9 Best Colleges in Compton, California

Overview of the Best Colleges in Compton CA

The best colleges in Compton are led by one truly impressive option, but there are other good options too! We’ll review them all so that you can make an informed decision.

If you’d prefer to study online, that gives you even more great colleges to choose from. You can check out our ranking of the best online colleges right here.

In this listing, we’re going alphabetically after we cover the top three colleges, which each offer a great and affordable education. Among the best colleges in Compton, California State University Dominguez Hills offers the best academic quality and the best value.

1. California State University, Dominguez Hills

Located just four miles from Compton, California State University, Dominguez Hills is an excellent college option for Compton students. This public university was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University system of colleges.

California has a lot of famous and prestigious universities, and that means that sometimes universities like CSU Dominguez Hills get forgotten. That’s a shame, because CSUDH is a great academic university at a bargain price.

Money Magazine placed CSU Dominguez Hills among the top 50 public universities in America. In a country with 50 states, that’s not a bad ranking at all.

The CSUDH rankings get even better when it comes to the best value colleges in America. Washington Monthly and Business Insider both ranked CSUDH in the top 15 best value colleges in America!

Wow. The 10-minute drive from Compton to the CSUDH campus is seeming more and more worth it.

As a full state university, CSU Dominguez Hills also offers a lot more majors than smaller state schools such as Compton College, so you can find a good program in almost any major at CSUDH.

Overall, CSUDH is an incredible value for students, and that’s especially true for those in Compton. CSUDH ranks first among the best colleges near Compton.

2. Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

TheCharles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a private historically black university that was founded to address education inequalities in the Compton area.

Founded in 1966, this college has a strong history and reputation in its areas of expertise. It also has full regional accreditation.

So what majors does theCharles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science offer? In short, almost anything medical, from a computed tomography certificate to a medical program in conjunction with UCLA.

From radiology to biomedical to nursing, theCharles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science offers a broad variety of highly-regarded medical programs within a few miles of Compton.

3. Compton College

Compton College is a public community college with full regional accreditation (that’s the highest level of accreditation). With reasonable tuition costs and an accredited education, Compton College is a great choice for Compton residents.

This wasn’t always the case. In 2004, Compton College became the first public college in California to ever lose regional accreditation. Ouch. That’s not exactly what you want to be famous for.

The whole journey is detailed by this article in Inside Higher Ed, but in short, Compton College spent years rebuilding and recovering as a center of El Camino College. In 2017, Compton College regained full accreditation.

Things weren’t always great at Compton College, but the school’s trajectory is going upward and it’s a fully accredited, affordable, public community college.

Those factors are going to make Compton College one of the best colleges in Compton. As a community college, students will have to transfer to a four-year college if they want to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Compton College doesn’t offer a ton of majors, but they do have an impressive number of technical and vocational tracks that can land students good jobs. Degree options include:

• HVAC and related majors
• Auto repair and other auto mechanic majors
• Business and related programs
• Computer information systems
• Cosmetology
• Machinist and related programs
• Welding
• Communications
• English
• Art, music, and language majors
• Nursing and health majors
• Biomanufacturing
• Mathematics and physics
• Teaching majors
• Psychology and sociology programs

That covers some of the main areas of study at Compton College. It’s not a big state college with every option, but there are a lot of good choices.

In summary, Compton College is the public community college of Compton, and that makes it an excellent choice and value for Compton residents.

Other Colleges Near Compton, California

California Hill University

California Hill University is primarily aimed at online students. It does have offices at CSUDH, but it’s unclear from their website what level of partnership the two schools have.

More importantly, it’s our understanding that California Hill University is not regionally accredited.

It is nationally accredited, but regional accreditation is important. In fact, we really don’t recommend colleges without it.

For Compton students considering California Hill University, we’d recommend just going to CSUDH, or checking out a better known (and regionally accredited) online college.

Mahoney University

The Mahoney University School of Healthcare is a little underwhelming, not necessarily in quality but in its offerings. Other than CPR and home-health aid training, all they offer is a CNA certification.

It seems that Mahoney University in Compton doesn’t actually offer any degrees, which is one of the core aspects of a university, don’t you think?

Still, if you’re looking for a CNA program in Compton, you might look into Mahoney University and compare their costs with other education providers.

Union Institute & University

Union Institute & University has their Los Angeles Academic Center located right near Compton, but their headquarters are actually in Cincinnati. So what isUnion Institute & University?

Well,Union Institute & University is another fully online school. It is a nonprofit school (like most reputable colleges), but its location near Compton doesn’t seem to offer in-person classes.

If you’re looking for the best colleges near Compton, this one isn’t really a physical location. If you’re looking for the best online colleges, there are way too many options to cover in this article (though we have written another article on that).

University of Los Angeles College of Divinity

The University of Los Angeles College of Divinity is a private evangelical Christian college. They offer the following programs:

• Associate Degree of Religious Studies
• Bachelor’s Degree of Religious Studies
• Master’s Degree of Religious Studies
• Doctor of Theology
• Doctor of Divinity
• Doctor of Philosophy in Practical Theology

They are accredited by IABCS, the International Association of Bible Colleges and Seminaries. If you’re looking for a Christian college or Bible college near Compton, you might look into theUniversity of Los Angeles College of Divinity.

University of South Los Angeles

The University of South Los Angeles is another private Christian university. They are accredited by 5 different accrediting bodies.

University of South Los Angeles offers programs in:

• Business management
• Oriental medicine
• Theology
• Languages

We’ve gotta say that the oriental medicine and Christian college combo is a new one for us. Very intriguing.

In summary, this is a very small university with a limited number of programs, and it’s unclear what the student outcomes and job placement look like.

Yuin University

We’ve got yet another private Christian University, this one based right on Compton Boulevard.

All of the school’s programs can be divided into the School of Theology and School of Business Administration.

It seems are accredited at some level, and they have been providing education for a long time—that stability is a good thing.

Frankly, we’d only recommend considering Yuin University if you’re studying Bible or theology, as there are great affordable business schools nearby such as California State University, Dominguez Hills.

The Best Colleges in Compton, California

Were you surprised by how many good colleges are in or near Compton? Well, we were. The best colleges in Compton offer quality education and a wide variety of career paths.

It was California State University Dominguez Hills that blew us away. The good news is, you can only study at one university at a time, so it doesn’t really matter how good the 2nd and 3rd options are.

We wish you the best on your college journey, and we’ve got plenty of other resources, like how to find local scholarships near Compton.

These local scholarships usually have less competition, which means you’ve got a better chance to land that sweet scholarship cash.

Between that and the low tuition prices at CSUDH or Compton College, you can jump-start your career without breaking the bank, and that’s what we’re all about.