Top 20 Computer Science Universities in USA

Why Study Computer Science in the USA?

Computer Science has transformed and affected almost every field imaginable. Studying computer science in the US allows you to gain valuable educational experiences. It also gives you the opportunity to study in one of the most powerful economies in the world. To solve your dilemma of applying to the right university, we have successfully sorted out the best computer science universities in USA based on their course and university rankings.

Best Computer Science Universities in USA

Computer Science Universities in USA	Average Tuition	Financial Support	Average Boarding
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$55,450	$23,442	$17,320
Stanford University	$64,450	$50,134	$17,255
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)	$57,560	$38,163	$3,170
The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	$43,938	$18,319	$14,274
Harvard University	$49,653	$49,870	$18,389
Princeton University	$53,890	$48,088	$17,820
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	$29,754	$20,011	$16,104
University of Washington	$38,091	$12,946	$15,942
Columbia University	$61,850	$49,185	$13,644
Cornell University	$58,586	$36,164	$15,796
New York University	$54,882	$31,542	$19,244
Georgia Institute of Technology	$31,370	Not mentioned	$14,830
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	$54,570	$41,408	$17,337
University of Texas at Austin	$39,399	$10,644	$11,812
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	$33,497	13,595	$12,252
University of Pennsylvania	$51,156	44,801	$10,600
University of Southern California	$59,260	$36,686	$15,437
Yale University	$45,887	$52,743	$14,600
The University of Chicago	$57,642	$37,883	$17,004
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	$51,200	$18,751	$11,996

1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) is the largest at MIT!

Renowned for its world-class faculty who provide outstanding education and conduct innovative research, MIT prepares its students for the high-technology industry.

Students are offered courses in Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Computer Science & Molecular Biology, and Computer Science Economics & Data Science.

• Average Tuition: $55,450
• Financial Support: $23,442
• Average Boarding: $17,320

The EECS members find themselves working in the AI Lab, the Lab of Information & Decision Systems, the Microsystems Tech Lab, or the Lab of Electronics.

From robots that perform with professional dance troupes to medical devices that harvest energy from a body, MIT’s work improves the quality of life for people throughout the world!

2) Stanford University

The School of Engineering at Stanford offers a degree in Computer Science at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

It offers specializations in AI, biocomputation, software theory, information management, network security, and human-computer interaction.

Stanford is the epicenter for research in the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics, foundations of computer science, scientific computing, and systems.

• Average Tuition: $64,450
• Financial Support: $50,134
• Average Boarding: $17,255

The college places a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research, allowing its Computer Science students to simultaneously work in the fields of chemistry, genetics, linguistics, medicine, and various areas of engineering, construction, and manufacturing.

As they graduate, students are prepared for a demanding career in the research & tech industry.

3) Carnegie Mellon University(CMU)

Recognized around the world as a leader in computer science and robotics education, CMU also ranks highly in the areas of programming languages, artificial intelligence, and systems & theory.

The School of Computer Science (SCS) at CMU offers undergraduate degrees in Computer Science with majors in human-computer interaction, robotics, machine learning, arts, biology, and even a bachelor of science in artificial intelligence.

• Average Tuition: $57,560
• Financial Support: $38,163
• Average Boarding: $3,170

In addition to these majors, graduate degrees include specializations in data science, product management, information technology, privacy engineering, and computer vision.

CMU works closely with nonprofit organizations and industry clients to develop technologies that go beyond the field of computer science.

4) The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

The top-ranked programs at UCB’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences attract stellar students from around the world.

While the degree in Computer Science offers flexibility to explore fields such as economics and music, the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science program is for students who are more interested in engineering.

The college conducts research in AI, computer architecture, robotics, energy, graphics, and 15 other fields!

• Average Tuition: $43,938
• Financial Support: 18,319
• Average Boarding: $14,274

One of the most distinguished institutions for higher education, UCB has a world-renowned faculty, a strong commitment to excellence in education, and a beautiful campus.

The university is a short distance from Silicon Valley, where a number of high-tech companies stand to offer research and job opportunities to its students.

5) Harvard University

• Average Tuition: $49,653
• Financial Support: $49,870
• Average Boarding: $18,389

The SEAS approach to education is interdisciplinary and collaborative. Having tie-ups with colleges in academia, industry, public organizations, and the government, helps Harvard make ground-breaking discoveries and develop technologies, products, and ideas that improve lives the world over.

Also Read: 5 Best computer science schools abroad

6) Princeton University

Ever since Alan Turing made his break in cryptanalysis, Princeton has been at the forefront of computing science.

The Department of Computer Science at Princeton gives undergraduates the opportunity to design their own programs and choose from subjects like algorithms and theoretical computer science, computer system design, and applications.

Graduate students here can also specialize in AI, machine learning, neural networks, computer architecture & algorithm design.

• Average Tuition: $53,890
• Financial Support: $48,088
• Average Boarding: $17,820

The department conducts research in the areas of computational biology, economics, language processing, policy, and security.

