Top Universities in the USA for Master’s in Computer Science in 2024: Your Ultimate Guide to Leading Programs
With new AI & technology trends, the demand for skilled computer scientists is only going to increase. As the leader in computer science, research and application, the US is head and shoulders above other countries in terms of the quality and variety of education it provides. For Indian students keen on pursuing a Masters in Computer Science, the US is the country of choice.
Table of Contents
Let’s take a deep dive into the top 10 universities for MS in Computer Science in the USA, based on the rankings given by QS World University Rankings 2023.
Stanford University
About the University
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 ensures a strong university- industry connection with internships and work opportunities for students. The university is home to around 3700 international students.
Campus Life
Founded in 1885, Stanford university has one of the most thriving residential campuses in the world. The campus is home to two world class art museums. In addition, the campus has several recreation, health and wellness centres and community activities for networking.
Famous Alumni
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 Science | 2 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
About the 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 program in computer sciences. Harvard has the largest library system in the world. It is home to around 36,012 students.
Famous Alumni
Harvard boasts an impressive 49 Nobel Laureates as part of its alumni list.
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 Science | 1 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)
About the University
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.
Campus Life
Located in Pittsburgh, a vibrant city with a booming tech and business sector, the CMU campus provides a holistic learning experience.
Famous Alumni
Notable alumni of CMU include 7 Nobel laureates and 6 Turing award recipients.
Postgraduate Courses available in Computer Science
| Course Name | Duration |
| Master of Human-Computer Interaction | 1 year |
| Master of Information Technology Strategy | 12-16 months |
| MSIT- Privacy Engineering | 12-16 months |
| Master of Software Engineering – Scalable Systems | 16 months (requires internship) |
| Master of Software Engineering – Embedded Systems | 16 months (requires internship) |
| Master of Language Technologies | 2 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)
About the University
This is one of the top 50 universities in the world as ranked by the QS World University Rankings 2020. Founded in 1868, the UCB began as the flagship institution of the University of California. It is home to world-class research institutes like the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the Space Sciences Laboratory.
Campus Life
Other than academics, UCB campus life is all about student organizations and clubs.
Famous Alumni
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 Engineering | 1 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
About the University
Established in 1746, Princeton is one of the oldest and most reputed universities in the USA. It is among the world’s most famous research universities. The university offers 18 master degree programs in 36 different academic departments.
Campus Life
A focus of campus life at Princeton is self discovery by creating connection to community and meaningful work opportunities.
Famous Alumni
18 Nobel Laureates along with distinguished personalities like Michele Obama, Eric Schmidt and two former US Presidents James Madison & Woodrow Wilson, among others, are alumni.
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
About the University
Founded in 1919, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) provides the most impactful study environment for the students. The computer science department of the university is known to be a pioneer in contributions to the development of software systems and algorithmic methods. The university is home to 3312 international graduate students making it a significantly diverse campus.
Campus Life
Famous Alumni
The university was host to 14 Nobel Laureates and several other award winners.
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
About the University
Established in 1754, Columbia University is one of the oldest universities in the USA. It is here that the world witnessed the first attempt at the nuclear fission of uranium and many other, pioneering scientific works. About 9,800 international students from various countries are a part of this university. The university hosts an India centre.
Campus Life
Famous Alumni
This university has several alumni that are Nobel Laureates and Oscar Prize Winners as well as Supreme Court Judges.
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
About the University
Ranked among the top 20 universities in the world for its prgram in computer science and technology by QS World University Rankings 2020, NYU is a gold standard in higher education. The university has a student count of 44,466 including 14,600 international students.
Famous Alumni
The university alumni have made 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
About the University
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 Analytics | 1 year |
| Master of Science in Computational Science and Engineering | 1.5 – 2 years |
| Master of Science in Cybersecurity | 1.5 – 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
About the University
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.