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Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Schools Ranked
$27,480 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$21,127 Avg Student Debt*

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which computer science program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 5 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for computer science 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.

Top Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
3 Total Awards
$19,074 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Diego State University to be the best value school for computer science students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in California. Located in San Diego, California, the large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $19,074 in tuition and fees each year.

One thing to take note of is that SDSU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, SDSU is ranked #3 for overall quality in California.

Read full report on San Diego State University

1 Total Awards
$18,330 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great place for computer science students working on their graduate certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 1 students in 2020-2021.

Sac State graduate students pay an average of $18,330 in tuition and fees each year.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Sac State. During the 2019-2020 year, about 86% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Sac State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Read full report on California State University - Sacramento

1 Total Awards
$17,998 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. CSUDH is a public institution located in Carson, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUDH are $17,998 per year.

If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since CSUDH does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 97% took at least some of their classes online.

CSUDH did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

#4

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
5 Total Awards
$20,600 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent graduate certificate programs at California Lutheran University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value computer science schools in California. California Lutheran University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Thousand Oaks, California that handed out 5 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.

CLU graduate students pay an average of $20,600 in tuition and fees each year.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at CLU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

CLU also took the #2 spot in our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California rankings.

Read full report on California Lutheran University

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
1 Total Awards
$61,396 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s value ranking, University of Southern California landed the # 5 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 1 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.

USC graduate students pay an average of $61,396 in tuition and fees each year.

Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at USC. In 2019-2020 about 82% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

USC also made our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in California list, coming in at #1.

Read More…

Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region

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Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 5 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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