2023 Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Value Computer Science Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for computer science students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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 Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Wisconsin - Madison to be the best value school for computer science students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Madison graduate students pay an average of $25,501 in tuition and fees each year.
UW - Madison does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 75% took at least some of their classes online.
UW - Madison also made our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #2.
Out of the 22 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s value ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the large public school awarded 67 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
UIUC graduate students pay an average of $30,862 in tuition and fees each year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UIUC. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
UIUC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 3 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at DePaul are $18,341 per year.
Online graduate courses are available at DePaul, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 96% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Marquette University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Marquette is a private not-for-profit institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marquette are $21,960 per year.
Marquette does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 58% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Michigan Technological University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in the Great Lakes Region . Houghton, Michigan is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Michigan Tech are $22,981 per year.
Michigan Tech does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 30% took at least some of their classes online.
Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large public school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, and it awarded 26 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Purdue are $28,794 per year.
Purdue does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 60% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Oakland University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree computer science programs. Rochester Hills, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctor’s degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Oakland are $24,648 a year.
Online graduate courses are available at Oakland, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 88% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #8, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 17 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Michigan State are $38,638 a year.
Michigan State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 65% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Michigan State is ranked #4 for overall quality in the Great Lakes Region .
University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for computer science students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. University of Michigan - Dearborn is a medium-sized public school located in Dearborn, Michigan that handed out 1 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UM Dearborn graduate students pay an average of $25,552 in tuition and fees each year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UM Dearborn does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 88% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Bloomington, Indiana, the large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington graduate students pay an average of $33,352 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at IU Bloomington. During the 2019-2020 year, about 74% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #11, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 12 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UIC are $28,468 a year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UIC. During the 2019-2020 year, about 95% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the large public school handed out 3 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UWM are $25,651 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UWM. During the 2019-2020 year, about 82% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IUPUI is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
IUPUI graduate students pay an average of $26,529 in tuition and fees each year.
IUPUI does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 71% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Full Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Report
With a ranking of #14, Western Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the fairly large public school awarded 6 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WMU are $26,248 per year.
WMU does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 67% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the large public school handed out 7 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at U-M are $50,464 a year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at U-M. In 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, U-M is ranked #5 for overall quality in the Great Lakes Region .
Kent State University at Kent did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for computer science students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Kent State is located in Kent, Ohio and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Kent State are $21,952 per year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Kent State. In 2019-2020 about 57% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Northwestern University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 14 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northwestern are $56,567 per year.
Northwestern does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 2% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #3 for overall quality in the Great Lakes Region .
With a ranking of #17, Wayne State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. This large public school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 11 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wayne State are $38,667 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Wayne State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 75% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Chicago ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 21 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UChicago are $63,936 a year.
Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 5 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Illinois Tech are $30,822 a year.
One thing to take note of is that Illinois Tech does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 42% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #21, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Cleveland, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Case Western graduate students pay an average of $49,398 in tuition and fees each year.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Case Western. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 17% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #22, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, the fairly large public school handed out 4 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at SIUC are $33,064 a year.
One thing to take note of is that SIUC does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 24% of the graduate 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 22 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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