Consequently, students have a wide range of opportunities after graduation. While some join companies in computing and information technology, others go to startups, and even form companies of their own!

7) University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

The Computer Science Department at UCLA makes valuable contributions to the design, development, and production of software systems and algorithmic methods.

The department offers a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science and Computer Science and Engineering. Students may specialize in AI, computer architecture, systems biology, databases, graphics and vision, and programming languages.

• Average Tuition: $29,754
• Financial Support: $20,011
• Average Boarding: $16,104

At the center of all that is interesting, the department is associated with more than 20 labs where research is conducted around big data, internet research, computational genetics, multimedia information, and statistics.

Students also learn to hold societal and ethical responsibility in all their endeavors.

8) University of Washington

The Paul G Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington offers programs in Computer Science and Computer Engineering to more than two thousand students every term.

The Allen School faculty are widely recognized, and help students conduct research in the areas of augmented reality, AI, game science, fabrication, privacy, networking, and several other disciplines.

• Average Tuition: $38,091
• Financial Support: $12,946
• Average Boarding: $15,942

The University of Washington is among the top colleges that lead students to high-tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

The institution maintains an open and highly inclusive culture for its students – offering a rich environment for multidisciplinary collaboration with other colleges – to help enhance their education.

9) Columbia University

The Department of Computer Science at Columbia offers bachelor’s degrees in computer science and computer engineering with specializations in Mathematics, Data Science, and Information Science.

Students pursuing their masters, on the other hand, can choose to specialize in computational biology, computer security, machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), graphics, and robotics, as they work on their MS thesis.

• Average Tuition: $61,850
• Financial Support: $49,185
• Average Boarding: $13,644

The department conducts groundbreaking research in graphics and UI, NLP, security, networking, vision, and AI. Located in New York City, Columbia offers the students to live in one of the most diverse cities in the world, where there’s an abundance of career options waiting to be explored.

10) Cornell University

Cornell’s computer science department comprises three colleges – Computer Science, Information Sciences, and Statistics & Data Science.

A wide range of opportunities exists for graduates, including software engineering, computational finance, modeling, game design, robotics, AI, animation, security, biotechnology, as well as masters in doctoral studies in computing-related fields.

• Average Tuition: $58,586
• Financial Support: $36,164
• Average Boarding: $15,796

The students conduct active research in all these fields under the guidance of a world-class, award-winning faculty.

While Cornell’s campus is spread around Ithaca and New York, students have the opportunity to collaborate with alumni in finance, health, tech, and other major industries.

11) New York University

• Average Tuition: $54,882
• Financial Support: $31,542
• Average Boarding: $19,244

The department conducts research in several areas, including algorithms, scientific computing, speech processing, and machine learning.

Advanced courses are offered in computation theory, high-level programming, compiler optimization, multimedia, computational finance, and mathematical programming.

12) Georgia Institute of Technology

One of the nation’s top computer science universities, Georgia Tech’s undergraduate and graduate programs are recognized for real-world applicability, social and scientific impact, and world-class leadership.

The College of Computing offers bachelor’s degrees in computer science and computational media, and master’s in cybersecurity, human-computer interaction, bioengineering, analytics, and computational science.

• Average Tuition: $31,370
• Financial Support: Not mentioned
• Average Boarding: $14,830

The college is unique in its research endeavors around high-performance computing, geometry and graphics, and cognitive science.

Through its active computing community, start-ups and entrepreneurship, and mentoring programs, Georgia Tech helps students achieve their goals and career aspirations.

13) California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Caltech’s Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences is nestled in the heart of Pasadena and offers the most popular course on campus.

Courses are offered in applied and computational mathematics, computer science, mathematical sciences, and dynamical systems. The college also focuses on research areas like complexity theory, computational neuroscience, molecular programming, and quantum computation!

• Average Tuition: $54,570
• Financial Support: $41,408
• Average Boarding: $17,337

The college has a student to faculty ratio of one to three, and promotes collaborations throughout the campus and research centers, including the Center for Advanced Computing Research, the Molecular Programming Project.

This list also includes Keck Institute for Space Studies, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory!

14) University of Texas at Austin

Undergraduates have options to pursue more than 50 courses in computer education at UTA. On the other hand, graduate students continue to learn computer science, and research in AI, bioinformatics, data mining, model-driven engineering, natural computation, security, and graphics & visualization. 

• Average Tuition: $39,399
• Financial Support: $10,644
• Average Boarding: $11,812

Ranked among the top 15 departments nationally, The Computer Science College has over ten research facilities.

It also has robotics and system research consortiums, bringing together researchers from industry to collaborate on ideating and building cutting-edge technology. 

15) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

As students built their fundamentals in computer science, the University of Illinois helps them learn more about virtual reality, social computing, and data science. Undergrad students are also allowed to establish and run their own projects!

• Average Tuition: $33,497
• Financial Support: 13,595
• Average Boarding: $12,252

The college conducts research in the fields of computer architecture, parallel computing, AI, bioinformatics, and interactive computing.

