Oregon·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1221

Best Computer programs in Oregon, ranked by enrollment

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

26 schools in Oregon run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,262 people a year. The job pays a median of $206,220 in Oregon across about 730 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledComputer ScientistResearch ScientistComputer SpecialistControl System Computer ScientistScientistCryptologistApplied ScientistResearch Engineer
Graduates / yr
2,262
in Oregon
Median pay · Oregon
$206,220
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
730
people employed
Schools
26
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$27,621
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oregon that lead to this job

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

9 programs in Oregon that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oregon (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 Oregon 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 Oregon
1,652
73.0%
12$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.0101In Oregon
393
17.4%
14$57,986$24,286
3
CIP 30.7001In Oregon
127
5.6%
4
4
CIP 51.2706In Oregon
31
1.4%
1$47,775$25,000
5
CIP 11.0401In Oregon
25
1.1%
2$57,313$25,833
6
CIP 11.0103In Oregon
15
0.7%
3$57,986$24,286
7
CIP 11.0102In Oregon
13
0.6%
1$57,986$24,286
8
CIP 26.1103In Oregon
5
0.2%
1$72,338$18,500
9
CIP 11.0199In Oregon
1
0.0%
1$57,986$24,286

Top 25 schools in Oregon

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 26 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
1,309Computer Science$85,37670%77%
2Portland State University
Portland, OR Public · 4 feeder programs
353Computer Science$78,66953%91%
3University of Oregon
Eugene, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
166Computer and Information Sciences, General$70,05572%88%
4Willamette University
Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
55Data Science, General71%$20,34577%
5Western Oregon University
Monmouth, OR Public · 3 feeder programs
45Computer and Information Sciences, General$51,70347%98%
6Chemeketa Community College
Salem, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
41Computer and Information Sciences, General21%
7Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
36Medical Informatics
8University of Portland
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
31Computer Science$85,63780%$33,82289%
9Central Oregon Community College
Bend, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
28Computer and Information Sciences, General25%
10Eastern Oregon University
La Grande, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
28Computer and Information Sciences, General43%98%
11Mt Hood Community College
Gresham, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
20Computer and Information Sciences, General24%
12Lewis & Clark College
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
19Computer Science$66,65375%$27,62178%
13Blue Mountain Community College
Pendleton, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
16Computer and Information Sciences, General30%
14Clackamas Community College
Oregon City, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
14Computer Science23%
15George Fox University
Newberg, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Sciences, General$55,34072%$26,56494%
16Southern Oregon University
Ashland, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Sciences, General$51,16743%89%
17Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
13Information Technology$58,25354%95%
18Lane Community College
Eugene, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer Science20%
19Reed College
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Computer and Information Sciences, General71%$28,27225%
20Linn - Benton Community College
Albany, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
8Computer and Information Sciences, General29%
21Pacific University
Forest Grove, OR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
8Computer Science67%$30,57190%
22Corban University
Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Computer Science61%$23,09694%
23Rogue Community College
Grants Pass, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
5Computer Science9%
24Treasure Valley Community College
Ontario, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
4Computer and Information Sciences, General37%
25Linfield University
McMinnville, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Computer Science70%$26,24385%

All 26 schools in Oregon

Every school in Oregon 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 Oregon that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Oregon State UniversityCorvallisPublic1,3092
Portland State UniversityPortlandPublic3534
University of OregonEugenePublic1662
Willamette UniversitySalemPrivate not-for-profit552
Western Oregon UniversityMonmouthPublic453
Chemeketa Community CollegeSalemPublic411
Oregon Health & Science UniversityPortlandPublic362
University of PortlandPortlandPrivate not-for-profit311
Central Oregon Community CollegeBendPublic281
Eastern Oregon UniversityLa GrandePublic281
Mt Hood Community CollegeGreshamPublic201
Lewis & Clark CollegePortlandPrivate not-for-profit191
Blue Mountain Community CollegePendletonPublic162
Clackamas Community CollegeOregon CityPublic141
George Fox UniversityNewbergPrivate not-for-profit141

What computer and information research scientists earn in Oregon

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

Median annual in Oregon
$206,220
Mean annual
$215,420
Jobs in state
730
What the range looks like
10th pct$117,570Median$206,22090th pct$351,690
Versus the national median
+47.0%

U.S. median $140,300. Oregon pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.54×

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

Metro areas in Oregon

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
$206,220median
660 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 Oregon

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 Oregon.

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 1,652 degrees in Oregon in 2024-25, 73.0% 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, Data Science, Medical Illustration and Informatics, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 2,262 people a year in Oregon.

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

The median is $206,220 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 47.0% above 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 Oregon?+

26 institutions in Oregon 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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