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Best universities in the US for computer science degrees 2024

Explore the best universities in the US for computer science degrees using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024

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November 21 2023
best universities in the US for computer science degrees

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Top universities in the US for computer science degrees 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for computer science in the US

US computer science rank 2024  Computer science rank 2024  University State
1  2  Stanford University California
2  3  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
3  4  Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania
4  6  Harvard University Massachusetts
5  9  Princeton University New Jersey
6  10  University of California, Berkeley California
7  13  California Institute of Technology California
8  14  Cornell University New York
9  18  University of Washington Washington
10  19  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois

Not only are the world’s biggest tech companies­ such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple headquartered in the US, it’s also home to some of the best universities in the world for computer science degrees.

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Many computing courses in the US focus on developing the practical skills and real-world experience that students need to enter the technology industry.

There are 124 US universities in the THE Computer Science Rankings 2024. These are spread across the country from California to New York and include a number of specialist technology colleges.

Below are the best universities in US for computer science degrees.

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5. Princeton University

Princeton is one of the oldest universities in the US having been established in 1746. 

Teaching within the university's computer science department covers a wide-range of topics including programming languages, machine learning, robotics, computational biology and human-computer interaction among many others. 

At the undergraduate level, students have the freedom to design their own courses based on their interests. All undergraduate students are also expected to carry out at least one research project while supervised by a member of faculty. 

The department also offers postgraduate and PhD programmes. 

4. Harvard University

Dating back to 1636, Harvard University is the oldest university in the US. It’s a member of the Ivy League and regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.

Courses at Harvard are designed to be flexible. Computer science students can combine their studies with other fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, psychology, and linguistics. The introduction to computer science class at Harvard is among the university’s most popular courses.

The computer science concentration covers topics ranging from cryptography to sensor motes. Students also have the opportunity to meet influential thought leaders in the field and use the latest tools and technologies, such as grid computing.

A range of clubs and societies fall under the computer science and technology umbrella, including the Harvard Undergraduate Robotics Club and Harvard Video Game Development Club.

Harvard alumni include Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; and Mark Zuckerberg, who famously invented Facebook while still a student at the university.

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university established in 1900 by Scottish industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

Carnegie Mellon’s school of computer science offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in areas including neural computation, computational biology, language technologies and machine learning. 

Undergraduates can undertake research projects in areas such as robotics and human-computer interaction. In the spring, students get to present the results of their work at the university-wide “Meeting of the Minds” celebration of undergraduate research.

There are also a wide range of master’s programmes, many of them being some of the first in the world to be offered. These include the master’s in automated science and master’s in computer vision.

The university conducts research in areas including brain science and driverless cars. It was also the first institution, via professor Scott Fahlman in 1982, to create a “smile” in an email.

What can you do with a computer science degree?

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is an independent, co-educational, private research university based in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Undergraduates are enrolled on a flexible curriculum, allowing them to focus on both theory and practical problems in computer science. Students can major in computer science or take computer science with another subject for a joint degree. 

The undergraduate computer science programme includes compulsory units in programming, software construction and AI, as well as electives in areas such as database systems, language engineering and micro-computing.

There is no master’s degree in computer science at the university, but there is a doctoral programme.

Technological advances accredited to MIT include radar and the invention of magnetic core memory, which enabled the development of digital computers.

MIT computer science graduates have gone on to found some of the most influential tech companies. These include Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet; and Drew Houston, co-founder of Dropbox.

1. Stanford University

Stanford University’s computer science department was established in 1965 and offers a range of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

Stanford’s undergraduate computer science programme covers areas such as programming, AI, biocomputation, computer engineering and graphics. All students take the same six courses in the first year. In the latter half of their degree they can choose one area to focus on.

Postgraduates are able to “shop around” for a two-week period and try as many different classes as they like, then decide which courses they want to continue with. Computer science students can take courses in areas including software theory, theoretical computer science and computer and network security.

Given the institution’s focus on innovation, it is no surprise that Stanford graduates are famous for their entrepreneurship. Alumni include the founders of Google, Netflix, WhatsApp, Instagram and Palantir Technologies. In fact, companies founded by Stanford affiliates generate more than $2.7 trillion annual revenue, which would equate to the 10th largest economy in the world.

