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Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools

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2023 Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$22,404 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Information Science Basic Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, 18,325 information science students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #4 most popular in the country.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which computer science program is right 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 that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools ranking is one of many tools that Computer Science Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for IS students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Information Science Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Normandale Community College

Bloomington, MN

Our analysis found Normandale Community College to be the best value school for information science students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Normandale Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Normandale Community College are $5,789 per year.

Read More…

#2

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Ivy Tech Community College is a great value for information science students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ivy Tech Community College are $8,927 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Information Science Basic Certificate Schools list.

Read full report on Information Science at Ivy Tech Community College

The excellent basic certificate programs at Cuyahoga Community College District helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value information science schools in the United States. Cuyahoga Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Cleveland.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cuyahoga Community College District are $8,586 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cuyahoga Community College District also did well on our Best Information Science Basic Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#4

Dakota State University

Madison, SD

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Dakota State University is a great value for information science students working on their basic certificate. Dakota State is a small public school located in the distant town of Madison.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Dakota State are $12,735 a year.

Dakota State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Information Science Basic Certificate Schools list.

Full Information Science at Dakota State University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Maryland - Baltimore County is a great value for information science students working on their basic certificate. UMBC is a large public school located in the suburb of Baltimore.

UMBC undergraduate students pay an average of $28,470 in tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Arkansas Tech University

Russellville, AR

With a ranking of #6, Arkansas Tech University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information science students working on their basic certificate. ATU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Russellville.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ATU are $13,636 a year.

Full Information Science at Arkansas Tech University Report

#7

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL

Florida Atlantic University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Boca Raton, FAU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at FAU are $17,324 a year.

Read full report on Information Science at Florida Atlantic University

#8

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for information science students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Radford are $23,624 a year.

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With a ranking of #9, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information science students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public college with a fairly large student population.

IUPUI undergraduate students pay an average of $32,101 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Information Science at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

#10

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, VA

With a ranking of #10, University of Richmond did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information science students working on their basic certificate. URichmond is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of University of Richmond.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at URichmond are $58,570 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, URichmond is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Information Science Basic Certificate Schools list.

Read full report on Information Science at University of Richmond

Information Science by Region

View the Best Value Information Science Basic Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 10 majors within the computer science area of study, information science has other similar majors worth exploring.

IS Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Information Science 18,325

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Computer Science 59,565
Information Technology 40,555
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.

  • 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 The Opte Project.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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