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2024 Best Computer Science Schools in Illinois

21 Colleges in Illinois
3,680 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$69,849 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #12 in popularity, computer science is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in Illinois 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 3,680 degrees in computer science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Computer Science School

Best Computer Science Schools in Illinois 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. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for computer science schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Computer Science Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in CompSci
Master's Degrees in CompSci
Doctor's Degrees in CompSci

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Computer Science Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Computer Science in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the compsci degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Illinois Schools in CompSci

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
337 CompSci Degrees Awarded
21.7% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in computer science. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 337 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from University of Chicago get an earnings boost of about $31,157 above the average income of computer science majors.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of Chicago

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
901 CompSci Degrees Awarded
19.8% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a degree in computer science. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 901 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the computer science major at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $52,882 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
227 CompSci Degrees Awarded
19.4% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in computer science needs to look into Northwestern University. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 227 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from Northwestern University make $22,755 more than the typical compsci grad.

More information about a degree in computer science from Northwestern University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
501 CompSci Degrees Awarded
27.9% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Chicago is a great option for students pursuing a degree in computer science. UIC is a very large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 501 computer science students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Those computer science students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Chicago earn $3,211 more than the standard compsci grad.

More information about a degree in computer science from University of Illinois at Chicago

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
316 CompSci Degrees Awarded
16.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois Tech is a great school overall.

There were about 316 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent data year. Computer Science degree recipients from Illinois Institute of Technology get an earnings boost of around $5,210 above the typical earnings of computer science graduates.

More information about a degree in computer science from Illinois Institute of Technology

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
52 CompSci Degrees Awarded
15.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were about 52 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the compsci program earn around $50,879 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in computer science from Bradley University

7
Lewis crest
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
160 CompSci Degrees Awarded
16.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 26th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 160 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Lewis in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, compsci degree recipients usually earn around $52,836 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in computer science from Lewis University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In IL

Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were about 11 computer science students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in computer science from Loyola University Chicago

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
49 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$53,515 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 49 computer science students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the compsci program report average early career income of $53,515.

More information about a degree in computer science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 CompSci Degrees Awarded
$66,456 Median Starting Salary

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 170 computer science students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the compsci program state that they receive average early career wages of $66,456.

More information about a degree in computer science from Northern Illinois University


 

Best Computer Science Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Computer Science Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 623
Ohio 314 1,016
Indiana 294 1,470
Wisconsin 273 248

View All Rankings >

Computer Science is one of 10 different types of Computer & Information Sciences programs to choose from.

CompSci Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Computer Science 3,680

View All CompSci Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 1,726
Information Technology 1,117
Information Science 860
Computer Systems Networking 813
Computer Programming 597
Computer Software & Applications 532
Computer Systems Analysis 414
Data Entry 89
Other Computer & Information Sciences 3
Data Processing 2

View All CompSci Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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