Comparison
Iowa State University vs University of California, Riverside
MS Computer Science / Data Science · Ames, United States vs Riverside, United States
Short answer: Iowa State University (MS Computer Science / Data Science) is the cheaper program, has the higher estimated starting salary and pays back fastest against the standard ₹8L India baseline. So on these estimates one option wins outright, which is worth knowing but is not the whole decision - these are tiered estimates, they say nothing about your admit odds, and a programme, supervisor or city can matter more than any of it.
| Iowa State University | University of California, Riverside | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| City | Ames | Riverside |
| QS 2026 rank | #449 | #440 |
| Est. total cost | Rs 83.9L | Rs 89.6L |
| Est. avg. salary | Rs 91.5L/yr | Rs 91.5L/yr |
| Est. payback | 2 yrs | 2.1 yrs |
| Post-study work | 36 mo | 36 mo |
| Visa pathway | F-1 OPT + STEM OPT extension | F-1 OPT + STEM OPT extension |
Where these numbers come from - and what they are not
Both schools are part of our broad coverage layer - cost, salary, and payback estimated by QS rank band and destination job market, not independently verified per school. Verify tuition on each program's official page and salary bands on Glassdoor/Indeed/PayScale before deciding. For a comparison built on fully-sourced figures instead, see our verified comparisons, or run the free assessment for admit odds and visa-risk flags against your own profile.
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