3 Best Colleges for Computer Science in South Carolina

The best colleges for computer science in South Carolina are composed of three very different universities, each a great choice for computer science majors.

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 South Carolina.

Let’s start with our honorable mentions before we get to the countdown.

Honorable Mention: Esteemed universities with computer science programs in South Carolina include Claflin University, the College of Charleston, and Winthrop University. The Citadel also offers a highly respected computer science degree for those interested in a military college.

2. University of South Carolina

South Carolina’s flagship university enrolls over 36,000 students, with a 17:1 student to faculty ratio. With solid rankings in a variety of fields, USC’s degrees are highly respected within the state and region.

Over 900 undergraduates are in the computer science program, and students have opportunities to double major in mathematics. Every student completes a capstone project in their senior year, and potential application areas within the major include game design, bioinformatics, and data science. USC is ranked 86th nationally by CSRankings, tied for 1st in the state, and offers an ABET-accredited computer science degree.

With in-state tuition and fees around $14,000 a year, the University of South Carolina offers an excellent value for computer science majors.

1. Clemson University

Founded in 1889 with a military heritage, Clemson is a public research university that does a lot of things well. Clemson enrolls 20,000 undergraduate students across 80 majors, with a student to faculty ratio of 16:1. U.S News ranked Clemson 27th in the nation (and 17th in innovation), citing excellent freshman retention rates.

Clemson’s computer science program is the only top 100 program in the state (U.S. News), offering a B.A., B.S., and an accelerated Master’s program. The B.S. is accredited by ABET, and Clemson’s supercomputer and facilities are among the best in the nation.

With tuition and fees under $16,000 a year, Clemson offers both the best computer science program in the state, and the best value.

Thanks for reading! If you’d like to see the best colleges for computer science in another state, you can find the index here.