Best Computer programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors.
114 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 20,099 people a year. The job pays a median of $121,210 in Texas across about 1,960 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
13 programs in Texas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer and Information Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 11.0101In Texas → | 10,544 | 52.5% | 73 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 2 | Information Science/Studiesmain feeder CIP 11.0401In Texas → | 3,093 | 15.4% | 29 | $57,313 | $25,833 |
| 3 | Computer Sciencemain feeder CIP 11.0701In Texas → | 2,976 | 14.8% | 46 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 4 | Information Technologymain feeder CIP 11.0103In Texas → | 1,581 | 7.9% | 26 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 5 | CIP 30.7001In Texas → | 1,139 | 5.7% | 15 | — | — |
| 6 | Artificial Intelligencemain feeder CIP 11.0102In Texas → | 236 | 1.2% | 8 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 7 | CIP 51.2706In Texas → | 196 | 1.0% | 7 | $47,775 | $25,000 |
| 8 | CIP 11.0902In Texas → | 154 | 0.8% | 8 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 9 | Informaticsmain feeder CIP 11.0104In Texas → | 107 | 0.5% | 3 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 10 | CIP 26.1103In Texas → | 49 | 0.2% | 6 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Sciences, Othermain feeder CIP 11.0199In Texas → | 10 | 0.0% | 2 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 12 | CIP 11.0804In Texas → | 10 | 0.0% | 1 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 13 | CIP 30.3101In Texas → | 4 | 0.0% | 2 | $57,986 | $25,812 |
Top 25 schools in Texas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 42 of the 114 schools in this state.
All 114 schools in Texas
Every school in Texas 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 North Texas | Denton | Public | 2,967 | 6 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson | Public | 2,680 | 5 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Public | 1,963 | 6 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington | Public | 1,406 | 5 |
| Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station | Public | 932 | 5 |
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock | Public | 763 | 3 |
| Lamar University | Beaumont | Public | 668 | 3 |
| University of Houston | Houston | Public | 642 | 2 |
| Lone Star College System | The Woodlands | Public | 570 | 4 |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio | Public | 529 | 4 |
| Texas State University | San Marcos | Public | 476 | 3 |
| South Texas College | McAllen | Public | 446 | 2 |
| Rice University | Houston | Private not-for-profit | 427 | 3 |
| Houston City College | Houston | Public | 303 | 3 |
| Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi | Public | 272 | 3 |
What computer and information research scientists earn in Texas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $140,300. Texas pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Texas
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 Texas
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 Texas.
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 10,544 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 52.5% 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 13 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Information Science/Studies, Computer Science, Data Science, plus 5 more. Together they graduate about 20,099 people a year in Texas.
How much do computer and information research scientists earn in Texas?+
The median is $121,210 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 13.6% 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 Texas?+
114 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 13 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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