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Top 10 Universities for MS in Computer Science in the USA

With the world being driven by technology, demand for the number of techies is ever increasing. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cloud computing and other application-oriented technologies demand quality research. This field has a never-ending room for improvement and innovation.

Undoubtedly, the United States is the hub of computer science. From being home to top universities in the world to having the top tech-companies, the USA has a pool of opportunities for the students aspiring to study abroad, especially in the field of computer science.

Let’s see the list of top 10 universities for MS in Computer Science in the USA, based on the rankings given by QS World University Rankings 2020.

  1. Stanford University
  2. Harvard University
  3. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
  4. The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
  5. Princeton University
  6. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  7. Columbia University
  8. New York University
  9. Georgia Institute of Technology
  10. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Stanford University

Founded in 1885, Stanford University stands among the top 3 universities in the world for its edge-cutting research and technology. The university is situated in the heart of Silicon Valley which provides ample opportunities to students pursuing computer science courses. The university is home to around 3700 international students. Alumni of this university include 19 Nobel Laureates, 17 astronauts along with the founders of Google, Yahoo and other famous technology firms, among others. Engineering is the most popular school of Stanford University comprising 40% of the total students.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration 
Master of Science in Computer Science2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A four years bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 55-60% marks 
  • In case you have a three years bachelor’s degree, you need an additional two years master’s degree in engineering or a related field
  • TOEFL iBT Score: 89 is required 
  • GRE is required (Score not specified, but above 330 is preferable)
  • Statement of Purpose (SOP)
  • 3 Letters of Recommendations (LORs)

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee costs around $48,440 USD (~ INR 34-35 Lakhs) per year
  • The total living expenses add up to  $45,158 USD (~ INR 32 Lakhs) per year

Harvard University

Established in 1636, Harvard is one of the oldest universities in the USA. It has been ranked at 4th position in the world for its education in computer sciences. Harvard has the largest library systems in the world and is known for excellent educational quality. It is home to around 36,012 students. 49 Nobel Laureates are the alumni of this university.                                          

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration 
Masters in Computational Science and Engineering (Master of Science)1 year
Masters in Computational Science and Engineering (Master of Engineering)2 years
Masters in Data Science1 year

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 60% marks in the field of computer science, maths or statistics
  • TOEFL iBT Score: 80 or more is required  
  • GRE is also required (score not specified)
  • Statement of Purpose
  • 3 LORs
  • CV or Resume

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • Tuition fee costs around $48,008 USD (~ INR 34 Lakhs) per year
  • The living expenses add up to around $30,000 USD (~INR 21 Lakhs) per year

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

One of the top 3 universities in the United States for masters in computer science, Carnegie Mellon is a public research university. It is home to more than 14,500 students including 6,654 international students. Founded in 1900, this is one of the top 50 universities in the world. There has been around 13.53% increase in the acceptance rate of this university in recent times.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration 
Master of Human-Computer Interaction 1 year
Master of Information Technology Strategy12-16 months
MSIT- Privacy Engineering12-16 months
Master of Software Engineering – Scalable Systems16 months (requires internship)
Master of Software Engineering – Embedded Systems 16 months (requires internship)
Master of Language Technologies2 years (includes research)
Master of Science in Intelligent Information Systems (MIIS)
2 years (includes internship)
Master of Computational Data Science (MCDS)
16-20 months (includes internship)
Primary Master's in Machine Learning 2 years
Master of Science in Computer Vision (MSCV)
16 months
Master of Science in Robotics 
2 years (includes internship)
Master of Science Robotic Systems Development 2 years (includes research)

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A four-year bachelor’s degree in a related field from an esteemed university with a minimum of 60% marks
  • TOEFL iBT Score- 100 or more (not older than 2 years)
  • GRE or equivalent GMAT score (90th percentile in quantitative and 50th percentile in the verbal exam)
  • CV or Resume
  • SOP
  • 3 LORs
  • A coding skills assessment test may be taken in some cases
  • 1 to 3 years of practical experience in the industry, government or research laboratory (required for robotics courses)

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee costs around $48,500 - $72,000 USD (~ INR 34-51 Lakhs) a year
  • The average living expenses add up to $25,400 USD (~ INR 18 Lakhs) per year

The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

This is one of the top 50 universities in the world as ranked by the QS World University Rankings 2020. Founded in 1868, this is one of the flagship institutions of the University of California. It is home to world-class research institutes like the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the Space Sciences Laboratory. The university alumni include 99 Nobel Laureates and many other award winners. 

