Best schools for computer science in the US 2026

Explore the Times Higher Education rankings for the best universities in the US for computer science in 2026.
The list of 130 ranked US schools is derived from data collected for the World University Rankings by Subject 2026: Computer Science released in January 2026. This offers valuable insights into the top institutions for computer science.
Universities across the US are scored in areas such as teaching, research and international outlook for studying computer science. Times Higher Education uses a thorough methodology, designed by the in-house data team, that is trusted globally by students, academic, policymakers, and industry leaders.

February 10 2026

Top schools in the US for computer science 2026

US Computer Science Rank 2026	Global Computer Science Rank 2026	University	Overall	Teaching	Research Environment	Research Quality	Industry	International Outlook
1	4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	96.2	93.3	99.3	99.3	100	79.9
2	5	Princeton University	96.1	95.1	98.5	99.9	93.5	79.8
3	6	Stanford University	95.9	93.6	98.4	99.9	98.8	77.1
4	7	Carnegie Mellon University	95.5	93.9	96.2	99.8	98.6	79.7
5	8	Harvard University	93.8	93.1	98.7	96.7	80.9	80.7
6	11	California Institute of Technology	93.1	90.7	96.8	97.1	99	67.3
7	=13	University of California, Berkeley	92.8	89.6	92.8	100	93.9	77.1
8	17	Cornell University	90.7	86.6	96.3	97.8	73.3	77.6
9	18	University of California, Los Angeles	90.6	82.8	93.6	97.5	93.5	79
10	19	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	89.6	80.1	96.6	96.4	96.5	65.6
11	20	University of Washington	89.1	84.8	93	97.4	79.9	69.1
12	24	Columbia University	86.6	84.7	83.3	94	81.3	84.1
13	27	Yale University	86.1	86.5	84.7	94.5	67.9	78.8
14	28	Georgia Institute of Technology	85.6	75.6	90.7	92.1	90	75.1
15	29	New York University	85.4	71.7	87.2	97.8	78.9	90.7
16	30	University of Texas at Austin	84.6	74.4	90.5	96.2	95.3	46.8
17	31	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	84.4	74.7	91	92.1	83.4	68.5
18	33	Johns Hopkins University	83.9	71.3	79.4	98.9	94.9	81.7
19	36	University of California, San Diego	83.4	71.7	78.8	96.8	99.6	78.3
20	39	University of Pennsylvania	81.3	72.6	83.8	91.5	69.1	79.6
21	40	The University of Chicago	80	73.5	77.6	93.8	68.2	74.6
22	51	Purdue University West Lafayette	73.6	61.2	74.8	84.1	74.3	76.3
23	54	University of Southern California	72.5	56.3	63.6	92.8	87.3	76.5
24	55	University of Wisconsin-Madison	72.1	48.2	68	96.8	80.4	77.7
25	56	University of Massachusetts	71.8	63.2	56.2	88.4	92.8	80.7
26	58	University of California, Santa Barbara	71	49.7	64.3	89	99.3	80.3
27	59	Duke University	70.9	56.7	59.3	88	99.6	76
28	=63	University of Maryland, College Park	69.6	50.3	70.1	91.3	82.4	46.1
29	67	Brown University	68.3	58.4	49.1	95.2	75.7	72.8
30	80	University of California, Irvine	64.9	47.3	52.9	88.3	76.8	78.4
31	81	Michigan State University	64.5	39.5	49.4	97.7	77	80.6
32	86	Northwestern University	63.6	47.3	50.1	90.7	68.1	72.2
33	=98	Northeastern University, US	59.2	38.1	40.7	93.8	67.6	73.4
=34	101–125	Boston University	56.2–59.0	37.3	37.2	88.3	68.3	70.9
=34	101–125	Rice University	56.2–59.0	38.6	39.5	86.5	75.2	78.7
=34	101–125	Texas A&M University	56.2–59.0	39.2	43.9	83.4	70.8	66.8
=34	101–125	University of California, Davis	56.2–59.0	36.9	47	76.7	71.6	85.1
=34	101–125	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	56.2–59.0	39.5	44.2	87.5	78.4	61.6
=34	101–125	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	56.2–59.0	34.6	41.7	88.7	74.3	74.4
=40	126–150	Penn State (Main campus)	54.0–55.9	35.8	43.3	78.9	71	68.9
=40	126–150	Stony Brook University	54.0–55.9	33.9	32.4	87.4	69.7	84.3
=40	126–150	University of Illinois Chicago	54.0–55.9	24.2	36.4	97.1	81.7	70
=40	126–150	University of Notre Dame	54.0–55.9	22.4	36.5	94.3	79.3	65.9
=40	126–150	University of Virginia (Main campus)	54.0–55.9	29	37.4	86.5	83.5	65.8
=45	151–175	Arizona State University (Tempe)	52.0–53.9	29.5	31.4	85.5	70.5	77
=45	151–175	North Carolina State University	52.0–53.9	37.5	39.1	69.2	78	72.5
=45	151–175	Ohio State University (Main campus)	52.0–53.9	32.3	36.9	81.1	67	66.5
