Best Computer programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors.
41 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 7,570 people a year. The job pays a median of $127,820 in Missouri across about 230 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
11 programs in Missouri that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer Sciencemain feeder CIP 11.0701In Missouri → | 3,311 | 43.7% | 19 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | Computer and Information Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 11.0101In Missouri → | 2,370 | 31.3% | 27 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | Information Technologymain feeder CIP 11.0103In Missouri → | 928 | 12.3% | 12 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 4 | CIP 30.7001In Missouri → | 232 | 3.1% | 8 | — | — |
| 5 | Information Science/Studiesmain feeder CIP 11.0401In Missouri → | 181 | 2.4% | 4 | $57,313 | $25,833 |
| 6 | Informaticsmain feeder CIP 11.0104In Missouri → | 129 | 1.7% | 1 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 7 | CIP 51.2706In Missouri → | 121 | 1.6% | 3 | $47,775 | $25,000 |
| 8 | Computer and Information Sciences, Othermain feeder CIP 11.0199In Missouri → | 116 | 1.5% | 4 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 9 | Artificial Intelligencemain feeder CIP 11.0102In Missouri → | 93 | 1.2% | 4 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 10 | CIP 26.1103In Missouri → | 60 | 0.8% | 3 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 11 | CIP 30.3101In Missouri → | 29 | 0.4% | 1 | $57,986 | $25,812 |
Top 25 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 41 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 1,761 | Computer Science | $67,040 | 54% | — | 64% |
| 2 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 1,530 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $64,436 | 80% | $24,886 | 75% |
| 3 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 5 feeder programs | 691 | Information Technology | $72,886 | 75% | — | 78% |
| 4 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 3 feeder programs | 583 | Computer Science | — | 54% | — | 86% |
| 5 | University of Missouri - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 526 | Computer Science | $69,239 | 55% | — | 72% |
| 6 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 394 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $76,869 | 64% | — | 73% |
| 7 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 380 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $58,964 | 58% | — | 74% |
| 8 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 335 | Computer Science | $110,302 | 94% | $14,126 | 12% |
| 9 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 290 | Computer Science | $64,949 | 58% | — | 91% |
| 10 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 252 | Data Science, General | — | 66% | $24,921 | 95% |
| 11 | University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 3 feeder programs | 197 | Information Technology | — | 57% | — | 63% |
| 12 | Park University Parkville, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 195 | Information Technology | $59,664 | 38% | $16,013 | — |
| 13 | Columbia College Columbia, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 67 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $67,917 | 42% | $23,247 | — |
| 14 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 42 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $60,752 | 49% | $17,436 | 57% |
| 15 | Truman State University Kirksville, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 42 | Data Science, General | — | 69% | — | 84% |
| 16 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Computer Science | $70,400 | 64% | $25,090 | 86% |
| 17 | Crowder College Neosho, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Information Technology | — | 49% | — | — |
| 18 | Central Methodist University - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fayette, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Computer Science | $49,629 | 51% | $25,582 | 57% |
| 19 | Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 20 | Logan University Chesterfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Medical Informatics | — | 22% | $17,906 | 64% |
| 21 | Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 21% | — | — |
| 22 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 42% | — | 97% |
| 23 | Avila University Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 52% | $16,721 | 88% |
| 24 | Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies Fayette, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Computer Science | $49,629 | 0% | $14,535 | 88% |
| 25 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Computer Science | — | 64% | $8,360 | 12% |
All 41 schools in Missouri
Every school in Missouri 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg | Public | 1,761 | 4 |
| Saint Louis University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 1,530 | 7 |
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 691 | 5 |
| Northwest Missouri State University | Maryville | Public | 583 | 3 |
| University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City | Public | 526 | 4 |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla | Public | 394 | 4 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau | Public | 380 | 1 |
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis | Private not-for-profit | 335 | 4 |
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 290 | 4 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 252 | 3 |
| University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis | Public | 197 | 3 |
| Park University | Parkville | Private not-for-profit | 195 | 2 |
| Columbia College | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 67 | 3 |
| Lindenwood University | Saint Charles | Private not-for-profit | 42 | 2 |
| Truman State University | Kirksville | Public | 42 | 2 |
What computer and information research scientists earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $140,300. Missouri pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Missouri
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Missouri
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 Missouri.
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 3,311 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 43.7% 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 11 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Science/Studies, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 7,570 people a year in Missouri.
How much do computer and information research scientists earn in Missouri?+
The median is $127,820 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.9% 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 Missouri?+
41 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 11 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.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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