Computer Science is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #12 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 405 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for computer science students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 60,631 degrees in computer science annually.
The compsci program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Computer Science rankings. For our Best Overall Computer Science School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Computer Science Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Computer Science in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of compsci degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student who is interested in computer science needs to look into Duke University. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 428 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science program at Duke University make $56,370 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in computer science. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.
There were approximately 737 computer science students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology earn $77,506 more than the standard compsci student.
Learn the applied programming skills needed to fill in-demand tech roles when you earn your online AS in Computer Science at Southern New Hampshire University.
Cornell University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in computer science. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were approximately 859 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science degree program at Cornell University make $75,904 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Any student who is interested in computer science has to take a look at Columbia University in the City of New York. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 748 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York earn a boost of approximately $54,709 over the average income of computer science graduates.
Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 364 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the computer science degree program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $94,278 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were roughly 903 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of about $72,880 above the typical earnings of computer science graduates.
Tufts is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Medford. This university ranks 7th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 218 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Tufts University receive $28,673 more than the typical compsci student.
Learn the front-end design and back-end development skills employers look for in full stack software developers with this online bachelor's degree in computer science from Southern New Hampshire University.
Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.
There were about 165 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Dartmouth College earn $55,933 more than the standard compsci graduate.
Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were approximately 656 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the computer science program at Stanford University make $84,702 more than the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 50 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were about 520 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive an earnings boost of around $52,006 above the average earnings of computer science graduates.
Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were about 361 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from Brown University make $73,459 more than the average compsci grad.
BS in Computer Science - Software EngineeringProgram Name
With a software engineering degree, you'll learn the fundamental concepts and principles – a systematic approach used to develop software on time, on budget and within specifications – throughout your online college classes at SNHU.
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 988 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $52,062 more than the average compsci student.
Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. This university ranks 1st out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were roughly 246 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Vanderbilt University earn $45,258 more than the average compsci grad.
UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of College Park. This university ranks 2nd out of 35 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were approximately 1055 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from University of Maryland - College Park make $22,770 more than the typical compsci graduate.
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 1015 computer science students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of around $59,189 over the typical income of computer science graduates.
Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Princeton. This university ranks 1st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were about 253 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from Princeton University make $69,638 more than the average compsci student.
Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 434 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science major at Boston University make $25,538 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
WPI is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Worcester. This school ranks 8th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 260 computer science students who graduated with this degree at WPI in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute make $16,902 more than the average compsci student.
UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. This university ranks 8th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 819 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science degree program at University of California - San Diego earn $36,839 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 3rd out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were roughly 532 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science degree program at Purdue University - Main Campus earn $17,800 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
RPI is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Troy. This school ranks 6th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 322 computer science students who graduated with this degree at RPI in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute receive an earnings boost of around $29,485 over the average earnings of computer science graduates.
Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were roughly 61 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from Georgetown University earn a boost of around $15,988 above the typical earnings of computer science graduates.
Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were approximately 289 computer science students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available. Those computer science students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis receive $31,009 more than the typical compsci student.
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 207 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Computer Science degree recipients from Northwestern University receive an earnings boost of approximately $22,995 over the average earnings of computer science graduates.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 215 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from University of Pennsylvania make $47,471 more than the average compsci student.
This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Computer Science Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 405 different United States computer science schools we analyzed.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Negative Space.
The compsci program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Computer Science rankings. For our Best Overall Computer Science School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
