Oklahoma·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1221

Best Computer programs in Oklahoma, ranked by enrollment

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

31 schools in Oklahoma run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,622 people a year. The job pays a median of $93,100 in Oklahoma across about 590 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledComputer ScientistResearch ScientistComputer SpecialistControl System Computer ScientistScientistCryptologistApplied ScientistResearch Engineer
Graduates / yr
1,622
in Oklahoma
Median pay · Oklahoma
$93,100
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
590
people employed
Schools
31
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
43%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,214
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oklahoma that lead to this job

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

7 programs in Oklahoma that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oklahoma (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 Oklahoma page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0101In Oklahoma
651
40.1%
21$57,986$24,286
2
Computer Sciencemain feeder
CIP 11.0701In Oklahoma
478
29.5%
12$70,374$23,250
3
CIP 11.0103In Oklahoma
431
26.6%
11$57,986$24,286
4
CIP 11.0401In Oklahoma
47
2.9%
2$57,313$25,833
5
CIP 11.0804In Oklahoma
10
0.6%
1$33,504$27,000
6
CIP 11.0102In Oklahoma
3
0.2%
1$57,986$24,286
7
CIP 30.7001In Oklahoma
2
0.1%
1

Top 25 schools in Oklahoma

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 31 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Stillwater, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
311Information Technology$61,51468%75%
2University of Oklahoma - Norman Campus
Norman, OK Public · 3 feeder programs
263Computer Science$78,61075%77%
3University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK Public · 4 feeder programs
157Computer Science37%78%
4Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Okmulgee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
128Information Technology$58,84442%
5Tulsa Community College
Tulsa, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
119Computer and Information Sciences, General28%
6Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, OK Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
98Computer and Information Sciences, General65%$22,58977%
7Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
89Computer and Information Sciences, General$49,19827%
8Cameron University
Lawton, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
72Information Technology$48,19031%
9University of Tulsa
Tulsa, OK Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
65Computer Science$73,78772%$23,47062%
10Oklahoma Christian University
Edmond, OK Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
41Computer Science$61,27256%$21,96497%
11Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Weatherford, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
40Computer and Information Sciences, General$55,56040%
12East Central University
Ada, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
39Computer and Information Sciences, General$45,77934%58%
13Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
31Computer Science35%100%
14Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, OK Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
24Computer Science57%$23,54399%
15Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Durant, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
22Information Science/Studies32%76%
16Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Alva, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
20Computer and Information Sciences, General30%65%
17Eastern Oklahoma State College
Wilburton, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General27%
18Northern Oklahoma College
Tonkawa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General48%
19Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General15%
20Tulsa Technology Center
Tulsa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
11Information Technology81%
21Southern Nazarene University
Bethany, OK Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Computer and Information Sciences, General51%$19,619
22Great Plains Technology Center
Lawton, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
7Information Technology95%
23Murray State College
Tishomingo, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
7Computer Science27%
24Langston University
Langston, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer Science17%
25Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
Miami, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer and Information Sciences, General26%

All 31 schools in Oklahoma

Every school in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Oklahoma State University - Main CampusStillwaterPublic3112
University of Oklahoma - Norman CampusNormanPublic2633
University of Central OklahomaEdmondPublic1574
Oklahoma State University Institute of TechnologyOkmulgeePublic1281
Tulsa Community CollegeTulsaPublic1192
Oklahoma City UniversityOklahoma CityPrivate not-for-profit981
Oklahoma City Community CollegeOklahoma CityPublic891
Cameron UniversityLawtonPublic722
University of TulsaTulsaPrivate not-for-profit652
Oklahoma Christian UniversityEdmondPrivate not-for-profit413
Southwestern Oklahoma State UniversityWeatherfordPublic402
East Central UniversityAdaPublic392
Northeastern State UniversityTahlequahPublic311
Oral Roberts UniversityTulsaPrivate not-for-profit242
Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversityDurantPublic222

What computer and information research scientists earn in Oklahoma

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

Median annual in Oklahoma
$93,100
Mean annual
$99,480
Jobs in state
590
What the range looks like
10th pct$71,930Median$93,10090th pct$136,340
Versus the national median
-33.6%

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

Job concentration
1.44×

Concentrated here: Oklahoma employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, OK
$93,100median
560 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 Oklahoma

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 Oklahoma.

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 and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 651 degrees in Oklahoma in 2024-25, 40.1% 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 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Science, Information Science/Studies, Computer Software and Media Applications, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,622 people a year in Oklahoma.

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

The median is $93,100 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 33.6% 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 Oklahoma?+

31 institutions in Oklahoma reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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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