=45	151–175	University at Buffalo	52.0–53.9	27.4	29.7	86	70.4	87.1
=45	151–175	University of Florida	52.0–53.9	34	42.6	74.7	78.5	53.1
=45	151–175	Vanderbilt University	52.0–53.9	29.9	33.7	81.8	81.7	70.9
=51	176–200	Rutgers University–New Brunswick	49.5–51.9	27	31.7	86.1	68.4	79.5
=51	176–200	University of California, Riverside	49.5–51.9	28.5	30	82.7	73.3	75.7
=51	176–200	University of California, Santa Cruz	49.5–51.9	24.7	30.6	84.6	80.4	67.3
=51	176–200	University of Colorado Boulder	49.5–51.9	34.8	36.7	79.4	68.2	56.6
=51	176–200	University of Rochester	49.5–51.9	27.9	29.4	84.6	69.3	82.9
=56	201–250	Dartmouth College	47.1–49.4	35.2	29.7	66.6	75.9	73.3
=56	201–250	Indiana University	47.1–49.4	28.9	29.6	66.4	93.8	77.7
=56	201–250	Iowa State University	47.1–49.4	27.1	32.4	70.1	97	56.2
=56	201–250	Lehigh University	47.1–49.4	20.4	19.3	90.3	65.6	76.4
=56	201–250	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	47.1–49.4	24.6	28.3	71.7	99.9	62.1
=56	201–250	Stevens Institute of Technology	47.1–49.4	19.8	23.1	86.3	68.3	86.1
=56	201–250	University of Minnesota	47.1–49.4	32.3	32.6	71.1	77.9	51.7
=56	201–250	Washington University in St Louis	47.1–49.4	27.3	32.7	70.6	71.1	76.2
=64	251–300	Case Western Reserve University	45.3–47.0	21.6	30.2	73.1	66.7	85.2
=64	251–300	Illinois Institute of Technology	45.3–47.0	19.2	19.4	87.8	65.2	76.6
=64	251–300	Louisiana State University	45.3–47.0	22.6	27.3	77	72.9	58
=64	251–300	Mississippi State University	45.3–47.0	21.6	24.8	87.1	58.7	60.4
=64	251–300	New Jersey Institute of Technology	45.3–47.0	19.2	20.3	79.5	65.1	92.5
=64	251–300	Temple University	45.3–47.0	21	16	92.6	65.5	57
=64	251–300	University of Central Florida	45.3–47.0	20.9	28.6	82.7	84.1	44.4
=64	251–300	University of Delaware	45.3–47.0	24.6	20.6	74.1	85.6	69.6
=64	251–300	University of Georgia (USA)	45.3–47.0	19.7	21.5	88	63.7	73.7
=64	251–300	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus	45.3–47.0	23.7	25.9	76.1	68.2	68.8
=74	301–400	Florida Atlantic University	41.5–45.2	15.7	17.6	84.5	73.1	72.4
=74	301–400	Florida International University	41.5–45.2	18.7	24.9	77.6	69.3	51.7
=74	301–400	George Mason University	41.5–45.2	20.7	16.9	80.5	64.9	71.6
=74	301–400	George Washington University	41.5–45.2	21	23	73.6	63	81.1
=74	301–400	Missouri University of Science and Technology	41.5–45.2	10.4	20.5	77.5	70.5	84.6
=74	301–400	SUNY Binghamton University	41.5–45.2	23.7	20.4	73.8	69.2	67.1
=74	301–400	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	41.5–45.2	21.5	22.5	73	66.9	60.5
=74	301–400	The University of Texas at San Antonio	41.5–45.2	12.9	19.8	91.6	65.8	56.2
=74	301–400	University of Arizona	41.5–45.2	19.9	20.6	76.7	67.2	65.1
=74	301–400	University of Houston	41.5–45.2	13.9	18.9	84.3	65.7	87.6
=74	301–400	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	41.5–45.2	22.3	26.5	74	79.5	49.1
=74	301–400	University of Oregon	41.5–45.2	21.2	20.7	89.2	49.9	61.7
=74	301–400	University of South Florida	41.5–45.2	13.8	22.7	72.6	72	78.5
=74	301–400	University of Texas at Arlington	41.5–45.2	17.4	17.4	76.2	70.1	72.5
=74	301–400	University of Texas at Dallas	41.5–45.2	18.4	16	78.6	68.6	62.2
=74	301–400	University of Utah	41.5–45.2	27.8	34.8	62.2	69.9	53.3
=74	301–400	Washington State University	41.5–45.2	18.6	23.6	73.3	71.3	65.8
=74	301–400	William & Mary	41.5–45.2	25.5	14.1	77.8	67.4	58.3
=74	301–400	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	41.5–45.2	21.7	21	75.6	67.6	49.4
=93	401–500	Oklahoma State University	38.3–41.4	11.4	13	87.2	53.8	74
=93	401–500	Old Dominion University	38.3–41.4	14.8	22.6	79.4	51.6	54.9
=93	401–500	Syracuse University	38.3–41.4	20.9	14.4	74.7	60.6	66.2
=93	401–500	Texas Tech University	38.3–41.4	16.6	21	62.9	63.6	82.5
=93	401–500	University of Arkansas	38.3–41.4	12	27.3	69.5	66.3	48.1
=93	401–500	University of Connecticut	38.3–41.4	15.4	21.3	64.5	72	66
=93	401–500	University of Kentucky	38.3–41.4	21.2	17.7	71.1	67.3	56
=93	401–500	University of Miami	38.3–41.4	17.7	16.5	72.4	59.7	80.9
=93	401–500	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	38.3–41.4	23.3	24.9	54.5	74.3	74.9
