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Best Colleges for Computer Science

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

⚡Quick answer

For Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $225,141. 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	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$225,141	$11,077	384	97.9
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$214,907	$10,399	277	97
3	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$223,309	$14,750	504	96.8
4	Brown University Providence, RI	Bachelor's Degree	$214,479	$11,500	250	96.4
5	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$204,379	$13,750	848	96.3
6	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$195,809	$13,500	370	95
7	Williams College Williamstown, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$209,574	$12,208	49	92.7
8	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$175,616	$15,351	494	92.4
9	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	Bachelor's Degree	$177,066	$15,250	205	91.8
10	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$175,616	$15,351	246	91.6
11	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	Bachelor's Degree	$201,702	$18,490	130	91.2
12	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Master's Degree	$179,395	$18,835	635	91.1
13	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$268,121	$21,442	255	91
14	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$181,981	$18,983	292	90.5
15	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$160,021	$14,500	205	90.1
16	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$159,487	$16,166	591	89.6
17	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$192,897	$19,625	287	89.6
18	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$188,265	$19,594	357	89.6
19	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Master's Degree	$255,667	—	334	89.2
20	Tufts University Medford, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$156,343	$15,500	171	88.5
21	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$149,190	$13,500	161	87.4
22	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$155,106	$14,646	102	87.4
23	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$159,541	$15,500	82	87.3
24	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$217,973	—	172	87.3
25	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$203,169	—	173	86.3
26	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$142,800	$12,000	135	86.2
27	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$161,980	$16,000	49	86
28	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$155,464	$19,000	161	85.5
29	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$137,047	$13,500	432	85.5
30	Brown University Providence, RI	Master's Degree	$208,655	—	102	85.5
31	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	Master's Degree	$177,303	—	278	84.7
32	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Master's Degree	$177,303	—	267	84.6
33	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Master's Degree	$197,823	—	96	84.4
34	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$200,511	—	77	84.3
35	Pomona College Claremont, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$217,051	—	50	84.3
36	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$146,685	$19,136	439	84.2
37	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Master's Degree	$235,241	—	37	84
38	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$154,784	$19,500	163	83.9
39	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$178,068	—	126	83.6
40	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$127,404	$15,000	744	83.3
41	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$143,204	$18,000	125	82.9
42	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Master's Degree	$175,922	—	115	82.8
43	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Master's Degree	$231,397	$25,903	185	82.8
44	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$160,714	—	288	82.5
45	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$143,900	$15,750	46	82
46	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	Master's Degree	$162,539	—	163	81.9
47	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$171,166	—	109	81.9
48	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$198,257	$22,949	49	81.8
49	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$137,931	$19,500	954	81.6
50	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	Master's Degree	$188,550	—	44	81.6

🔍 Filter Computer Science by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Computer Science

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Computer Science — 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 Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$175,616	91%	91.6
2	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$200,027	63%	80.9
3	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$150,341	62%	80.8
4	Seattle University Seattle, WA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$185,607	77%	80.5
5	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$119,900	97%	79
6	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$147,702	61%	78.3
7	Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$133,039	83%	75.8
8	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$147,511	71%	75.4
9	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$151,603	83%	74.1
10	Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$142,461	73%	73
11	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$155,261	83%	72.9
12	University of Denver Denver, CO Strong Computer Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$121,993	78%	70.6

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 Science field (CIP 11.07) 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 Science 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 Science program?+

By our outcome score, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 for Computer Science, with median graduate earnings of $225,141.

How are these Computer Science 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 Science 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

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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.