Moreover, the corporate collaborations, technical workshops, and the computer science & engineering groups at Illinois provide students with excellent opportunities for career growth.

16) University of Pennsylvania

The Department of Computer Information and Science at Penn Engineering is home to tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries.

The Ivy League Institution offers an in-depth education in the foundations of computer science, expertise in the design and analysis of complex networks. It also explores AI, machine learning, dynamics, computer vision, and robotic systems.

• Average Tuition: $51,156
• Financial Support: 44,801 – UPenn offers financial aid to international students as well as work-study jobs.
• Average Boarding: $10,600

Research opportunities at Pennsylvania span a wide range of theoretical and application topics. Like natural language, graphics, network security, bioinformatics, and interdisciplinary collaborations with fields such as linguistics and genetics.

The synergy of the institute informs leading-edge research, making it an exciting place to be.

17) University of Southern California

The Viterbi School of Engineering at USC offers one of the best environments for interdisciplinary research and international collaboration in the US.

Hosting more than three thousand students every term, the college offers its computer science degrees with specializations in computer engineering, games, and business administration for bachelors, and intelligent robotics, creative technology, simulations, game development, and multimedia for masters.

• Average Tuition: $59,260
• Financial Support: $36,686
• Average Boarding: $15,437

The university has partnered with several organizations and is making breakthroughs working against HIV, using AI for disaster planning, and helping the government solve real-world data science problems.

Moreover, several online and K12 programs have been made available by USC so students don’t necessarily have to be on campus to receive an education.

18) Yale University

While the undergraduate program combines the degree with engineering, mathematics, or psychology, the graduate program offers specializations in more than twenty disciplines!

The Department of Computer Science at Yale always had close ties to mathematics and engineering, but has increasingly made collaborations with other disciplines, including psychology, linguistics, business, music, statistics, and medicine.

• Average Tuition: $45,887
• Financial Support: $52,743
• Average Boarding: $14,600

The department conducts research in areas such as machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, computer vision, neural networks, and many others.

And computation research at Yale includes complexity theory, algorithms, cryptography, distributed computing, discrete mathematics, mechanism design, and more.

19) The University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a hub for advanced computing and data. They have plenty of collaboration spaces, expanded research labs and media arts, a data center, and the center for data and computing, and the computer science department.

The college is famous for its graduate programs in Computer Science and Computational Analytics and Public Policy. Moreover, the university has been expanding research students across the college.

• Average Tuition: $57,642
• Financial Support: $37,883
• Average Boarding: $17,004

Using over 10 labs on campus, the computer science department conducts research in various fields such as, AI, Human-computer interaction, Programming languages, Scientific computing, Security and privacy, Visual computing.

The university also plays a key role in the areas of quantum computing, urban studies, and fintech.

20) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

It offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in computer science, computer engineering, and data science. Owing to tie-ups with tech giants, startups, and labs, the University of Michigan makes major contributions to research and education in the field of computer science.

Through education, research, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, the Computer Science and Engineering College at Michigan aims to make major contributions in the field of data science.

• Average Tuition: $51,200
• Financial Support: $18,751
• Average Boarding: $11,996

The research areas at the University of Michigan include AI, chip design & architecture, data mining, automated reasoning, human-computer interaction, networking systems, robotics, security, and parallel computing.

Moreover, these projects are forward-looking, interdisciplinary, and have productive connections to industry and government.

So which one should I choose?

• To find out, first decide which course type you’re interested in.
• Do you want to study the natural sciences, arts, economics, engineering, or humanities?
• Once you know that, you can pick a program of your choice. But while doing so, make sure you’re eligible to apply for it.
• Post this, it’s time to prepare for the standard tests.

At the same time, we suggest you start collating all the documents you’ll need for your application.

Key Takeaways

• Multiple prestigious universities in the USA offer strong computer science programs with diverse specializations.

• Consider factors like program offerings, financial support, and location, including proximity to tech hubs, when choosing a university.

• Leading institutions like MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and UC Berkeley excel in AI, robotics, and data science research.

• To make an informed choice, students should align their interests and career goals with the university’s specific programs and research opportunities.

In case you get stuck or need help shortlisting from the top 10 universities in Canada according to your profile, reach out to us. We’d be very happy to help!

All the best!

Liked this blog? Read: Computer Science Engineering Subjects | All you need to know!

FAQs

1. What’s the highest degree in computer science?

The highest level of education in computer science is a Ph.D. in computer science. 

2. What is the highest-paying computer science job?

A few of the highest-paying jobs for MS in Computer Science are-

1. Software Architect

Average Annual Salary: $125,328

2. Software Developer

Average Annual Salary: $107,510

3. UNIX System Administrator

Average Annual Salary: $103,273

4. Security Engineer

Average Annual Salary: $99,834

3. How do I start a career in computer science?

To build a career in computer science, you first need to complete your bachelor’s degree. Then focus on the specialization of your choice. The main thing that may boost your profile is gaining skills in codding and learning its different languages. The final step is testing your skills by searching for internships or jobs.