2025 Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Computer Science is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #16 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 39 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of computer science. Combined, these schools handed out 8,758 bachelor's degrees in computer science to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Computer Science School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The compsci bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on computer science students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other computer science students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for computer science to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer science related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for computer science students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Computer Science in California
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science.
10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in CompSci
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in computer science needs to check out University of California - Berkeley. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the computer science degree program at University of California - Berkeley earn $70,922 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - Berkeley
Stanford University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the computer science major at Stanford University make $59,669 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford University
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in computer science has to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Those computer science students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California receive $58,340 more than the average compsci student.
More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of Southern California
It's hard to beat University of California - San Diego if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.
Computer Science bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - San Diego get an earnings boost of approximately $33,062 above the average income of computer science majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from University of California - San Diego
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.
Those computer science students who get their bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo make $32,197 more than the typical compsci graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in computer science from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
