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Top Computer Science Schools in the U.S. Based on CSRankings

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Top Computer Science Schools in the U.S. Based on CSRankings

For students interested in computer science, rankings can be helpful—but only when families understand what the ranking actually measures. This article summarizes the top U.S. computer science programs based on CSRankings.org, a research-focused ranking system that tracks faculty publications at selective computer science conferences.

What Is CSRankings?

CSRankings is a computer science ranking system that focuses on research output. Instead of ranking schools mainly by reputation, student surveys, or broad university prestige, CSRankings measures computer science departments based on faculty publications in selective conferences across areas such as artificial intelligence, systems, theory, security, databases, human-computer interaction, software engineering, and more.

This makes CSRankings especially useful for students who are interested in research, graduate school, Ph.D. preparation, or understanding which universities have strong faculty activity in specific computer science fields.

However, students should not use CSRankings as the only factor when choosing a college. Undergraduate teaching quality, internship access, cost, campus culture, career placement, location, class size, and academic fit still matter greatly.

Why This Ranking Matters for CS Applicants

Computer science has become one of the most competitive college majors in the United States. At many universities, admission to the computer science major is significantly harder than general admission to the university. A school that looks like a “target” overall may actually be a reach school for computer science.

For high school students building a college list, this means they should think beyond brand name alone. Some public universities with very strong computer science departments may be just as competitive—or even more competitive—for CS than many private universities.

Top U.S. Computer Science Schools Based on CSRankings

The following table is based on the CSRankings U.S. computer science ranking data provided from CSRankings.org. Because some schools are tied, multiple universities may share the same rank.

Rank University Country Score Faculty Count
1 Carnegie Mellon University United States 20.2 182
2 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States 16.3 125
3 University of California, San Diego United States 14.7 132
4 Georgia Institute of Technology United States 13.6 151
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States 10.9 103
6 University of Michigan United States 10.8 105
7 University of Washington United States 10.4 80
8 University of California, Berkeley United States 10.2 84
8 University of Maryland, College Park United States 10.2 97
10 Cornell University United States 10.1 105
11 Northeastern University United States 9.5 114
12 Stanford University United States 9.4 61
13 Purdue University United States 8.0 74
14 New York University United States 7.6 90
14 University of Texas at Austin United States 7.6 60
16 University of Wisconsin–Madison United States 7.5 85
17 Princeton University United States 7.1 66
18 University of Pennsylvania United States 6.7 69
19 Columbia University United States 6.5 58
20 University of California, Los Angeles United States 6.3 49
21 University of Southern California United States 6.2 65
22 University of California, Irvine United States 5.8 77
23 University of Massachusetts Amherst United States 5.7 64
24 Stony Brook University United States 5.4 63
25 Northwestern University United States 5.3 79
25 University of Chicago United States 5.3 49
27 University of Virginia United States 5.1 66
28 Rutgers University United States 5.0 57
28 University of California, Riverside United States 5.0 58
30 Duke University United States 4.9 56
30 University of Utah United States 4.9 70
32 Pennsylvania State University United States 4.7 62
33 George Mason University United States 4.6 52
33 University of California, Santa Barbara United States 4.6 41
35 Boston University United States 4.5 59
35 Texas A&M University United States 4.5 60
37 Harvard University United States 4.3 38
37 North Carolina State University United States 4.3 60
37 University of California, Santa Cruz United States 4.3 67
37 Virginia Tech United States 4.3 75
41 Arizona State University United States 4.2 68
41 Johns Hopkins University United States 4.2 74
41 University of Illinois at Chicago United States 4.2 56
41 Yale University United States 4.2 42
45 Rice University United States 4.1 39
45 University of North Carolina United States 4.1 44
47 Ohio State University United States 4.0 47
48 University of California, Davis United States 3.9 54
48 University at Buffalo United States 3.9 44
48 University of Colorado Boulder United States 3.9 75
48 University of Minnesota United States 3.9 52
52 Brown University United States 3.8 41
53 Oregon State University United States 3.5 41
53 University of Central Florida United States 3.5 68
55 Indiana University United States 3.0 64
55 University of Texas at Dallas United States 3.0 42
57 Rochester Institute of Technology United States 2.9 63
58 Washington University in St. Louis United States 2.8 31
59 University of Rochester United States 2.7 28
59 University of Texas at Arlington United States 2.7 36
61 University of Florida United States 2.6 34
61 University of Notre Dame United States 2.6 33
63 Michigan State University United States 2.5 31
63 New Jersey Institute of Technology United States 2.5 38
65 Dartmouth College United States 2.4 29
65 University of Connecticut United States 2.4 31
65 University of Pittsburgh United States 2.4 32
68 College of William and Mary United States 2.3 26
68 Florida State University United States 2.3 22
68 Tufts University United States 2.3 37
68 Vanderbilt University United States 2.3 39
72 Binghamton University United States 2.2 25
72 Clemson University United States 2.2 35
72 Stevens Institute of Technology United States 2.2 28
72 UNC Charlotte United States 2.2 49
72 University of Delaware United States 2.2 29
77 University of California, Merced United States 2.1 18
77 University of Georgia United States 2.1 25
77 University of South Florida United States 2.1 36
77 Worcester Polytechnic Institute United States 2.1 25
81 California Institute of Technology United States 2.0 26
81 Emory University United States 2.0 23
81 Iowa State University United States 2.0 29
81 University of Arizona United States 2.0 22
85 Tulane University United States 1.9 15
86 Drexel University United States 1.8 20
86 Florida International University United States 1.8 32
86 Georgetown University United States 1.8 16
86 Washington State University United States 1.8 24
86 Wayne State University United States 1.8 14
91 CUNY United States 1.7 39
91 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute United States 1.7 23
91 TTI Chicago United States 1.7 14
91 Temple University United States 1.7 16
91 University of Maryland, Baltimore County United States 1.7 33
91 University of Iowa United States 1.7 18
91 University of Tennessee United States 1.7 23
98 Augusta University United States 1.6 24
98 Case Western Reserve University United States 1.6 17
98 Colorado State University United States 1.6 22
98 George Washington University United States 1.6 14
98 Illinois Institute of Technology United States 1.6 15
98 Lehigh University United States 1.6 14
98 University of Houston United States 1.6 21
98 University of Massachusetts Lowell United States 1.6 20
98 University of Nebraska United States 1.6 18
98 University of North Texas United States 1.6 24
98 University of Oregon United States 1.6 18
98 University of Texas at San Antonio United States 1.6 24

