College Rankings

Best Computer Engineering Schools

The top 25 of 177 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Computer Engineering degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Computer Engineering worth it?

It is one of the most reliably lucrative undergraduate degrees you can pursue. Because every major industry—from aerospace to finance to consumer electronics—is desperate for talent that understands both hardware and software, computer engineers command massive starting salaries right out of the gate. But the real lesson of this ranking is geographical and institutional: the overwhelming value lies at public universities anchored near major tech hubs. You do not need to pay Ivy League tuition to land a job at Apple or Intel; in fact, taking on massive debt for a private-school computer engineering degree is a mathematical mistake when state schools with deep industry pipelines offer the exact same elite career outcomes for a fraction of the cost.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	University of Washington-Bothell Campus	WA	88	$141,588	$12,319†	+$1.4M
2	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	88	$141,588	$10,163†	+$1.4M
3	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	87	$141,588	$14,091†	+$1.4M
4	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	87	$111,560	$16,665†	+$1.0M
5	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	87	$103,123	$14,355†	+$974K
6	University of California-Davis	CA	87	$96,418	$14,741†	+$905K
7	University of California-San Diego	CA	87	$96,256	$12,470†	+$913K
8	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	87	$93,629	$12,116†	+$888K
9	University of Florida	FL	87	$87,949	$6,541†	+$853K
10	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	86	$118,232	$21,565†	+$1.1M
11	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	86	$92,501	$13,138†	+$872K
12	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	86	$91,387	$16,109†	+$849K
13	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	86	$89,965	$14,600†	+$841K
14	Brigham Young University	UT	86	$88,785	$15,564	+$826K
15	Utah Valley University	UT	86	$85,564	$6,376†	+$830K
16	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	86	$82,924	$10,875†	+$786K
17	CUNY City College	NY	86	$78,326	$3,776†	+$768K
18	Duke University	NC	85	$111,145	$29,612	+$993K
19	Boston University	MA	85	$93,995	$24,402	+$842K
20	George Mason University	VA	85	$87,466	$17,915†	+$803K
21	Washington State University	WA	85	$87,135	$14,971†	+$811K
22	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	85	$86,444	$16,467†	+$799K
23	University of South Florida	FL	85	$83,660	$9,812†	+$797K
24	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	85	$82,997	$17,303†	+$761K
25	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	85	$82,924	$13,807†	+$774K
26	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	85	$82,924	$16,798†	+$762K
27	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	85	$82,924	$16,403†	+$764K
28	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	85	$81,226	$13,951†	+$756K
29	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	85	$81,123	$14,967†	+$751K
30	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	85	$79,969	$17,890†	+$728K
31	University of California-Irvine	CA	85	$79,812	$14,251†	+$741K
32	California State University-Long Beach	CA	85	$79,809	$10,440†	+$756K
33	University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	85	$79,022	$9,492†	+$752K
34	Florida State University	FL	85	$78,941	$11,297†	+$744K
35	Oakland University	MI	85	$78,709	$9,120†	+$751K
36	West Virginia University Institute of Technology	WV	85	$76,314	$9,337†	+$726K
37	Florida International University	FL	85	$75,210	$9,288†	+$715K
38	California State University-Fresno	CA	85	$75,101	$7,000†	+$723K
39	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	84	$89,327	$22,383†	+$804K
40	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	84	$88,904	$23,805†	+$794K
41	Binghamton University	NY	84	$86,938	$21,620†	+$783K
42	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	84	$86,366	$21,315†	+$778K
43	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	84	$85,672	$16,778†	+$790K
44	Texas Tech University	TX	84	$85,619	$19,070†	+$780K
45	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	84	$85,446	$19,550†	+$776K
46	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	84	$83,342	$17,339†	+$764K
47	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	84	$82,398	$17,747†	+$753K
48	Iowa State University	IA	84	$79,182	$18,589†	+$717K
49	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MO	84	$78,964	$16,298†	+$724K
50	University of North Texas	TX	84	$78,714	$15,649†	+$725K
51	Michigan Technological University	MI	84	$77,465	$14,182†	+$718K
52	Kennesaw State University	GA	84	$77,455	$15,048†	+$714K
53	University of Arkansas	AR	84	$77,306	$18,209†	+$700K
54	University of Central Florida	FL	84	$76,819	$10,411†	+$727K
55	Stony Brook University	NY	84	$73,820	$18,784†	+$663K
56	Florida Atlantic University	FL	84	$72,029	$8,752†	+$685K
57	Northeastern University	MA	83	$99,499	$30,915	+$871K
58	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	83	$86,636	$24,953†	+$767K
59	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	PA	83	$85,446	$23,330†	+$761K
60	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine	PA	83	$85,446	$22,585†	+$764K
61	Michigan State University	MI	83	$83,934	$19,680†	+$761K
62	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	83	$83,545	$17,936†	+$764K
63	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	83	$81,252	$18,425	+$739K
64	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	83	$78,075	$18,202†	+$708K
65	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	83	$77,609	$18,267†	+$703K
66	West Virginia University	WV	83	$76,314	$15,634†	+$701K
67	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	83	$71,986	$11,668†	+$673K
68	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	83	$71,117	$15,435†	+$649K
69	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	83	$70,768	$11,531†	+$662K
70	Old Dominion University	VA	83	$70,298	$14,638†	+$644K
71	Tennessee Technological University	TN	83	$69,291	$14,246†	+$636K
72	California State University-Sacramento	CA	83	$66,266	$9,338†	+$625K
73	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College	PA	82	$85,446	$24,558†	+$756K
74	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	82	$83,243	$20,268†	+$751K
75	University of Louisville	KY	82	$72,710	$17,988†	+$655K
76	University of Wisconsin-Platteville	WI	82	$71,635	$16,032†	+$652K
77	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	82	$69,310	$15,927†	+$629K
78	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	82	$69,070	$13,946†	+$635K
79	New Jersey Institute of Technology	NJ	82	$67,640	$16,504†	+$610K
80	University of California-Riverside	CA	82	$65,049	$14,304†	+$593K
