Comparison
University of Southern California vs Washington University in St. Louis
MS Computer Science / Data Science · Los Angeles, United States vs St. Louis, United States
Short answer: Washington University in St. Louis (MS Computer Science / Data Science) is the cheaper program, University of Southern California (MS Computer Science / Data Science) has the higher estimated starting salary, and Washington University in St. Louis (MS Computer Science / Data Science)pays back fastest against the standard ₹8L India baseline. Neither wins on everything - which one is actually "better" depends on your budget, priority, and your own admit odds, none of which this estimate tier can answer for you.
| University of Southern California | Washington University in St. Louis | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| City | Los Angeles | St. Louis |
| QS 2026 rank | #146 | #167 |
| Est. total cost | Rs 1.43Cr | Rs 1.26Cr |
| Est. avg. salary | Rs 1.06Cr/yr | Rs 98.2L/yr |
| Est. payback | 1.4 yrs | 1.3 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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