2023 Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
There are so many computer science programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Computer Science Degree Search has developed this Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate programs for computer science students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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Top Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Collin County Community College District the best value school in the Southwest Region for computer science students working on their undergraduate certificate. Collin County Community College District is located in McKinney, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 103 undergraduate certificates to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Collin County Community College District are $5,104 a year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Collin County Community College District. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Collin County Community College District is ranked #1 for overall quality in the Southwest Region .
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means El Centro College is a great place for computer science students working on their undergraduate certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. El Centro College is a public institution located in Dallas, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,727 in student loans.
El Centro College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 92% took at least some of their classes online.
El Centro College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Amarillo College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school situated in Amarillo, Texas. It awarded 40 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Amarillo College are $4,704 a year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $16,476 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Amarillo College does offer online classes for certain majors. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 57% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lone Star College System. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Lone Star College System is a large public school located in The Woodlands, Texas that handed out 79 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
North Harris Montgomery undergraduate students pay an average of $6,168 in tuition and fees each year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $13,196 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since North Harris Montgomery does offer online classes for certain majors. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.
North Harris Montgomery also made our Best Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #5.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Tarrant County College District. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Tarrant County College District is a large public school located in Fort Worth, Texas that handed out 266 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Tarrant County College are $8,235 a year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $18,504 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Tarrant County College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Tarrant County College also made our Best Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #2.
Oklahoma City Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Oklahoma City Community College is a fairly large public school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that handed out 16 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at OCCC are $9,810 a year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $16,359 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
OCCC is primarily an online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
OCCC also took the #3 spot in our Best Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region rankings.
Central New Mexico Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. CNM is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 84 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CNM are $7,540 per year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $14,711 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that CNM does offer online classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Pima Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Pima County Community College District is a fairly large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 3 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Pima County Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $7,566 in tuition and fees each year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $13,293 in loans while pursuing their degree.
One thing to take note of is that Pima County Community College District does offer online classes in some areas. In 2019-2020 about 52% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #9, South Texas College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their undergraduate certificate. South Texas College is located in McAllen, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 undergraduate certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Texas College are $7,920 per year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $11,276 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that South Texas College does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 94% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Texas State Technical College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate computer science programs. Texas State Technical College is a fairly large public school located in Waco, Texas that handed out 2 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
TSTC undergraduate students pay an average of $11,369 in tuition and fees each year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $12,017 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at TSTC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 97% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #11, Austin Community College District did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their undergraduate certificate. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out undergraduate certificates to 16 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Austin Community College District are $10,590 a year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,398 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Austin Community College District. In fact, around 99% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.
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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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