81	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	82	$65,003	$15,664†	+$587K
82	Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	82	$60,746	$12,568†	+$557K
83	Santa Clara University	CA	81	$103,804	$50,062	+$838K
84	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	81	$86,211	$25,346†	+$761K
85	University of Connecticut	CT	81	$82,924	$25,097†	+$729K
86	Milwaukee School of Engineering	WI	81	$78,333	$22,453	+$694K
87	University at Buffalo	NY	81	$74,753	$20,995†	+$664K
88	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	81	$71,148	$10,974†	+$668K
89	University of Memphis	TN	81	$65,222	$12,397†	+$603K
90	University of California-Merced	CA	81	$58,835	$11,983†	+$540K
91	California State University-Fullerton	CA	81	$55,093	$6,555†	+$525K
92	Rochester Institute of Technology	NY	80	$90,829	$34,906	+$769K
93	Auburn University	AL	80	$80,067	$24,323†	+$703K
94	Clemson University	SC	80	$77,672	$22,253†	+$688K
95	Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	80	$70,345	$15,415†	+$642K
96	Wichita State University	KS	80	$66,207	$13,194†	+$609K
97	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	80	$57,841	$4,831†	+$559K
98	San Francisco State University	CA	80	$53,180	$12,278†	+$483K
99	Bucknell University	PA	79	$90,171	$40,766	+$739K
100	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	79	$89,001	$41,346	+$725K
101	Clarkson University	NY	79	$80,942	$30,305	+$688K
102	University of Toledo	OH	79	$68,597	$17,249†	+$617K
103	University of Houston-Clear Lake	TX	79	$63,751	$15,563†	+$575K
104	Drexel University	PA	78	$89,418	$38,509	+$740K
105	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	78	$85,446	$32,875†	+$723K
106	Miami University-Oxford	OH	78	$71,836	$28,384†	+$605K
107	Cleveland State University	OH	78	$68,852	$14,764†	+$629K
108	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	78	$49,043	$4,564†	+$472K
109	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	IN	77	$92,123	$42,513	+$751K
110	Lehigh University	PA	77	$82,209	$36,931	+$674K
111	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	77	$78,075	$30,434†	+$659K
112	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	77	$73,982	$22,811†	+$649K
113	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	77	$65,436	$10,359†	+$613K
114	New York University	NY	76	$82,183	$37,050	+$674K
115	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	76	$80,574	$23,726†	+$711K
116	Villanova University	PA	75	$94,228	$43,756	+$767K
117	Portland State University	OR	74	$87,259	$9,552†	+$834K
118	Florida Institute of Technology	FL	74	$79,244	$35,639	+$650K
119	Marquette University	WI	74	$69,664	$31,487	+$571K
120	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	74	$67,949	$24,022†	+$583K
121	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	73	$95,847	$15,678†	+$896K
122	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	73	$80,685	$10,846†	+$763K
123	Brigham Young University-Idaho	ID	73	$76,193	$8,221	+$729K
124	California State University-Northridge	CA	73	$75,692	$7,021†	+$729K
125	California Baptist University	CA	73	$75,087	$26,285	+$646K
126	University of Utah	UT	72	$89,605	$16,200†	+$831K
127	University of Houston	TX	72	$80,438	$14,276†	+$747K
128	Saint Cloud State University	MN	72	$77,792	$13,529†	+$724K
129	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	72	$73,639	$10,836†	+$693K
130	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	71	$102,083	$21,590	+$934K
131	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	71	$85,280	$17,163†	+$784K
132	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	CO	71	$82,084	$15,788†	+$758K
133	Grand Valley State University	MI	71	$80,746	$16,317†	+$742K
134	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott	AZ	71	$79,276	$40,287	+$632K
135	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach	FL	71	$79,276	$41,272	+$628K
136	University of Georgia	GA	71	$77,882	$13,936†	+$723K
137	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	71	$76,982	$15,014†	+$710K
138	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh	WI	71	$76,187	$14,305†	+$705K
139	University of Alabama in Huntsville	AL	70	$83,909	$18,796†	+$764K
140	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	70	$80,493	$17,490†	+$735K
141	San Diego State University	CA	70	$76,812	$15,364†	+$707K
142	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	70	$76,558	$15,543†	+$703K
143	University of Kentucky	KY	69	$79,620	$18,851†	+$721K
144	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	69	$78,915	$19,151†	+$713K
145	University of Maine	ME	69	$75,282	$17,510†	+$683K
146	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	69	$71,841	$14,889†	+$659K
147	Florida Polytechnic University	FL	69	$65,126	$11,853†	+$604K
148	University of Rhode Island	RI	68	$80,029	$21,440†	+$715K
149	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	MA	68	$79,383	$20,927†	+$710K
150	Kansas State University	KS	68	$77,938	$19,406†	+$702K
151	Valparaiso University	IN	68	$75,484	$18,578	+$681K
152	University of Delaware	DE	68	$73,750	$17,799†	+$666K
153	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	68	$72,820	$17,447†	+$658K
154	Mississippi State University	MS	68	$72,529	$17,595†	+$655K
155	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	68	$71,436	$16,236†	+$649K
156	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	68	$70,904	$15,300†	+$648K
157	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	67	$82,964	$23,433†	+$736K
158	University of Iowa	IA	67	$79,228	$22,531†	+$702K
159	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	67	$74,085	$18,976†	+$665K
160	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	66	$83,489	$25,648†	+$732K
161	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology	SD	66	$72,639	$20,183†	+$646K
162	The College of New Jersey	NJ	65	$84,241	$27,646†	+$732K
163	Manhattan University	NY	63	$77,463	$27,256	+$666K
164	Kettering University	MI	62	$82,580	$34,660	+$687K
165	Wentworth Institute of Technology	MA	62	$82,057	$34,170	+$684K
166	Montana State University	MT	62	$67,015	$22,499†	+$580K
167	University of South Alabama	AL	62	$59,626	$17,648†	+$526K
168	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale	FL	62	$45,453	$30,498	+$333K
169	Syracuse University	NY	61	$84,793	$38,793	+$693K
170	University of Northern Colorado	CO	61	$56,557	$17,760†	+$495K
171	Trine University	IN	60	$67,500	$25,355	+$574K
172	Loyola University Chicago	IL	57	$68,020	$36,079	+$536K
173	Johnson & Wales University-Providence	RI	56	$62,056	$31,027	+$496K
174	Jackson State University	MS	54	$51,570	$23,836†	+$420K
175	Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico-Orlando	FL	52	$38,213	$16,577	+$316K
176	Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico	PR	51	$38,213	$17,540	+$312K
177	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus	PR	48	$28,052	$7,051	+$252K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