=93	401–500	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	38.3–41.4	18.4	16.3	70.1	64.1	59.9
=93	401–500	Wayne State University	38.3–41.4	18.2	18.6	73.2	73.4	62.4
=104	501–600	Florida State University	35.5–38.2	20.8	15.2	64	58.1	65
=104	501–600	Rochester Institute of Technology	35.5–38.2	20.3	16.8	65	58.5	49.7
=104	501–600	SUNY University at Albany	35.5–38.2	16	12.1	65.7	63.7	67.7
=104	501–600	Tufts University	35.5–38.2	21.4	20.4	56.8	67.8	53.4
=104	501–600	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	35.5–38.2	12.5	21.2	60.2	67.7	65
=104	501–600	University of Kansas	35.5–38.2	17.3	19.7	53.8	63.8	70.8
=104	501–600	University of Missouri-Kansas City	35.5–38.2	20.2	20	55.1	66.1	81.8
=104	501–600	Virginia Commonwealth University	35.5–38.2	15.1	21	60	80.5	42.2
=112	601–800	Colorado School of Mines	30.0–35.4	18.8	17.7	55.7	52	31.4
=112	601–800	Colorado State University, Fort Collins	30.0–35.4	16.4	18.6	44.6	67.7	57
=112	601–800	Drexel University	30.0–35.4	19.3	16.3	50.5	63.3	68.4
=112	601–800	Georgetown University	30.0–35.4	21	17.1	54.4	60.7	63.3
=112	601–800	Georgia State University	30.0–35.4	17.8	15.6	58	48.4	73.4
=112	601–800	Kansas State University	30.0–35.4	20.8	16.2	52.9	64.9	55
=112	601–800	New Mexico State University (Main campus)	30.0–35.4	13.9	27.5	46.8	67.2	62
=112	601–800	Oakland University	30.0–35.4	13.4	18.1	45.7	55.4	65.7
=112	601–800	The University of Alabama	30.0–35.4	16	17.8	61.7	52.3	43.5
=112	601–800	University of Memphis	30.0–35.4	17.1	23.7	45.7	63.1	69.3
=112	601–800	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	30.0–35.4	17.2	16.4	48.3	47.2	49.5
=112	601–800	University of Rhode Island	30.0–35.4	13.3	15.8	58.6	56.5	56.7
=112	601–800	University of Texas at El Paso	30.0–35.4	22.6	25.2	33.6	53	45.9
=125	801–1000	Baylor University	23.4–29.9	15.1	16	40.6	32.1	57.2
=125	801–1000	Portland State University	23.4–29.9	14.7	12.5	29.7	64.7	60.7
=125	801–1000	San Diego State University	23.4–29.9	13.2	9.9	51.4	64.6	51.8
=125	801–1000	Tulane University	23.4–29.9	18	11.5	45.5	34.3	59.4
=129	1001+	Texas State University	11.5–23.3	15.6	9.3	29.5	37.4	58.6
=129	1001+	University of Nebraska Omaha	11.5–23.3	12	12.1	35.5	17.5	51

Highlights in the US Computer Science Rankings 2026

Massachusetts Institute of Technology takes the top ranking for the best school in the US for computer science.
California is the most-represented state among the schools included in the rankings with Stanford University appearing in third position, followed by University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology.
The list also features all eight Ivy League universities led by Harvard University which ranks fifth in the US for computer science.
Three public universities appear in the top 10 schools for computer science in the country: University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Choosing the right US university for Computer Science

Not only are the world’s biggest tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple headquartered in the US, it’s also home to some of the best universities in the world for computer science degrees.

Many computing courses in the US focus on developing the practical skills and real-world experience that students need to enter the technology industry.

The data from the table offers valuable insights for those students considering undergraduate or postgraduate programmes in computer science in the US.

The table for the best universities for computer science in the US was derived from data collected for the THE World University Rankings by subject: Computer Science. The results are calculated using 18 performance indicators underlying five metrics. For further insight and a detailed breakdown of our ranking methodology, visit our methodology page. Use the ranking table above to explore the right institution for you.

Best schools for computer science in the US 2026

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Top schools in the US for computer science 2026

Highlights in the US Computer Science Rankings 2026

Choosing the right US university for Computer Science

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