View All Rankings >

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

CompSci Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Computer Science 13,342

View All CompSci Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 4,053
Information Technology 2,283
Computer Programming 1,440
Computer Software & Applications 1,379
Computer Systems Networking 1,117
Information Science 516
Data Entry 277
Data Processing 109
Computer Systems Analysis 105
Other Computer & Information Sciences 83

View All CompSci Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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