Connecticut·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1241

Best Computer Network Architect programs in Connecticut, ranked by enrollment

Design and implement computer and information networks, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), intranets, extranets, and other data communications networks.

19 schools in Connecticut run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,968 people a year. The job pays a median of $143,890 in Connecticut across about 1,570 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEngineerNetwork AnalystSystems EngineerSolutions ArchitectCommunications EngineerInfrastructure EngineerComputer Network TechnologistTelecommunications Consultant (Telecom Consultant)
Graduates / yr
1,968
in Connecticut
Median pay · Connecticut
$143,890
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,570
people employed
Schools
19
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
61%
across those schools
Median net price
$28,311
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Connecticut that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

9 programs in Connecticut that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Connecticut (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Connecticut page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
11,100
55.9%
12$57,986$24,286
2287
14.6%
2$78,333$24,098
3246
12.5%
6$48,185$25,250
4153
7.8%
5$78,333$24,098
5102
5.2%
3$57,986$24,286
649
2.5%
2$43,901$22,822
715
0.8%
1$48,185$25,250
814
0.7%
1$51,805$46,000
92
0.1%
1$43,901$22,822

Top 19 schools in Connecticut

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 19 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
517Computer and Information Sciences, General$58,21473%$42,70565%
2University of New Haven
West Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
411Computer Engineering, Other63%$32,61460%
3Yale University
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
249Computer and Information Sciences, General$133,29396%$27,0254%
4University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
199Computer Engineering, General$82,92483%52%
5Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT Public · 4 feeder programs
141Computer and Information Sciences, General$69,33448%73%
6Connecticut State Community College
New Britain, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
79Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance24%
7Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
69Computer and Information Sciences, General$58,48050%91%
8Post University
Waterbury, CT Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
55Computer and Information Sciences, General25%$14,659
9Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
42Computer and Information Sciences, General84%$36,84533%
10Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
38Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance76%$36,13772%
11Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
37Computer and Information Sciences, General58%83%
12University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
31Computer and Information Sciences, General$34,81254%$28,31196%
13Porter & Chester Institute
Bridgeport, CT Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
29Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications$38,61145%$18,216
14Trinity College
Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
19Computer and Information Sciences, General84%$25,24529%
15United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
17Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance93%22%
16University of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Computer Engineering, General41%$25,14983%
17Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
13Computer and Information Sciences, General$77,96952%87%
18University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Computer and Information Sciences, General64%$25,84179%
19Mitchell College
New London, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Computer and Information Sciences, General42%$30,73495%

All 19 schools in Connecticut

Every school in Connecticut with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Connecticut that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Sacred Heart UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit5173
University of New HavenWest HavenPrivate not-for-profit4113
Yale UniversityNew HavenPrivate not-for-profit2491
University of ConnecticutStorrsPublic1993
Central Connecticut State UniversityNew BritainPublic1414
Connecticut State Community CollegeNew BritainPublic793
Southern Connecticut State UniversityNew HavenPublic691
Post UniversityWaterburyPrivate for-profit551
Fairfield UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit422
Quinnipiac UniversityHamdenPrivate not-for-profit382
Eastern Connecticut State UniversityWillimanticPublic371
University of HartfordWest HartfordPrivate not-for-profit312
Porter & Chester InstituteBridgeportPrivate for-profit291
Trinity CollegeHartfordPrivate not-for-profit191
United States Coast Guard AcademyNew LondonPublic171

What computer network architects earn in Connecticut

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Connecticut
$143,890
Mean annual
$148,180
Jobs in state
1,570
What the range looks like
10th pct$98,180Median$143,89090th pct$197,040
Versus the national median
+7.3%

U.S. median $134,050. Connecticut pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.80×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Connecticut

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
$159,820median
240 jobs
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
$159,720median
690 jobs
Waterbury-Shelton, CT
$138,770median
90 jobs
New Haven, CT
$137,000median
220 jobs
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT
$135,010median
70 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+11.9%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
11,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
21,400
179,200 → 200,600
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer Network Architects page.

How to become a Computer Network Architect

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
5 years or more

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingSpeakingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Connecticut

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Computer Network Architects9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
  • 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
  • 11.0902Cloud Computing
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance
  • 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
  • 14.0999Computer Engineering, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing computer network architects programs in Connecticut.

What degree do you need to become a Computer Network Architect?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 1,100 degrees in Connecticut in 2024-25, 55.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Network Architect?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Engineering, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,968 people a year in Connecticut.

How much do computer network architects earn in Connecticut?+

The median is $143,890 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.3% above the U.S. median of $134,050. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for computer network architects growing?+

BLS projects a +11.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 11,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Connecticut?+

19 institutions in Connecticut reported graduates from at least one of the 9 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do computer network architects work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Network Analyst, Systems Engineer, Solutions Architect, Communications Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1241.

Computer Network Architects in other statesTexasFloridaCaliforniaGeorgiaUtahVirginiaNorth CarolinaIllinois

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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