2023 Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
It's not easy to decide which computer science program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools and bootcamps that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
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 Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in Massachusetts to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for computer science students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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Top Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Bunker Hill Community College to be the best value school for computer science students who want to pursue a basic certificate in Massachusetts. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the medium-sized public school handed out 45 basic certificate awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at BHCC are $10,224 a year.
Since BHCC is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
BHCC also took the #2 spot in our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts rankings.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Essex Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts list. Northern Essex Community College is a small public school located in Haverhill, Massachusetts that handed out 4 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NECC are $11,328 per year.
Online courses are available at NECC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 100% took at least some of their classes online.
NECC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts list.
The excellent basic certificate programs at Mount Wachusett Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in Massachusetts. MWCC is a small public school situated in Gardner, Massachusetts. It awarded 21 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MWCC are $10,588 per year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at MWCC. During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, MWCC is ranked #4 for overall quality in Massachusetts.
The excellent basic certificate programs at Springfield Technical Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in Massachusetts. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the small public school awarded 7 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at STCC are $10,728 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since STCC does offer online classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 93% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Bristol Community College is a great place for computer science students working on their basic certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. Bristol is located in Fall River, Massachusetts and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 basic certificates to qualified students.
Bristol undergraduate students pay an average of $10,152 in tuition and fees each year.
Online courses are available at Bristol, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 100% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #6, University of Massachusetts - Lowell did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their basic certificate. UMass Lowell is located in Lowell, Massachusetts and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 52 basic certificates to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at UMass Lowell are $33,624 a year.
UMass Lowell does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 99% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
UMass Lowell also took the #5 spot in our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts rankings.
Harvard University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts list. Harvard is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Harvard are $55,587 per year.
Harvard does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Harvard is ranked #1 for overall quality in Massachusetts.
Quinsigamond Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Quinsigamond Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Worcester, Massachusetts that handed out 51 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Quinsigamond Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,774 in tuition and fees each year.
One thing to take note of is that Quinsigamond Community College does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 35% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the New England Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 8 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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