2024 Best Mathematics & Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

When it comes to popularity, a bachelor's degree in mathematics & computer science sits in the middle of the road, ranking #167 out of 363 majors in the country. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Mathematics & Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 459 bachelor's degrees in mathematics & computer science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

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

The math & compsci bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality math & compsci program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various 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.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on mathematics & computer science students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other mathematics & computer science students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt mathematics & computer science students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized mathematics & computer science related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Mathematics & 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 Mathematics & Computer Science in California

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

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Math & CompSci

1

Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA

36 Annual Graduates

$118,973 Median Starting Salary

$23,000 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Harvey Mudd College if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mathematics & computer science. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Harvey Mudd College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the mathematics & computer science major at Harvey Mudd College earn $28,646 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

2

Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

66 Annual Graduates

$87,146 Median Starting Salary

$21,500 Median Student Debt

Santa Clara University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in mathematics & computer science. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara.

After graduating, math & compsci bachelor's recipients generally earn about $87,146 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in mathematics & computer science from Santa Clara University

3

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

216 Annual Graduates

$64,863 Median Starting Salary

$18,887 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in mathematics & computer science has to check out University of California - San Diego. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the math & compsci program earn an average of $64,863 in the first couple years of working.

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

4

University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA

45 Annual Graduates

University of California - Irvine is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in mathematics & computer science. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in mathematics & computer science from University of California - Irvine

5

Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA

12 Annual Graduates

Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu.More information about a bachelor’s in mathematics & computer science from Pepperdine University

Best Mathematics & Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	226	26
Oregon	185	39

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Math & CompSci

One of 51 majors within the Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies area of study, Mathematics & Computer Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Math & CompSci Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Mathematics & Computer Science	459

Most Popular Majors Related to Math & CompSci

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Cognitive Science	1,740
International Studies	1,510
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	1,219
Nutrition Science	1,109
Human Biology	609
Behavioral Science	362
Interdisciplinary Studies	173
Natural Sciences	137
Gerontology	105
Marine Science	94

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Toresbe. More about our data sources and methodologies.