UMD’s Computer Science Undergraduate Program Climbs Two Spots to No. 16 in U.S. News Rankings

The University of Maryland’s computer science program ranks 8th among the country’s public undergraduate programs in the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges.” The program ranks 16th overall, climbing two spots this year.

UMD also ranks in the Top 20 in five computer science specialties:

• Game Development: #4 public, #9 overall
• Cybersecurity: #5 public, #9 overall  
• Artificial Intelligence: #8 public, #16 overall
• Software Engineering: #10 public, #13 overall

UMD’s computer science graduate program ranks 17th in the nation according to the latest list from U.S. News & World Report. This is only the third year the publication ranked computer science undergraduate programs and specialties.

“The ability of our department to thrive and be recognized with higher rankings during this period validates our commitment to world-class education and research yet again. Maryland is truly a destination for many of the nation's best computer science students,” 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 more than 3,000 undergraduates. And more than 650 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 computing.

UMD also ranks No. 4 in the U.S. for undergraduate degrees in computer and information science granted to African Americans, according to Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

“Our rising reputation reflects the talent and dedication of our computer science students, faculty, staff, alums and friends,” said Amitabh Varshney, dean of UMD’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences and a professor of computer science. “We are also grateful to university President Darryll Pines and Provost Jennifer King Rice for their steadfast support and strategic plan that encourages computer science education to accelerate solutions to the grand challenges of our time.”

Graduates of UMD’s computer science undergraduate 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.

The department added a new computing cluster to scale up infrastructure for undergraduates in 2022 and launched a student startup accelerator called the Mokhtarzada Hatchery in 2021. 

Also in 2021, UMD was selected as a site for Break Through Tech, a national initiative that works at the intersection of academia and industry to propel more students who identify as women and nonbinary into tech education and, ultimately, tech careers

In 2019, UMD opened a 215,600-square-foot facility where computer science students learn in collaborative classrooms and auditoriums, pursue research in specialized labs, create and innovate in fully equipped makerspaces, and engage with one another. The six-floor Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering serves as a hub for technology, collaboration and discovery that offers students unprecedented opportunities to innovate bold new applications for computer science.