Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Computer Science Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Computer Science Schools in California

28 Colleges
$72,080 Avg Salary
$19,754 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Computer Science School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, computer science was ranked 7th in California. In fact, 3,408 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for 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 that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Computer Science Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 28 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Computer Science Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for compsci majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Computer Science Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for computer science students who want to pursue a degree in California. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Read More…

The excellent programs at California Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best computer science schools in California. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.

Read More…

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for computer science students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Computer Science Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

Read More…

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for computer science students. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #6 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #7 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

Read More…

University of California - Irvine came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Computer Science at University of California - Irvine Report

#9

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools in California ranking. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read More…

University of California - Riverside landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Computer Science at University of California - Riverside Report

Best Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 306
Oregon 202
Nevada 17
Hawaii 20
Alaska 2

One of 9 majors within the area of study, computer science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 20,748
Information Technology 10,754
Information Science 6,934
Computer Software & Applications 4,047
Computer Systems Analysis 817

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 Negative Space.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.