Best institutions to study Computer and Information Sciences
Compare 1,432 U.S. colleges offering Computer and Information Sciences by graduate earnings, cost, and outcomes. Federal data across 56 states.
Computer and Information Sciences programs report a median of $58,844 one year after graduation (College Scorecard, 2024), and map to CIP 11.01 and the Computer and Information Research Scientists occupation (BLS SOC).
About Computer and Information Sciences programs
The Computer and Information Sciences program focuses on the intersection of computing and informatics, treating computers as essential tools for problem-solving and innovation. This program is designed for students interested in understanding the theoretical and practical aspects of computer technology and its applications across various fields.
Students will develop critical skills in areas such as critical thinking, mathematics, and active listening. Coursework typically covers knowledge in computers and electronics, engineering, and technology, preparing graduates to design software and analyze complex problems.
Top 50 institutions, ranked by graduate earnings
Earnings = median 1 year after graduation (College Scorecard, predominant credential).
| # | Institution | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Completions | Grad rate | Net price | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $146,204 | 1,061 | 97% | $22,055 | $15,000 |
| 2 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $133,293 | 259 | 96% | $27,025 | $12,750 |
| 3 | Rice University Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $131,154 | 367 | 95% | $13,264 | $12,381 |
| 4 | Northeastern University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $115,587 | 2,151 | 91% | $18,925 | $23,001 |
| 5 | Northeastern University Professional Programs Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $115,587 | 171 | — | — | $23,001 |
| 6 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · Bachelor's degree | $113,634 | 1,420 | 93% | — | $20,000 |
| 7 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · Bachelor's degree | $113,503 | 278 | 85% | — | $19,399 |
| 8 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $111,587 | 1,460 | 89% | — | $20,500 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $109,514 | 601 | 94% | $11,888 | $12,750 |
| 10 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA Public · Bachelor's degree | $105,137 | 4,784 | 94% | — | $21,125 |
| 11 | Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $103,686 | 52 | 92% | $18,174 | — |
| 12 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $103,650 | 543 | 95% | $17,613 | $15,500 |
| 13 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $100,644 | 55 | 92% | $19,292 | $13,350 |
| 14 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $98,692 | 27 | 78% | $35,132 | — |
| 15 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · Bachelor's degree | $98,067 | 687 | 96% | — | $17,783 |
| 16 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $96,517 | 139 | 95% | $19,452 | $19,000 |
| 17 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · Bachelor's degree | $96,432 | 991 | 86% | — | $20,500 |
| 18 | Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY Public · Bachelor's degree | $90,673 | 1 | 76% | — | $16,868 |
| 19 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · Bachelor's degree | $90,651 | 1,025 | 91% | — | $16,000 |
| 20 | University of Florida - Online Gainesville, FL Public · Bachelor's degree | $90,651 | 129 | 85% | — | $16,000 |
| 21 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM Public · Bachelor's degree | $89,498 | 117 | 55% | — | $22,919 |
| 22 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $88,030 | 1,112 | 93% | — | $13,550 |
| 23 | New York University New York, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $87,608 | 1,469 | 88% | $29,023 | $19,734 |
| 24 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · Bachelor's degree | $86,192 | 547 | 81% | — | $24,022 |
| 25 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $85,172 | 67 | 84% | $28,900 | $27,000 |
| 26 | The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ Public · Bachelor's degree | $84,539 | 39 | 86% | — | $24,125 |
| 27 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $84,343 | 147 | 86% | — | $14,282 |
| 28 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · Bachelor's degree | $84,338 | 240 | 63% | — | $19,050 |
| 29 | Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $84,242 | 2,239 | 46% | $11,580 | $23,167 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · Bachelor's degree | $84,050 | 613 | 86% | — | $26,000 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania State University - World Campus University Park, PA Public · Bachelor's degree | $84,050 | 71 | 34% | — | $26,000 |
| 32 | The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Public · Bachelor's degree | $83,651 | 168 | 73% | — | $22,000 |
| 33 | Villanova University Villanova, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $83,455 | 22 | 92% | $33,774 | $26,225 |
| 34 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $83,356 | 19 | 88% | $26,912 | $24,019 |
| 35 | Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $83,041 | 5 | 63% | $27,082 | — |
| 36 | Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $83,026 | 16 | 70% | $28,035 | — |
| 37 | Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $82,521 | 644 | 69% | — | $23,197 |
| 38 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · Bachelor's degree | $82,448 | 167 | 88% | — | $23,000 |
| 39 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $82,378 | 546 | 84% | $28,851 | $27,000 |
| 40 | Macalester College Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $81,964 | 39 | 87% | $21,441 | $20,829 |
| 41 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · Bachelor's degree | $81,761 | 195 | 80% | — | $21,470 |
| 42 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $81,231 | 4 | 84% | — | $20,395 |
| 43 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $80,934 | 71 | 81% | $13,712 | $14,250 |
| 44 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · Bachelor's degree | $80,566 | 1,194 | 90% | — | $22,500 |
| 45 | Rutgers University - Camden Camden, NJ Public · Bachelor's degree | $80,448 | 53 | 67% | — | $21,500 |
| 46 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · Bachelor's degree | $80,448 | 1,050 | 84% | — | $21,500 |
| 47 | Rutgers University - Newark Newark, NJ Public · Bachelor's degree | $80,448 | 201 | 64% | — | $21,500 |
| 48 | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts North Adams, MA Public · Bachelor's degree | $80,332 | 12 | 56% | — | $22,500 |
| 49 | Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $80,037 | 33 | 91% | $29,107 | $17,037 |
| 50 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $79,763 | 87 | 79% | $36,488 | $26,000 |
Offered across 56 states & territories
The same program, compared state by state. Pick a state for in-state earnings and institutions.
