Master's · La Jolla, California
Is Computer Science at University of California-San Diego worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.7 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $172,824
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $248,548
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $42,970
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $46k (likely $46k – $46k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $179k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 0.7 years (likely 0.6–0.9)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $1.49M (likely $1.20M – $1.81M)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $3.55M (likely $2.91M – $4.35M)
- Today's dollars
Change income, residency or loans Compare Computer Science at other schools
Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.
Other majors at University of California-San Diego
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$201,287
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$173,180
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$169,987
- Physics (Doctoral)$166,997
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral)$165,543
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$159,487
- Engineering, Other (Master's)$158,915
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$149,271
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$149,139
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Doctoral)$148,833
- Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's)$145,693
- Mathematics and Computer Science (Bachelor's)$137,218
Computer Science at other schools in California
- Stanford University$255,667
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$235,241
- University of Southern California$188,871
- California State University-Northridge$178,136
- University of California-Irvine$175,922
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$141,744
- National University$132,798
- University of California-Riverside$127,113
- California State University-Fullerton$126,439
- California State University-Long Beach$115,854