Location and local employer pipelines dictate this board. The University of Washington achieves an absolute sweep of the top three spots across its Bothell, Tacoma, and Seattle campuses. This isn't a fluke; it is the direct result of UW's stranglehold on the Seattle tech ecosystem. Graduates from these campuses feed directly into the hardware and cloud infrastructure teams at Microsoft and Amazon, as well as aerospace giants like Boeing. The satellite campuses in Bothell and Tacoma actually edge out the flagship Seattle campus because they offer the exact same regional employer access at an even lower net price to students.

The biggest surprise for prestige-chasers is seeing California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranking fourth, easily beating out heavyweights like Duke and the University of Michigan. Cal Poly operates on a famous "Learn by Doing" philosophy, stripping away theoretical fluff in favor of intensive, hands-on lab work from day one. Silicon Valley hardware manufacturers and major defense contractors know this, treating Cal Poly as a premier hiring ground because its grads require almost no on-the-job training. Similarly, CUNY City College punches wildly above its weight by offering an incredibly cheap route into the booming New York tech and fintech sectors, proving that proximity to employers beats a famous brand name every time.

What is Computer Engineering?

Computer engineering is the discipline that lives at the intersection of electrical engineering and computer science, bridging the gap between physical hardware and the software that runs on it. Graduates design the microprocessors, circuit boards, and embedded systems that power everything from smartphones and autonomous vehicles to next-generation gaming consoles and supercomputers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between computer science and computer engineering?

Computer science is almost entirely focused on software, algorithms, and data structures. Computer engineering includes software programming but heavily emphasizes electrical engineering and hardware design. If you want to write the code for a new app, study computer science. If you want to design the physical microchip that makes the phone run faster, study computer engineering.

Do I need a master's degree to get a good job?

No. A bachelor's degree is the industry standard for entry-level engineering roles, and employers care far more about your internships, co-op experience, and portfolio of hands-on projects than they do about graduate credentials. Many engineers who do pursue a master's degree wait until they are already working so their employer will foot the tuition bill.

Are jobs limited to Silicon Valley?

Not anymore. While the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle remain massive hubs for hardware and systems engineering, the demand has decentralized. Automotive companies in the Midwest are aggressively hiring computer engineers to build autonomous driving systems, defense contractors in Virginia and Maryland need them for aerospace and cybersecurity hardware, and the financial sector in New York recruits them to build ultra-low-latency trading networks.