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2023 Best Computer Science Schools

433 Colleges
$67,538 Avg Salary
$23,620 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Computer Science School for You

With 59,565 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, computer science is the #2 most popular major in the United States.

Today's computer science students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Computer Science Schools ranking. This report analyzed 433 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for computer science students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Computer Science Schools in the United States

Check out the compsci programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools in Computer Science

Our 2023 rankings named California Institute of Technology the best school in the United States for computer science students. Located in the city of Pasadena, Caltech is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at California Institute of Technology

#2

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvey Mudd College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Computer Science Schools list. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Harvey Mudd College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, compsci graduates from Harvey Mudd College take out $21,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Computer Science Schools list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

CompSci majors at Stanford take out an average of $13,645 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Computer Science at Stanford University Report

#4

Brown University

Providence, RI

Out of the 433 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brown University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

On average, compsci graduates from Brown take out $13,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Computer Science Schools list. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that compsci majors at MIT take out is $10,538. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $682, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#6

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.

After completing their degree, compsci graduates from Cornell carry an average student debtload of $15,003. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $524, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Computer Science at Cornell University Report

#7

Pomona College

Claremont, CA

With a ranking of #7, Pomona College did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.

Read full report on Computer Science at Pomona College

#8

Duke University

Durham, NC

With a ranking of #8, Duke University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

CompSci majors at Duke take out an average of $11,950 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $581.

Read full report on Computer Science at Duke University

#9

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

On average, compsci graduates from Carnegie Mellon take out $21,456 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University Report

#10

Williams College

Williamstown, MA

With a ranking of #10, Williams College did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that compsci majors at Williams take out is $13,134.

Read More…

#11

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #11 on the list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania

University of California - Berkeley landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

After completing their degree, compsci graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $14,203. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $386.

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Bunker Hill Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools ranking. BHCC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Boston.

The average amount in student loans that compsci majors at BHCC take out is $7,452.

Full Computer Science at Bunker Hill Community College Report

#14

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

With a ranking of #14, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.

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#15

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools ranking. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Hanover.

On average, compsci graduates from Dartmouth take out $20,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Computer Science at Dartmouth College Report

#16

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #16, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

On average, compsci graduates from Vanderbilt take out $19,563 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Computer Science at Vanderbilt University Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

CompSci majors at UIUC take out an average of $18,500 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $477, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Florida Polytechnic University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Florida Poly is a small public school located in the rural area of Lakeland.

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Saint Martin’s University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the city of Lacey, Saint Martin's is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, compsci majors at Saint Martin's accumulate an average of around $15,622 in student debt.

Read full report on Computer Science at Saint Martin’s University

#20

Amherst College

Amherst, MA

Amherst College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the suburb of Amherst, Amherst is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Amherst College

With a ranking of #21, Lake Area Technical Institute did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Located in the remote town of Watertown, LATI is a public college with a small student population.

CompSci majors at LATI take out an average of $14,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #22 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. UW Tacoma is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Tacoma.

Full Computer Science at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Report

#23

Colgate University

Hamilton, NY

Colgate University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #23 on the list. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.

After completing their degree, compsci graduates from Colgate carry an average student debtload of $17,500.

Full Computer Science at Colgate University Report

With a ranking of #24, University of Maryland - College Park did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a very large student population.

CompSci majors at UMCP take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $307.

Full Computer Science at University of Maryland - College Park Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, compsci graduates from UW Seattle carry an average student debtload of $16,220. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $218.

Full Computer Science at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

Rest of the Top Best Computer Science Schools

#27

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
#28

Western Governors University

Salt Lake City, UT
#31

Tufts University

Medford, MA
#32

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA
#33

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
#34

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
#35

Carleton College

Northfield, MN
#39

Grinnell College

Grinnell, IA
#40

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
#43

Auburn University

Auburn, AL
#46

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#49

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA
#50

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Computer Science Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 433 different United States computer science schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
52 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
53 Bellevue College Bellevue, WA
54 Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX
55 Normandale Community College Bloomington, MN
56 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO
57 Saint Johns University Collegeville, MN
58 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
59 George Washington University Washington, DC
60 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
61 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY
62 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
63 Emory University Atlanta, GA
64 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Computer Science Schools award.

Rank College Location
65 Seattle University Seattle, WA
66 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
67 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
68 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
69 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
70 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
71 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
72 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
73 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA
74 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
75 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
76 University of Georgia Athens, GA
77 Boston University Boston, MA
78 North Hennepin Community College Brooklyn Park, MN
79 Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN
80 Grantham University Lenexa, KS
81 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ
82 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
83 Luther College Decorah, IA
84 University of Portland Portland, OR
85 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
86 Brandeis University Waltham, MA

Computer Science by Region

View the Best Computer Science Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Computer Science is one of 10 different types of computer science programs to choose from.

CompSci Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Computer Science 59,565

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Information Technology 40,555
Information Science 18,325
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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