by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2025, College Factual analyzed 187 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,080 master's degrees in computer science during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of computer science for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality compsci program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
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 master's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for computer science students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in computer science. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.More information about a master’s in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in computer science. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the computer science degree program at Columbia University in the City of New York get $48,442 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Columbia University in the City of New York
Cornell University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in computer science. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.
Computer Science master's degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of approximately $40,179 over the average earnings of computer science graduates.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Cornell University
It is hard to beat Duke University if you want to pursue a master's degree in computer science. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in computer science from Duke University
Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.
Master's recipients from the computer science program at Stanford University earn $86,352 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Stanford University
Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University
Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover.More information about a master’s in computer science from Dartmouth College
Tufts is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford.More information about a master’s in computer science from Tufts University
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Computer Science master's degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of about $21,135 over the average income of computer science majors.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of Southern California
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the computer science degree program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $33,261 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.More information about a master’s in computer science from Vanderbilt University
UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in computer science from University of California - Berkeley
Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.
Master's recipients from the computer science degree program at Boston University get $31,075 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Boston University
UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.
Those computer science students who get their master's degree from University of California - San Diego receive $34,853 more than the standard compsci grad.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of California - San Diego
Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton.More information about a master’s in computer science from Princeton University
Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in computer science from Georgetown University
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a master’s in computer science from Northwestern University
UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine.
Master's recipients from the computer science program at University of California - Irvine get $35,067 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of California - Irvine
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the computer science program at University of Pennsylvania earn $7,284 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of Pennsylvania
Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Those computer science students who get their master's degree from Brown University make $22,002 more than the standard compsci grad.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Brown University
Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population.
Computer Science master's degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus earn a boost of approximately $41,852 over the average income of computer science graduates.
More information about a master’s in computer science from University of Washington - Seattle Campus
WPI is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.
Soon after graduating, compsci master's recipients typically make an average of $112,316 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.More information about a master’s in computer science from Purdue University - Main Campus
UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of College Park.More information about a master’s in computer science from University of Maryland - College Park
GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.More information about a master’s in computer science from George Washington University
Learn about other programs related to Computer Science that might interest you.
MS in Information Technology - Software Application Development
Learn to manage the development process for a software program with this specialized online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Here are some additional great schools for Computer Science students that almost earned our Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 10 majors within the Computer & Information Sciences area of study, Computer Science has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer Science | 12,080 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer Information Systems | 18,833 |
| Information Technology | 9,929 |
| Information Science | 5,850 |
| Computer Software & Applications | 3,354 |
| Computer Systems Analysis | 557 |
| Computer Systems Networking | 410 |
| Computer Programming | 373 |
| Data Processing | 272 |
| Other Computer & Information Sciences | 165 |