Top universities in the US for computer science degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its World University Ranking 2024 profile

US computer science rank 2024  Computer science rank 2024  University State
1  2  Stanford University California
2  3  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
3  4  Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania
4  6  Harvard University Massachusetts
5  9  Princeton University New Jersey
6  10  University of California, Berkeley California
7  13  California Institute of Technology California
8  14  Cornell University New York
9  18  University of Washington Washington
10  19  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois
11  21  University of California, Los Angeles California
12  22  Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia
13  23  Yale University Connecticut
14  24  Columbia University New York
15  27  Johns Hopkins University Maryland
16  29  New York University New York
17  32  University of Texas at Austin Texas
18  34  University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
19  36  University of California, San Diego California
20  37  The University of Chicago Illinois
21  41  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan
22  47  University of Maryland, College Park Maryland
23  54  Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
24  57  University of Massachusetts Massachusetts
25  =59  Duke University North Carolina
26  63  University of Southern California California
27  65  University of California, Santa Barbara California
28  68  University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin
29  =70  University of California, Irvine California
30  74  Brown University Rhode Island
31  88  Michigan State University Michigan
32  90  Northwestern University Illinois
33  91  Boston University Massachusetts
34  92  Northeastern University, US Illinois
35  =93  Rice University Texas
36  =97  Penn State (Main campus) Pennsylvania
37  =99  University of California, Davis California
=38  101–125  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina
=38  101–125  Texas A&M University Texas
=38  101–125  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia
=41  126–150  University of California, Riverside California
=41  126–150  University of Colorado Boulder Colorado
=41  126–150  University of Illinois Chicago Illinois
=41  126–150  Stony Brook University New York
=45  151–175  Arizona State University (Tempe) Arizona
=45  151–175  North Carolina State University North Carolina
=45  151–175  University of Notre Dame Indiana
=45  151–175  Ohio State University (Main campus) Ohio
=45  151–175  Rutgers University – New Brunswick New Jersey
=45  151–175  University of Virginia (Main campus) Virginia
=51  176–200  University at Buffalo New York
=51  176–200  University of California, Santa Cruz California
=51  176–200  Dartmouth College New Hampshire
=51  176–200  University of Florida Florida
=51  176–200  University of Minnesota Minnesota
=51  176–200  University of Rochester Rochester
=57  201–250  Case Western Reserve University Ohio
=57  201–250  University of Central Florida Florida
=57  201–250  Iowa State University Iowa
=57  201–250  New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey
=57  201–250  University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus Pennsylvania
=57  201–250  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York
=57  201–250  Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey
=57  201–250  SUNY Binghamton University New York
=57  201–250  Vanderbilt University Tennessee
=57  201–250  Washington University in St Louis Missouri
=67  251–300  University of Delaware Delaware
=67  251–300  Indiana University Indiana
=67  251–300  University of Iowa Iowa
=67  251–300  Louisiana State University Louisiana
=67  251–300  Temple University Pennsylvania
=67  251–300  William & Mary Indiana
=73  301–400  Florida Atlantic University Florida
=73  301–400  Florida International University Florida
=73  301–400  George Mason University Virginia
=73  301–400  George Washington University Washington DC
=73  301–400  University of Georgia Georgia
=73  301–400  Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois
=73  301–400  University of Kentucky Kentucky
=73  301–400  Lehigh University Pennsylvania
=73  301–400  University of Maryland, Baltimore County Maryland
=73  301–400  Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri
=73  301–400  Old Dominion University Virginia
=73  301–400  University of Oregon Oregon
=73  301–400  Syracuse University New York
=73  301–400  University of Texas at Arlington Texas
=73  301–400  University of Texas at Dallas Texas
=73  301–400  The University of Texas at San Antonio Texas
=73  301–400  University of Utah Utah
=73  301–400  Washington State University Washington
=73  301–400  Wayne State University Michigan
=73  301–400  Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts
=93  401–500  University of Arizona Arizona
=93  401–500  University of Connecticut Connecticut
=93  401–500  Florida State University Florida
=93  401–500  Georgetown University Washington DC
=93  401–500  University of Houston Texas
=93  401–500  University of Miami Florida
=93  401–500  Mississippi State University Mississippi
=93  401–500  University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina
=93  401–500  Oklahoma State University Oklahoma
=93  401–500  University of Rhode Island Rhode Island
=93  401–500  University of South Florida Florida
=93  401–500  Texas Tech University Texas
=93  401–500  Tufts University Massachusetts
=93  401–500  Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia
=107  501–600  University of Arkansas Arkansas
=107  501–600  Drexel University Pennsylvania
=107  501–600  Georgia State University Georgia
=107  501–600  University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Hawai'i
=107  501–600  University of Kansas Kansas
=107  501–600  Kansas State University Kansas
=107  501–600  University of Memphis Tennessee
=107  501–600  University of Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada
=107  501–600  Oakland University Michigan
=107  501–600  Rochester Institute of Technology New York
=117  601–800  University of Alabama Alabama
=117  601–800  Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado
=117  601–800  Georgia Southern University Georgia
=117  601–800  New Mexico State University (Main campus) New Mexico
=117  601–800  San Diego State University California
=117  601–800  University of Texas at El Paso Texas
=123  801–1000  Portland State University Oregon
=123  801–1000  Texas State University Texas

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