Louisiana·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1221

Best Computer programs in Louisiana, ranked by enrollment

Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors.

33 schools in Louisiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,685 people a year. The job pays a median of $115,210 in Louisiana across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledComputer ScientistResearch ScientistComputer SpecialistControl System Computer ScientistScientistCryptologistApplied ScientistResearch Engineer
Graduates / yr
1,685
in Louisiana
Median pay · Louisiana
$115,210
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
140
people employed
Schools
33
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
44%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,906
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Louisiana that lead to this job

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

9 programs in Louisiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Louisiana (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 Louisiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
Computer Sciencemain feeder
CIP 11.0701In Louisiana
890
52.8%
17$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.0103In Louisiana
286
17.0%
6$57,986$24,286
3
CIP 11.0101In Louisiana
163
9.7%
7$57,986$24,286
4
CIP 11.0902In Louisiana
133
7.9%
9$43,901$22,822
5
CIP 11.0401In Louisiana
126
7.5%
8$57,313$25,833
6
Informaticsmain feeder
CIP 11.0104In Louisiana
63
3.7%
1$57,986$24,286
7
CIP 11.0804In Louisiana
17
1.0%
2$33,504$27,000
8
CIP 51.2706In Louisiana
4
0.2%
2$47,775$25,000
9
CIP 26.1103In Louisiana
3
0.2%
1$72,338$18,500

Top 25 schools in Louisiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 33 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 4 feeder programs
299Computer Science$58,69769%73%
2University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
171Computer Science$62,45253%87%
3SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
128Information Technology$30,36043%
4Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
126Computer Science$68,02364%86%
5Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
112Computer Science$45,90727%35%
6Northshore Technical Community College
Lacombe, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
104Cloud Computing$28,51840%
7Delgado Community College
New Orleans, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
88Cloud Computing24%
8University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
73Computer Science$69,20438%74%
9Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
62Computer and Information Sciences, General86%$33,10614%
10Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
59Information Technology$55,78645%99%
11Unitech Training Academy - Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
58Computer and Information Sciences, General55%$25,472
12Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
46Computer Science$60,25938%51%
13Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
42Computer Science34%92%
14Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
32Information Science/Studies43%93%
15Grambling State University
Grambling, LA Public · 3 feeder programs
31Information Science/Studies36%45%
16ITI Technical College
Baton Rouge, LA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
28Information Science/Studies$39,04659%$20,818
17River Parishes Community College
Gonzales, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
28Computer and Information Sciences, General30%
18University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
24Computer Science$60,71454%85%
19McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
23Computer Science47%78%
20Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
20Computer Science49%$19,76069%
21Bossier Parish Community College
Bossier City, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
19Information Science/Studies15%
22Southern University at New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
19Information Science/Studies13%79%
23Baton Rouge Community College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
18Computer Science31%
24South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
18Cloud Computing$35,32830%
25Dillard University
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Sciences, General43%$18,82642%

All 33 schools in Louisiana

Every school in Louisiana 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 Louisiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeBaton RougePublic2994
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayettePublic1712
SOWELA Technical Community CollegeLake CharlesPublic1281
Louisiana Tech UniversityRustonPublic1262
Southern University and A & M CollegeBaton RougePublic1121
Northshore Technical Community CollegeLacombePublic1042
Delgado Community CollegeNew OrleansPublic882
University of New OrleansNew OrleansPublic731
Tulane University of LouisianaNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit624
Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammondPublic592
Unitech Training Academy - LafayetteLafayettePrivate for-profit581
Louisiana State University - ShreveportShreveportPublic462
Louisiana State University at AlexandriaAlexandriaPublic421
Northwestern State University of LouisianaNatchitochesPublic321
Grambling State UniversityGramblingPublic313

What computer and information research scientists earn in Louisiana

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

Median annual in Louisiana
$115,210
Mean annual
$117,930
Jobs in state
140
What the range looks like
10th pct$80,250Median$115,21090th pct$161,120
Versus the national median
-17.9%

U.S. median $140,300. Louisiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.30×

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

Metro areas in Louisiana

New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$108,990median
80 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+19.7%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
3,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
7,900
40,300 → 48,300
Typical entry education
Master'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 and Information Research Scientists page.

How to become a Computer

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Master's degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingActive LearningWriting

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Louisiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 15 majors mapped to Computer and Information Research Scientists14 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0104Informatics
  • 11.0199Computer and Information Sciences, Other
  • 11.0401Information Science/Studies
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
  • 11.0902Cloud Computing
  • 26.1103Bioinformatics
  • 30.3101Human Computer Interaction
  • 30.7001Data Science, General
  • 30.7099Data Science, Other
  • 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
  • 51.2706Medical Informatics

Common questions

Answers for people weighing computer and information research scientists programs in Louisiana.

What degree do you need to become a Computer?+

Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 890 degrees in Louisiana in 2024-25, 52.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Information Science/Studies, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 1,685 people a year in Louisiana.

How much do computer and information research scientists earn in Louisiana?+

The median is $115,210 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.9% below the U.S. median of $140,300. 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 and information research scientists growing?+

BLS projects a +19.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

33 institutions in Louisiana 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 and information research scientists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Computer Scientist, Research Scientist, Computer Specialist, Control System Computer Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1221.

Computer and Information Research Scientists in other statesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkIllinoisFloridaNorth CarolinaMassachusettsPennsylvania

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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