UMD’s Computer Science Undergraduate Program Ranks Top 10 Among Public Institutions

The University of Maryland’s undergraduate computer science program ranks 9th among the country’s public institutions and 18th overall in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges.”

UMD also ranks in the top 10 among public institutions in three undergraduate computer science specialties:

Cybersecurity: #7 public (11th overall)

Data Analytics/Science: #7 public (13th overall)

Artificial Intelligence: #9 public (15th overall)

Undergraduate computer science programs have been ranked by U.S. News & World Report for the past four years and UMD has ranked in the top 10 among public institutions every year. UMD’s graduate computer science program ranks 10th in the nation among public institutions and 17th overall according to U.S. News & World Report. 

“As we celebrate the department’s 50th anniversary this year, we couldn’t be more proud to be recognized as a top 10 department among public institutions. Maryland is truly a destination for many of the nation's best computer science students, and the achievements of our alums as entrepreneurs and leaders have been nothing short of amazing,” said Matthias Zwicker, chair of UMD’s Department of Computer Science. Zwicker also holds the Elizabeth Iribe Chair for Innovation and the Phillip H. and Catherine C. Horvitz Professorship.

UMD boasts one of the largest computer science programs in the country, with nearly 3,800 undergraduates. More than 850 of them are women, making it one of the largest female computer science populations in the country. Computer science majors at UMD can pursue a specialization in cybersecurity, data science, machine learning and quantum information.

UMD ranks 4th in the U.S. for conferring the most undergraduate degrees in computer and information science according to The Chronicle of Higher Education and 4th for conferring the most undergraduate degrees in computer and information science to African Americans according to Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

The 2022 Graduation Survey administered by the University Career Center reported a 98% placement rate of UMD’s computer science graduates with a median starting salary of $100,000 with a range of notable employers, including Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, Capital One, Amazon, Google, Lockheed Martin and others. Of the survey respondents, 84% reported full-time employment, 11% are continuing their education, 2% are employed part-time and 1% are participating in volunteer or military service.

“We are delighted to once again receive a top 10 ranking among public institutions for our undergraduate computer science program here at Maryland,” said Amitabh Varshney, dean of UMD’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences and a professor of computer science. “Our faculty members and students are talented, hard-working and productive—and this ranking reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence.”

Graduates of UMD’s undergraduate computer science program include: Michael Antonov ’03, Oculus co-founder; David Baggett ’92, Inky founder; Sergey Brin ’93, Google co-founder; Katherine Calvin ’03, NASA chief scientist and senior climate advisor; Anthony Casalena ’05, Squarespace founder; Judith Dotson ’85, Booz Allen Hamilton president of the global defense sector; Ruvi Kitov ’97, Tufin co-founder; Kristin Looney ’88, Looney Labs founder; Idris Mokhtarzada ’10 and Zeki Mokhtarzada ’01, Truebill co-founders; Sujal Patel ’96, Nautilus Biotechnology co-founder; and Jagdeep Singh ’86, QuantumScape founder.