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration 
MS in Computer Science 2 years
Master of Engineering1 year

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 70-75% marks
  • TOEFL iBT score: 90 (Not more than two years old score)
  • GRE (score not specified)
  • Resume
  • SOP
  • Personal History Statement 
  • 3 LORs

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The average tuition fee costs around $26,000-$30,000 USD (~ INR 19-22 Lakhs) a year
  • The living expenses add up to $25,000 USD (~ INR 18 Lakhs) per year

Princeton University

Established in 1746, this is one of the oldest and most reputed universities in the USA. It is among the world’s most famous research universities. 18 Nobel Laureates along with distinguished personalities like  Michele Obama, Eric Schmidt and two former US Presidents James Madison & Woodrow Wilson, among others, are the alumni of this university. The university offers 18 master degree programs in 36 different academic departments.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration
Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.)2 years (includes research)
Master in Engineering 2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 70% marks in a related field
  • TOEFL iBT with no less than 27 marks in the Verbal section is required
  • Statement of Academic Purpose
  • Resume/CV
  • 3 LORs
  • GRE ( score not specified)

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee costs around $53,000 - $54,000 USD (~ INR 38-39 Lakhs) per year
  • The average living expenses add up to $31,500 USD (~ INR 22 Lakhs) per year

The University of California, Los Angeles

Founded in 1919, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) provides the most impactful and diverse study environment for the students. It is the proud university of 14 Nobel Laureates and several other award winners. The computer science department of the university aims at an excellent contribution to the development of software systems and algorithmic methods. The university is home to 3, 312 international graduate students.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration
MS in Computer Science 2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 75-805 marks in a related field
  • TOEFL iBT Score: 87 or above
  • GRE (score not specified)
  • SOP
  • 3 LORs

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee costs around $32,374 USD (~ INR 23 Lakhs) per year 
  • The average living expenses add up to $30,000 USD (~ INR 21 Lakhs) per year

Columbia University

Established in 1754, Columbia University is one of the oldest universities in the USA. It is the third most selective university in the USA. This university has several alumni from Nobel Laureates and Oscar Prize Winners to Supreme Court Judges. This university is the home and witness to nuclear fission of uranium and many other, one of their kind activities. About 9,800 international students from various countries are a part of this university. It has several global centres, including one in India as well.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration
MS in Computer Science 2 years
MS in Computer Engineering 2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 70% marks 
  • TOEFL iBT score: 100 or more
  • GRE (score not specified)
  • SOP
  • 3 LORs
  • Resume/CV

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The average tuition fee costs around $46,000- $49,000 USD (~ INR 33-35 Lakhs) per year
  • Living expenses add up to $32,000 USD (~ INR 23 Lakhs) per year

New York University

This university has been ranked among the top 20 universities in the world for its education in computer science and technology by QS World University Rankings 2020. Founded in 1831, this university is known for its higher education. The university has a student count of 44,466 including around 14,600 international students. The university alumni have notable contributions in space missions by NASA, including Apollo II Lunar mission.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration
MS in Computer Science 2 years
MS in Computer Engineering 2 years
MS in Cybersecurity Risk & Management 2 years
MS in Cybersecurity 2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 60% marks in a related field
  • TOEFL iBT score: 100 or more is required
  • GRE is required (score not specified)
  • SOP
  • 2 LORs

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee costs between $35,000- $40,000 USD (~ INR 25-28 Lakhs) per year
  • The average cost of living adds up to $30,000 - $35,000 USD (~ INR 21-25 Lakhs) per year

Georgia Institute of Technology

One of the top 100 universities in the world, Georgia Institute of Technology is a public, industrial and engineering research university. Its computer science department is one of the most famous in the USA. More than 23,000 students are a part of this university. Famous computer scientists like Gene Spafford, Tom Cross and Jeff Trinkle, among others, are the notable alumni of this university.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration
Master of Science in Analytics1 year
Master of Science in Computational Science and Engineering1.5 - 2 years
Master of Science in Cybersecurity1.5 - 2 years

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 60% marks with exceptional knowledge of maths and computing is required 
  • TOEFL iBT score: 100 or more is required
  • GRE required (score not specified)

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee ranges between $20,000 - $27,000 (~ INR 14-20 Lakhs) per year
  • The average cost of living adds up to $20,000- $25,000 (~ INR 14- 18 Lakhs) per year

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Founded in 1867, this is one of the flagship universities of the Illinois system. The university ranks among the top 50 universities in the world for computer science. The pioneers of this university invented the first graphical web browser. This university is home to more than 10,000 international students. Founders of famous apps like YouTube and PayPal are the alumni of this university.

Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science

Course Name Duration 
Master of Computer Science (MCS)12-16 months
MS in Computer Science 2 years (includes research)

Eligibility and Requirements:

  • A four years bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 55-60% in a related field
  • TOEFL iBT Score: 79 or above is acceptable
  • GRE is not mandatory
  • Current resume
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three professional letters of reference

Tuition Fee and Living Expenses:

  • The tuition fee ranges between $35,000 - $37,000 USD (~ INR 25-27 Lakhs) per year
  • The average cost of living adds up to $21,000- $25,000 USD  (~ INR 15- 18 Lakhs) per year

A career in computer science can be very promising if planned earnestly. Now that you have an idea about the top 10 universities for MS in computer science in the USA, you can make an informed decision. Our student support team is always at your service if you need any kind of assistance in the journey towards your dream university.


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