2 Best Colleges for Computer Science in Ohio
The two best colleges for computer science in Ohio both offer programs among the top 100 in the nation. The state offers many other good options too, with 12 universities offering ABET-accredited computer science degrees.
Computer science prepares you for a job as a software developer—named the best job in America by U.S. News and World Report. Software developers code the systems, programs and apps that we couldn’t live without, and they get paid well to do so. The Occupational Outlook Handbook reports a median annual salary of $105,590, and these jobs aren’t going away. The OOH predicts 21% job growth over the next ten years.
If you’re interested in computer science, you can also check out College Guidepost’s rankings for the best value colleges in computer science, as well as the best overall. In this article, we’ll just look at the best colleges for computer science in Ohio.
Let’s start with a few honorable mentions and then get to our top two!
Honorable Mention: Oberlin College is a highly-ranked liberal arts college that offers a computer science degree. Another private university to consider is Cedarville, a Christian institution whose computer science degree has been ABET-accredited since 2005. In cyber operations, Cedarville received a CAE-CO designation from the NSA. Cedarville offers a cyber operations track for their computer science B.S., as well as co-op and internship opportunities.
Among public schools, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati are two public universities known for their computer science programs, although their credentials weren’t quite strong enough to crack Ohio’s top two.
2. Case Western Reserve University
Based in Cleveland, Case Western Reserve is a private university enrolling over 5,000 undergraduate students. Case Western Reserve has earned accolades from across the nation, ranked as high as 40th in the country.
Historically strong in research and engineering, Case Western’s computer science program was ranked 76th in the nation by CSRankings. As you might expect from a prestigious private university, tuition isn’t cheap—currently it’s over $52,000 a year.
If Case Western’s small, urban environment and history of academic excellence appeal to you, it’s a great choice for computer science majors.
1. Ohio State University
Ohio’s flagship university enrolls over 68,000 students, and ranks 17th among all public universities, with a rank of 7th in undergraduate teaching (U.S. News). They’ve won too many awards to mention here actually, so we’ll just let you check out the link.
In computer science, Ohio State has 50 years of experience, 14 ACM and IEEE Fellows among the faculty (current and past), and $9.3 million in research spending for computer science and engineering. CSRankings placed Ohio State 1st in the state and 32nd in the nation in computer science.
With annual in-state tuition under $12,000 a year, Ohio State offers an incredible value for computer science majors. Ohio State has the best computer science program in the state, at one of the lowest costs in the nation.
Final Thoughts
Ohio has so many good computer science programs that we couldn’t even list them all in the honorable mentions section. Whether you prefer a small private college or a state school, Ohio has something for you. Still, Ohio State stands out among the stiff competition as an incredible opportunity to launch your computer science career for one of the lowest tuition rates in the nation. If you’re considering the computer science major at Ohio State, it’s an excellent choice.
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to see the best colleges for computer science in another state, you can find the index here.