2023 Most Popular Computer Science Master's Degree Schools
A computer science student has lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamps with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Computer Science Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Computer Science Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 652 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for computer science students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Computer Science Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus to be the most popular school for computer science students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the large public school handed out 2,309 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 21% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Georgia Tech. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 88% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Western Governors University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular computer science schools in the United States. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 1,991 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 19% were women.
Since the graduate programs at WGU are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Campbellsville University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Campbellsville, Kentucky, and it awarded 1,678 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 26% of those degree recipients were women.
Campbellsville University does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 97% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,330 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 32% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at USC. In 2019-2020 about 82% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland Global Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. University of Maryland Global Campus is a large public school located in Adelphi, Maryland that handed out 1,270 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 33% of those degree recipients were women.
UMGC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 91% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
New York University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. NYU is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,161 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 42% were women.
One thing to take note of is that NYU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 79% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #7, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 1,106 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Columbia does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.
Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,082 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 40% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Carnegie Mellon. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 6% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree computer science programs. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the large public school handed out 910 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 41% were women.
UIUC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 90% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Read full report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of the Cumberlands landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree computer science programs. Williamsburg, Kentucky is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 904 students in 2020-2021.
Around 27% of those degree recipients were women.
Cumberlands does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 99% took at least some of their classes online.
The University of Texas at Dallas ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. UT Dallas is located in Richardson, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 849 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 34% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UT Dallas, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 83% took at least some of their classes online.
Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 795 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network. In fact, around 66% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 709 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UW Seattle. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 7% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #14, Syracuse University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Syracuse, New York, and it awarded 647 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 29% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Syracuse. In 2019-2020 about 31% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Boston University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree computer science programs. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 620 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 27% of those degree recipients were women.
Boston U does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 23% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. This large public school is located in Gainesville, Florida, and it awarded 516 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 31% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UF does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
George Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 477 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 30% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at GWU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 37% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Pennsylvania ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 486 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 36% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UPenn. In fact, around 74% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Arizona State University - Tempe came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. This large public school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 505 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 28% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at ASU - Tempe. In fact, around 42% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Johns Hopkins University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit institution located in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 463 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 29% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that Johns Hopkins does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 85% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree computer science programs. UT Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas. It awarded 460 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 32% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UT Arlington. During the 2019-2020 year, about 65% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #22, University of Central Missouri did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. This fairly large public school is located in Warrensburg, Missouri, and it awarded 434 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 49% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UCM does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 46% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #23, Stevens Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Stevens is located in Hoboken, New Jersey and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 432 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 27% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Stevens, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 54% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Northeastern University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree computer science programs. Northeastern is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 445 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 31% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Northeastern. In fact, around 29% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
North Carolina State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. This large public school is located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it awarded 424 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 30% were women.
NC State does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 78% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Computer Science Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 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 Computer Science Master's Degree 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 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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