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Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools

215 Colleges
$99,796 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Computer Science Master's Degree School for You

Computer Science is the #12 most popular major in the country with 59,565 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 215 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Computer Science Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Computer Science

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#2

Brown University

Providence, RI

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Brown University is a great place for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at Brown University

The excellent master’s degree programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best computer science schools in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#4

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Out of the 215 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.

Read full report on Computer Science at Cornell University

#5

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for computer science students working on their master’s degree. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

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#6

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree computer science programs. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

Read full report on Computer Science at Duke University

#7

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

With a ranking of #7, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#8

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

Full Computer Science at Harvard University Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #9 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Full Computer Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#10

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Hanover.

Full Computer Science at Dartmouth College Report

University of California - Berkeley landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree computer science programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

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#12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #12, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

Full Computer Science at Vanderbilt University Report

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #13 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. UW Tacoma is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Tacoma.

Full Computer Science at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Report

Saint Martin’s University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Lacey, Saint Martin's is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #15 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

#16

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree computer science programs. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.

Read full report on Computer Science at Villanova University

Southern Methodist University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. SMU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Dallas.

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#18

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

With a ranking of #18, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for computer science students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Computer Science at Georgetown University Report

University of California - San Diego landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree computer science programs. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Computer Science at University of California - San Diego Report

#20

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Full Computer Science at Northwestern University Report

University of Maryland - College Park ranked #21 on this year’s Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a very large student population.

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Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#23

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Tufts University landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree computer science programs. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#24

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Computer Science Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Computer Science at University of Chicago

Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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Rest of the Top Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools

#26

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA
#27

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#31

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#32

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
33 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
34 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
35 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
36 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
37 Emory University Atlanta, GA
38 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO
39 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
40 Boston University Boston, MA
41 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
42 Seattle University Seattle, WA
43 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ

Computer Science by Region

View the Best Computer Science Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 10 majors within the area of study, computer science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Information Technology 40,555
Information Science 18,325
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Negative Space.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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