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Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

7 Schools Ranked
$24,911 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,060 Avg Student Debt*

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for computer science students. 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 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in Pennsylvania 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.

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. 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.

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

Top Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Learn more about these excellent schools below:

#1

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester, Pennsylvania
57 Total Awards
$16,758 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named West Chester University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for computer science students working on their graduate certificate. West Chester, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 57 students in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WCUPA are $16,758 a year.

Online graduate courses are available at WCUPA, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 98% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

WCUPA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read More…

#2

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Kutztown, Pennsylvania
9 Total Awards
$16,997 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is a great place for computer science students working on their graduate certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. Located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the medium-sized public school awarded 9 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.

Kutztown University graduate students pay an average of $16,997 in tuition and fees each year.

Kutztown University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 85% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.

Read More…

#3

California University of Pennsylvania

California, Pennsylvania
3 Total Awards
$18,508 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 7 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s value ranking, California University of Pennsylvania landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in California, Pennsylvania, the medium-sized public school handed out 3 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Cal U are $18,508 a year.

One thing to take note of is that Cal U does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 90% took at least some of their classes online.

Cal U not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read full report on California University of Pennsylvania

1 Total Awards
$18,207 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. This medium-sized public school is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at IUP are $18,207 per year.

One thing to take note of is that IUP does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 35% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.

Read full report on Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus

18 Total Awards
$42,024 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 7 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s value ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Pitt is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Pitt are $42,024 per year. Graduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $22,469 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 Pitt does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 16% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.

Pitt did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Full University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report

#6

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2 Total Awards
$24,812 Average Tuition & Fees

Temple University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate computer science programs. Temple is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 graduate certificates to qualified students.

Temple graduate students pay an average of $24,812 in tuition and fees each year.

One thing to take note of is that Temple does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 72% took at least some of their classes online.

Temple also took the #4 spot in our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania rankings.

Full Temple University Report

#7

Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
30 Total Awards
$37,074 Average Tuition & Fees

Drexel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for computer science students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 30 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Drexel are $37,074 a year. Graduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $23,548 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 Drexel does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 85% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.

Drexel did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read full report on Drexel University

Best Value Computer Science Graduate Certificate Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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Notes and References

Footnotes

*These averages are for the top 7 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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