Computer science has been one of the fastest growing areas of study this century. Professors at universities across the world are still trying to keep up with the immense levels of student demand.
Consequently, computer science is one of the most competitive fields. And rightly so; the average tech salary is $111,193, according to Dice’s Tech Salary Trends report. Moreover, tech unemployment remains below the national rate (2.3% vs. 3.7%), notes CompTIA.
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And despite there being an increasing number of ways to learn technical skills, including through bootcamps and certification programs, obtaining a master’s degree in computer science is one of the tried and true ways of succeeding in the field.
To help you have a better grasp on the offerings and prestige of programs in the space, Fortune is releasing our ranking of the best in-person master’s in computer science for 2024 and best online master’s in computer science for 2024.
Our expert panel
In preparation for the release of our new ranking, Fortune sat down with two experts at top tech companies who have been at the forefront of computer science for their whole careers to discuss the tech education ecosystem:
- Andrew Warfield: VP and distinguished engineer at Amazon; former associate professor of computer science professor at University of British Columbia
- Guy Diedrich: SVP and global innovation officer at Cisco; former vice chancellor at Texas A&M University System
By asking questions centered around the importance of computer science, the necessary skills to excel in 2024, and advice for prospective students, we hoped to gain a better sense of how to effectively provide guidance to those hoping to pursue a career in the field. Neither expert was involved in the ranking of any programs directly.
‘Not just teaching from an ivory tower’
Country and company leaders alike around the world believe that tech skills are a priority, Diedrich says. Resuantlying, computer science students are “extremely employable.”
“If they (computer science students) are not employable by one company in one particular area of industry, they will be in another because every company now is a tech company,” Diedrich says. “Every country, every country is a tech country.”
By learning the fundamentals of computer science, students broadly become agile individuals—something that is incredibly important due to the constant churn in tech requiring upskilling, he adds.
“When you have that base foundation, you can apply Moore’s Law to all of tech now. It’s no longer just related to processor speed—It is now related to everything,” says Diedrich.
But with just over 54,000 computer and information sciences master’s degrees being awarded in 2021 alone—according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics—how can graduates stand out?
Diedrich says students should engage in programs that prepare with relevant, real-world experience.
“(The best programs) have a foot in industry, and a foot in academia,” he says. “And so they’re not just teaching from an ivory tower, or from a textbook, they have real life experience, they do real research that is going to be directly relevant to the quality of education that that student leaves having undertaken.”
In particular, networking, cloud security, programming, and AI are areas where it may be beneficial moving forward in the world of technology, he says. But above all, be prepared to continuously learn.
Keys to success in computer science: curiosity and passion
Because AI and machine learning is developing so fast, the technical skills and tools may be out of date even by the time you complete a program, Warfield notes. Therefore, a demonstration of soft skills—especially levels of curiosity and passion—are important for candidates to stick out of the pack.
Additionally, choose an educational pathway that is right for you and your personal journey—not just what everyone is something to keep in mind.
“Really think about how you’re going to apply the stuff you’re learning,” Warfield tells Fortune. “Don’t expect to just learn it and be ready to go and do something with it right away. Like, it’s really that application that I think is the most valuable if you’re thinking about these types of retraining.”
Luckily, he adds, computer science is at the center of more and more companies’ missions. No longer do computer scientists just go on to work at typical tech companies like IBM, Google, or Amazon; instead, they can get hired almost anywhere, like Pinterest, Airbnb, or Uber to name just a few.
Above all, no matter what domain you pursue through computer science—whether its software development, cybersecurity, data science, or beyond—Warfield encourages students to find an area that sparks excitement.
“I think the best way to do that is to find areas where you’re gonna be personally interested in the result,” he says. “If it’s unnatural to try and learn a thing, and you’re not really invested in the outcome, it’s really hard to stick with it.”
Selectivity Score (50%)
It’s no question that some of the best computer science master’s programs teach the in-demand skills from a set of experienced faculty members. But no academic program can succeed without motivated students. The post-graduation success (or lack thereof) of those alumni helps to shape how the outside world will view that program. It’s also why Fortune chooses to emphasize the importance of weighing a school’s incoming class.
To calculate the Selectivity Score, we first looked at the average undergraduate GPA of incoming students, and then we weighted the program’s acceptance rate. Simply put: Programs that are challenging to get accepted into attract a stronger cohort of students.
Success Score (30%)
To hold programs accountable for their success, we measured both one-year retention rates and graduation rates. These are generally good indications of students’ satisfaction while within a program, but it is important to keep in mind that a variety of individualized life circumstances can come into play.
Demand Score (20%)
If programs aren’t successful, they won’t be able to continue to attract and graduate top students year after year. What’s more, a larger student body also means a larger alumni network. That’s why we considered the number of applicants each program received in the 2023–24 academic year.
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