by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 59,565 people earned their degree in computer science, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, computer science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $67,538 and had an average of $23,620 in loans still to pay off.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,252 computer science graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major” ranking, we looked at 117 colleges that offer a degree in computer science. That schools that top this list have a program in computer science in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
The compsci school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major”.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree compsci students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Computer Science at Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. MIT is a fairly large school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 49 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs is a private for-profit institution located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The school has a large population, and it awarded 70 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Computer Science at Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs
Out of the 117 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #4 spot on the list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 36 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Princeton University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
The Graduate Center, CUNY came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. The Graduate Center is a public institution located in New York, New York. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 16 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management is a small public school situated in Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. It awarded 3 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Full AFIT Graduate School of Engineering & Management Computer Science Report
With a ranking of #9, University of Idaho did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Located in Moscow, Idaho, this fairly large public school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s compsci students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Stony Brook University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. Stony Brook University is a public institution located in Stony Brook, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 36 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Computer Science at Stony Brook University
With a ranking of #11, Dartmouth College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Dartmouth College is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Hanover, New Hampshire. It awarded 9 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
With a ranking of #12, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Brown University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. Brown is a private not-for-profit institution located in Providence, Rhode Island. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of California - Berkeley landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 52 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Computer Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Tulsa landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s compsci students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is located in Troy, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #18, Cornell University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Cornell is a large school located in Ithaca, New York that handed out 25 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #19, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 21 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. Worcester, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s compsci degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking, coming in at #21. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is a small public school situated in Socorro, New Mexico. It awarded 1 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #22, Michigan Technological University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. Michigan Tech is a public institution located in Houghton, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Computer Science at Michigan Technological University
University of Rochester ranked #23 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major list. University of Rochester is a fairly large school located in Rochester, New York that handed out 11 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Binghamton University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking, coming in at #24. Binghamton University is located in Vestal, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 doctorate’s compsci degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on CompSci Major ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s compsci degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Computer Science at Illinois Institute of Technology
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