How Students Should Use This List

Students should use this ranking as a research tool, not as a final college list. A high CSRankings position can indicate strong faculty research output, but undergraduate experience can vary widely from school to school.

For example, a student interested in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, or systems should look deeper into each department’s strengths instead of relying only on the overall ranking. CSRankings allows users to filter by specific computer science subfields, which can be especially helpful for students who already know their area of interest.

Important Takeaway for College Admissions

Many of the universities on this list are extremely competitive for computer science. Schools such as Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Cornell, University of Washington, and UC San Diego should usually be treated as reach schools for most applicants applying to computer science.

Even strong students with excellent grades, advanced math coursework, coding experience, and high SAT or ACT scores should build a balanced college list. A strong computer science list should include reach schools, realistic target schools, and likely schools where the student would still be happy to attend.

Recommended College List Strategy for Computer Science Applicants

Category Suggested Count Meaning
High Reach 3–5 schools Extremely selective CS programs such as CMU, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Cornell, or top Ivy-level options.
Reach 4–6 schools Highly competitive CS programs where admission is possible but not predictable.
Target 4–6 schools Schools where the student’s academic profile is clearly above the typical admitted range for CS.
Likely / Safety 3–4 schools Schools with stronger admission probability, reasonable cost, and a CS program the student would be happy to attend.

Final Thoughts

The CSRankings list is valuable because it highlights research strength across computer science departments. For students who want to pursue graduate school, research, or specialized fields within computer science, this can be an especially helpful starting point.

But the best computer science school is not always the highest-ranked school. The right choice depends on academic fit, affordability, career goals, internship access, research opportunities, and the student’s ability to thrive in that environment.

Families should use rankings as one piece of the decision-making process—not the entire strategy.

Source: Ranking data adapted from CSRankings.org U.S. Computer Science Rankings.

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