2023 Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools
A computer science student has lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamps with offerings that you might find attractive.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Computer Science Degree Search has created the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 536 schools in the United States to see which ones had the most popular online programs for computer science students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.
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Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:
Our analysis found Western Governors University to be the most popular school for computer science students in the United States. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 5,881 students in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $26,218 in student loans.After graduating from WGU, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $62,838 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 13% were women.
The programs at University of Maryland Global Campus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular computer science schools in the United States. UMGC is a public institution located in Adelphi, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,150 degrees in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $25,870 in student loans.After graduating from UMGC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $59,246 during the early years of their career. Around 26% of those degree recipients were women.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Phoenix - Arizona. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools list. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out degrees to 2,729 students in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $33,058 in student loans. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $146. During the early years of their career, UOPX - Arizona graduates make an average of $50,608 annually. Of those students who received their degree, 28% were women.
The programs at MyComputerCareer - Raleigh helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular computer science schools in the United States. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the small private for-profit school handed out 1,831 degrees in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from MyComputerCareer - Raleigh accumulate an average of $15,722 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $137, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, MyComputerCareer - Raleigh graduates make an average of $37,250 annually. Around 20% of those degree recipients were women.
The programs at Purdue University Global helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular computer science schools in the United States. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the large public school handed out 1,236 degrees in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Purdue University Global accumulate an average of $36,097 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $133 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, Purdue University Global graduates make an average of $43,154 annually. Around 25% of those degree recipients were women.
Wake Technical Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular computer science programs. Wake Technical Community College is a large public school situated in Raleigh, North Carolina. It awarded 1,211 degrees in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Wake Technical Community College accumulate an average of $22,490 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, Wake Technical Community College graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $34,991 during the early year of their career. Around 28% of those degree recipients were women.
DeVry University - Illinois did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #7 on the list. This large private for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 1,038 degrees in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $40,148 in student loans. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $163.After graduating from DeVry University - Illinois, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $48,020 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 29% were women.
ECPI University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular computer science programs. Virginia Beach, Virginia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out degrees to 994 students in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from ECPI University accumulate an average of $28,707 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $125, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from ECPI University, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $41,263 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 19% were women.
With a ranking of #9, American Public University System did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working. American Military University is located in Charles Town, West Virginia and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,008 degrees to qualified students.
Degree recipients from American Military University accumulate an average of $25,070 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from American Military University, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $51,395 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 18% were women.
Jefferson Community and Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools list. This fairly large public school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 854 degrees in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Jefferson Community and Technical College accumulate an average of $18,344 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, Jefferson Community and Technical College graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $38,170 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 21% were women.
Read full report on Jefferson Community and Technical College
Southern New Hampshire University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. SNHU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Manchester, New Hampshire. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,766 degrees in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $30,063 in loans while pursuing their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $294, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. During the early years of their career, SNHU graduates make an average of $46,640 annually. Of those students who received their degree, 22% were women.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular computer science programs. Lexington, Kentucky is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 612 students in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $17,647 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, Bluegrass Community and Technical College graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $39,280 during the early year of their career. Around 21% of those degree recipients were women.
St Petersburg College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. SPC is located in Clearwater, Florida and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 638 degrees to qualified students.
On average, students take out $25,619 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from SPC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $40,600 during the early years of their career. Around 26% of those degree recipients were women.
Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs is a private for-profit institution located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The school has a large population, and it awarded 826 degrees in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $36,481 in loans while pursuing their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $170, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $49,482 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 27% were women.
Full Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs Report
With a ranking of #15, Colorado State University - Global Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working. Greenwood Village, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 559 students in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Colorado State University - Global Campus accumulate an average of $31,798 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, Colorado State University - Global Campus graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $59,059 during the early year of their career. Around 25% of those degree recipients were women.
Seminole State College of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in Sanford, Florida, the fairly large public school awarded 487 diplomas to qualifed students in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Seminole State accumulate an average of $19,694 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, Seminole State graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $37,833 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 28% were women.
MyComputerCareer - Westerville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in Westerville, Ohio, the small private for-profit school awarded 2,839 diplomas to qualifed students in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from MyComputerCareer - Westerville accumulate an average of $17,337 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $157, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan. Once they receive their degree, MyComputerCareer - Westerville graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $38,708 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 16% were women.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #18 on the list. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Daytona Beach, Florida that handed out 440 degrees in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $24,541 in student loans. If you borrow this amount, expect your monthly student loan payment to be around $792, assuming you are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from Embry-Riddle Worldwide, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $65,116 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 10% were women.
Bellevue University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Bellevue, Nebraska, and it awarded 626 degrees in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $29,741 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, Bellevue University graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $54,053 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 25% were women.
George Mason University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #20 on the list. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,166 students in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $22,883 in loans while pursuing their degree. Those who take out this much in loans have to make a monthly payment of about $355 if they are on a 10-year repayment plan.After graduating from GMU, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $56,435 during the early years of their career. Around 28% of those degree recipients were women.
Northern Virginia Community College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. Northern Virginia Community College is located in Annandale, Virginia and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,211 degrees to qualified students.
On average, students take out $16,809 in loans while pursuing their degree. During the early years of their career, Northern Virginia Community College graduates make an average of $37,967 annually. Of those students who received their degree, 28% were women.
With a ranking of #21, Kennesaw State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working. Kennesaw, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 990 students in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from KSU Georgia accumulate an average of $27,780 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. For those students on a 10-year repayment plan, the average payment due each month is around $260. Once they receive their degree, KSU Georgia graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $49,284 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 27% were women.
Capella University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out degrees to 481 students in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $36,349 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from Capella University, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $61,758 during the early years of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 35% were women.
Gateway Community and Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students. It came in at #24 on the list. This small public school is located in Florence, Kentucky, and it awarded 379 degrees in 2020-2021.
Degree recipients from Gateway accumulate an average of $17,491 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. During the early years of their career, Gateway graduates make an average of $38,770 annually. Around 19% of those degree recipients were women.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools ranking. Elizabethtown, Kentucky is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 343 students in 2020-2021.
On average, students take out $16,186 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $41,037 during the early year of their career. Of those students who received their degree, 16% were women.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top most popular online list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Online Computer Science Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular online computer science schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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