Careers & outlook
The payoff after graduation: occupation 15-1221, Computer and Information Research Scientists, and its national outlook.
Graduates of the Computer and Information Sciences program can expect a favorable job outlook, with a projected growth rate of 19.7% and approximately 3,200 annual openings. The median wage for professionals in this field is $140,910, with a typical education requirement of a master's degree.
Top-paying metros
Related careers
CIP-to-SOC crosswalk for Computer and Information Sciences
The SOC occupations NCES officially maps to CIP 11.01.
Under the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, CIP 11.01 (Computer and Information Sciences, General) maps to 14 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations, the jobs the U.S. Department of Labor links to this field of study.
| SOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 11-3021 | Computer and Information Systems Managers |
| 15-1211 | Computer Systems Analysts |
| 15-1212 | Information Security Analysts |
| 15-1221 | Computer and Information Research Scientistsprimary |
| 15-1241 | Computer Network Architects |
| 15-1242 | Database Administrators |
| 15-1243 | Database Architects |
| 15-1244 | Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
| 15-1252 | Software Developers |
| 15-1253 | Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers |
| 15-1255 | Web and Digital Interface Designers |
| 15-1299 | Computer Occupations, All Other |
| 15-2051 | Data Scientists |
| 25-1021 | Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk.
Skills & knowledge in Computer and Information Sciences programs
From the U.S. Dept. of Labor for the occupation this program most leads to.
Skills you'll build
Knowledge areas
What graduates do on the job
- Analyze problems to develop solutions involving computer hardware and software.
- Apply theoretical expertise and innovation to create or apply new technology, such as adapting principles for applying computers to new uses.
- Assign or schedule tasks to meet work priorities and goals.
- Meet with managers, vendors, and others to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
- Design computers and the software that runs them.
- Conduct logical analyses of business, scientific, engineering, and other technical problems, formulating mathematical models of problems for solution by computers.
Concentrations within Computer and Information Sciences
Specializations under this field (NCES CIP 2020).
- Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCIP 11.0101
A general program that focuses on computing, computer science, and information science and systems
- Artificial IntelligenceCIP 11.0102
A program that focuses on the symbolic inference, representation, and simulation by computers and software of human learning and reasoning processes and capabilities, and the computer modeling of huma
- Information TechnologyCIP 11.0103
A program that focuses on the design of technological information systems, including computing systems, as solutions to business and research data and communications support needs
- InformaticsCIP 11.0104
A program that focuses on computer systems from a user-centered perspective and studies the structure, behavior and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process and communicate i
- Human-Centered Technology DesignCIP 11.0105
A program that focuses on incorporating a human perspective into designing, researching, and creating technological interfaces
- Computer and Information Sciences, OtherCIP 11.0199
Any instructional program in computer science not listed above.
Common questions
What specializations are available in this program?+
Specializations include Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, Informatics, Human-Centered Technology Design, and more.
What skills will I develop in this program?+
You will develop skills in critical thinking, mathematics, active listening, and problem-solving.
What is the job outlook for graduates?+
The job outlook is much faster than average, with a growth rate of 19.7%.
What is the typical education required for careers in this field?+
Most positions require a master's degree.
How much do Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn?+
Computer and Information Sciences graduates report median earnings of $58,844 one year after graduation, per College Scorecard (2024); the Computer and Information Research Scientists occupation pays about $153,930 on average nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025).
What is the CIP code for Computer and Information Sciences?+
Computer and Information Sciences maps to CIP 11.01 in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the U.S. Department of Education taxonomy used for College Scorecard Field of Study earnings and IPEDS completions.
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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