2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
There are about 144,819 students enrolled in Computer Science in the USA.
Menu: summary
popularity
Very Popular
Compared to national avg.
Diplomas received last year
35,529
Vs. National Avg.
228%
popularity Rank
#26
cost
Somewhat Affordable
Compared to national avg.
Median degree cost
$24K
Vs. National Avg.
-1%
cost Rank
#252
salary
Below Average
Compared to national avg.
Average Salary Two Years Out of School
$41K
Vs. National Avg.
3%
salary Rank
#233
professors
Below Average
Compared to national avg.
Professor Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
1%
professors Rank
#244
students
Average
Compared to national avg.
Diversity Rating
C+
Vs. National Avg.
1%
students Rank
#192
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
Computer science is an incredibly popular undergraduate major. The standard major grants 6,156 bachelor's degrees a year; last spring, 31,737 students received bachelor's degrees in computer science, making it the 19th most popular field in America. 701 of those degrees were granted by the University of California-Berkeley, which has the biggest program in America. 6,921 of those alumni attended college in California.
664 schools nationwide award a four-year degree in computer science; accordingly, choosing the best college could be hard. In comparison to the average subject, there are 3.5 times as many schools offering undergraduate degrees in computer science, making it the 29th most commonly offered subject in the United States of America.
GRADUATE DEGREES
While 71% of last May's degrees in computer science were four-year degrees; 29% were graduate degrees. Computer science is the 16th most popular advanced degree in the United States, with 12,782 degrees awarded. To put that in context, grad degrees in computer science are 4.6 times more popular among postgrads than the average discipline.
In Total, 44,519 students received a bachelor's or higher in computer science last year.
ONLINE COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
1,595 of those 44,519 alumni (3.6%) did all their schooling online - 542 undergraduates and 1,053 postgraduate students. As you've likely noticed by now, computer science isn't the most highly demanded online major. It is the 52nd most popular online field with 12.6% more online students than the average subject. For postgrads, it ranks 33rd, and is 70.9% above the U.S. average (616).
Oregon State University conferred 156 online undergrad degrees, more than any other U.S. institution.
Additionally, Colleges from Oregon conferred the most online undergrad degrees in computer science last May (156). By itself, Oregon graduates 29% of the major's remote students.
Only 1.7% of all undergrad degrees in computer science are completed via a fully online program, (8.2% for advanced degrees). Trident University International's last undergraduate class contained a higher percentage of online computer science majors than any other college in America (7.71%). 76 students in their 986 student class completed an online bachelor's degree in computer science. They offer 8 degrees fully online, and had 4,966 enrolled online undergrads last fall. That's 100% of the student body.
Bachelor's degrees in computer science are available remotely at 37 institutions in the United States, making it the 29th most universally offered remote U.S. degree. Faintly north of one twentieth of schools providing the degree even have a comprehensively online option, and for each and every public institution awarding undergraduate degree in computer science there are 1.8 private schools. Illinois leads the nation in providing online choices, with 4 of the programs headquartered there.
If you want to study computer science and enjoy the thought of learning at your house, you may want to consider applying to Oregon State University, as it has the 19th best computer science program in the country. It also furnishes an additional 49 degrees entirely online, so their systems are presumably strong. Further, they have 5,999 remote undergrads, which is 23% of their whole student body.
PARTIALLY ONLINE COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
- Computer science is the 23rd most pursued partially online bachelor's degree in the United States of America
- 523 schools in the country grant an undergrad degree in computer science partially online
- 18.16% of all bachelor's degree in computer science are completed partially online
- California College San Diego's last undergraduate class contained a higher percentage of partially online computer science majors than any other institution in America (55.74%)
- Computer science is the 23rd most popular partially online advanced degree in the USA
- 10.67% of all postgraduate degrees in computer science are completed partially online
IN-PERSON COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
- 25,412 people last spring earned undergrad degrees in computer science completely in-person
- Computer science is the 21st most universally available in-person undergraduate degree in America
- 80.07% of all college degree in computer science are done entirely in-person
- The University of California-Berkeley granted more in-person bachelor's degrees in computer science than any other college in the USA (673)
- Colleges from California granted the most in-person four-year degrees in computer science last May (5,538)
- The average exclusively in-person subject grants 6,102 yearly bachelor's degrees or higher
COMPUTER SCIENCE OVERVIEW
A computer science degree from an accredited online school can give you access to some of the most lucrative, fulfilling, and in-demand career paths. Students who graduate from a computer science program often see themselves working in high-paying roles like these:
- Computer and Information Research Scientists
- Computer Network Architects
- Information Security Analysts
- Computer Systems Analysts
- Computer Programmers
Online accredited schools can help you get a computer science degree without high overhead costs.
And there’s no better time to start your program than now. With the rapid digitization of traditionally analog processes across all industries, the demand for computer scientists will continue to grow.
Studies from leading technology voices like IBM, Forrester, and Gartner show that business decision-makers are leaving legacy systems and investing in digital transformation.
These companies are adopting emerging technologies, including
- Automation systems for customer service, manufacturing, compliance, and more
- Artificial intelligence systems for cybersecurity, business intelligence, and more
- Internet of things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for advanced networking
- Blockchain and distributed ledgers for financial services, business processes, documentation, and other uses cases
These businesses are replacing old analog systems with new ones and hiring computer science talents to build and manage them.
Managing digital transformation will continue to demand the expertise of computer scientists for the foreseeable future. So, their pay scale is growing with that demand.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that computer science jobs pay significantly higher than the national median annual wage with some roles paying over $100,000 per year.
Read on to discover accredited schools that rank among the best online colleges for computer science degree programs.
Top 25 Best Online Colleges for Computer Science
Search for the best Computer Science online colleges according to your filter parameters.
A+
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#1 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA | web.mit.edu/
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#2 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD | www.umd.edu/
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#3 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY | www.columbia.edu/
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#4 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR | https://oregonstate.edu/
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#5 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA | www.berkeley.edu/
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#6 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN | https://www.purdue.edu/
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#7 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, MA | www.umass.edu/
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#8 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA | www.uci.edu/
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#9 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Stanford University
Stanford, CA | www.stanford.edu/
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#10 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC | https://www.uncc.edu/
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#11 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN | https://twin-cities.umn.edu/
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#12 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA | www.harvard.edu/
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#13 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA | www.usc.edu/
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#14 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO | www.colorado.edu/
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#15 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA | www.ucsd.edu/
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#16 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC | www.ncsu.edu/
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#17 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC | www.unc.edu/
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#18 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA | www.upenn.edu/
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#19 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY | www.cornell.edu/
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#20 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY | https://www.stonybrook.edu/
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#21 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Texas A & M University-College Station
College Station, TX | https://www.tamu.edu/
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#22 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ | www.asu.edu/
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#23 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL | www.illinois.edu/
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#24 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY | www.rit.edu/
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#25 2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Computer Science
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL | www.uic.edu/