Federal data
Highest earning master's computer science programs in the United States
U.S. computer science programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University | Stanford | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $199,761 | 52 |
| 2 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $161,851 | 61 |
| 3 | Cornell University | Ithaca | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $153,588 | 104 |
| 4 | University of California-San Diego | La Jolla | Public, 4-year | $148,262 | 37 |
| 5 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Champaign | Public, 4-year | $146,670 | 99 |
| 6 | Boston University | Boston | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $144,484 | 50 |
| 7 | University of Chicago | Chicago | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $135,918 | 59 |
| 8 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $134,544 | 99 |
| 9 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | Atlanta | Public, 4-year | $112,762 | 32 |
| 10 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public, 4-year | $108,371 | 38 |
| 11 | New York University | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $108,067 | 31 |
| 12 | Arizona State University | Tempe | Public, 4-year | $106,435 | 44 |
| 13 | Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $105,795 | 35 |
| 14 | Portland State University | Portland | Public, 4-year | $105,287 | 49 |
| 15 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | Amherst | Public, 4-year | $104,610 | 52 |
| 16 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden | Public, 4-year | $102,686 | 39 |
| 17 | University of Illinois Springfield | Springfield | Public, 4-year | $97,576 | 89 |
| 18 | Pace University | New York | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $95,004 | 39 |
| 19 | Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | For-profit, 4-year | $87,781 | 118 |
| 20 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public, 4-year | $86,712 | 33 |
| 21 | National University | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $82,441 | 33 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
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