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2023 Best Computer Science Schools

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

Finding the Best Computer Science School for You

Computer Science is the #21 most popular major in the country with 15,813 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Computer Science Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 224 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Computer Science Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for compsci majors pursuing a .

Top 25 Top Schools in Computer Science

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for computer science students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Pasadena.

Full Computer Science at California Institute of Technology Report

#3

Brown University

Providence, RI

Out of the 224 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brown University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Providence.

Full Computer Science at Brown University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.

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#5

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Cornell University is a great place for computer science students. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Computer Science at Cornell University Report

#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Full Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania Report

#7

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Duke University

#8

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

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

Full Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University Report

#9

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Harvard University

University of California - Berkeley landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Computer Science at University of California - Berkeley Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#12

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Dartmouth College

#13

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Computer Science at Vanderbilt University Report

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #14 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma, UW Tacoma is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus

With a ranking of #15, Missouri University of Science and Technology did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Located in the town of Rolla, Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Saint Martin’s University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools ranking. Saint Martin's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lacey.

Full Computer Science at Saint Martin’s University Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools ranking. UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the large city of Seattle.

Full Computer Science at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

#18

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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Southern Methodist 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 large suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Computer Science at Southern Methodist University Report

#20

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.

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#21

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best computer science programs. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Northwestern University

University of California - San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for computer science students. It came in at #22 on the list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Full Computer Science at University of California - San Diego Report

University of Maryland - College Park ranked #23 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. UMCP is a very large public school located in the suburb of College Park.

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With a ranking of #24, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students. Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.

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#25

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Tufts University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Computer Science Schools list. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.

Read full report on Computer Science at Tufts University

Rest of the Top Best Computer Science Schools

#26

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
#28

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA
#29

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#33

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Computer Science students that almost earned our Best Computer Science Schools award.

Rank College Location
34 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
35 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
36 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
37 Seattle University Seattle, WA
38 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
39 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
40 Emory University Atlanta, GA
41 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO
42 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
43 Boston University Boston, MA
44 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH

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

One of 9 majors within the area of study, computer science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 20,748
Information Technology 10,754
Information Science 6,934
Computer Software & Applications 4,047
Computer Systems Analysis 817

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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