🎓

Best Colleges for Computer Engineering

50 Computer Engineering programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Computer Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $228,705. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$228,705	$13,500	96	97.1
2	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$174,522	$14,500	134	96
3	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$166,369	$6,625	45	92.6
4	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$169,570	$15,422	49	92.4
5	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$145,422	$12,703	119	91.9
6	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$149,139	$18,414	167	90.8
7	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$144,703	$14,410	72	89.9
8	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Master's Degree	$231,929	—	156	89.1
9	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Master's Degree	$246,366	—	113	88.7
10	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$148,175	$16,875	51	88.5
11	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$159,855	$20,500	318	88.3
12	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$169,570	$15,422	12	87.6
13	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Master's Degree	$228,519	—	82	87.2
14	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$152,422	$20,417	117	86.6
15	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$133,111	$11,000	97	86.5
16	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$169,570	$15,422	0	86.4
17	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$148,950	$20,556	158	86
18	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$142,071	$19,500	116	85.9
19	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$132,357	$19,000	246	84.5
20	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$214,274	—	—	83.9
21	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Master's Degree	$173,180	—	42	83.6
22	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$143,080	—	248	82.2
23	University of New Haven West Haven, CT	Master's Degree	$192,143	—	25	82.2
24	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$194,365	—	22	81.9
25	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$163,765	$24,833	83	81.5
26	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Master's Degree	$158,029	—	38	80.9
27	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$128,497	$20,000	157	80.6
28	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$156,885	—	32	80
29	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	Master's Degree	$141,848	—	69	79.5
30	Boston University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$182,771	—	5	79.2
31	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$123,731	$19,500	404	79.1
32	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$128,140	$20,447	118	78.7
33	New York University New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$127,201	$19,000	38	78.2
34	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	Master's Degree	$154,648	—	22	78
35	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$121,466	$13,421	38	78
36	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$128,038	$19,750	56	77.9
37	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	Master's Degree	$161,999	—	13	77.7
38	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$127,042	$21,750	192	76.6
39	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Master's Degree	$143,746	—	23	76.2
40	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Master's Degree	$130,092	—	104	75.9
41	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$116,842	$17,249	116	75.9
42	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$135,416	$25,002	114	75.2
43	Boston University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$135,394	$25,984	122	74.4
44	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	Master's Degree	$128,177	—	69	74.4
45	DePaul University Chicago, IL	Master's Degree	$134,449	—	31	74.2
46	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$124,641	$23,434	132	73.2
47	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$117,721	$19,000	51	73
48	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$138,897	—	15	72.9
49	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$121,462	$22,875	297	72.9
50	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$135,717	—	16	72.8

🔍 Filter Computer Engineering by state & degree level →

💎

Hidden Gems for Computer Engineering

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Computer Engineering — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$169,570	91%	87.6
2	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$169,570	83%	86.4
3	University of New Haven West Haven, CT Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$192,143	60%	82.2
4	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$141,848	65%	79.5
5	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$154,648	79%	78
6	DePaul University Chicago, IL Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$134,449	76%	74.2
7	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$124,641	66%	73.2
8	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$135,717	71%	72.8
9	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$130,170	83%	72
10	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$130,488	63%	71.8
11	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$126,356	95%	69.7
12	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA Strong Computer Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$140,393	91%	69

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Computer Engineering field (CIP 14.09) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Computer Engineering programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Computer Engineering program?+

By our outcome score, University of California-Los Angeles (California) ranks #1 for Computer Engineering, with median graduate earnings of $228,705.

How are these Computer Engineering programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Computer Engineering programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

🔍 Computer Engineering rankings (filterable)🎓 All major rankings 🏫 Browse colleges 🆓 Tuition-free colleges ⭐ All Best-Of guides

Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.