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2024 Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools

228 Colleges in the United States
18,992 Master's Degrees
$77,715 Avg Early-Career Salary
Computer Information Systems is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #9 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 228 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 18,992 master's degrees in computer information systems during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Computer Information Systems School for Your Master's Degree

Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools The cis master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer information systems students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More CIS Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Computer Information Systems in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in computer information systems. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in CIS

1

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in computer information systems. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Computer Information Systems master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of approximately $39,428 over the typical income of computer information systems majors.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Pennsylvania

2

Carnegie Mellon University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in computer information systems. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those computer information systems students who get their master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University make $31,900 more than the typical cis student.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Carnegie Mellon University

3
2,076 Annual Graduates
$121,610 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in computer information systems has to take a look at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus. Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Computer Information Systems master's degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn a boost of approximately $43,895 above the average earnings of computer information systems graduates.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

4
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
43 Annual Graduates

Yale University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in computer information systems. Located in the midsize city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Yale University

5

Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore.

Those computer information systems students who get their master's degree from Johns Hopkins University receive $33,936 more than the standard cis graduate.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Johns Hopkins University

6
549 Annual Graduates
$99,979 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Computer Information Systems master's degree recipients from New York University get an earnings boost of approximately $22,264 above the average income of computer information systems majors.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from New York University

7
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
128 Annual Graduates

Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Houston.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Rice University

8

Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those computer information systems students who get their master's degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus earn $39,275 more than the average cis grad.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

9
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
77 Annual Graduates

Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Harvard University

10
295 Annual Graduates
$98,777 Median Starting Salary

Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.

Master's recipients from the computer information systems major at Northeastern University make $21,062 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Northeastern University

11

U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

12
158 Annual Graduates

USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Southern California

13
122 Annual Graduates
$86,576 Median Starting Salary

Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca.

Those computer information systems students who get their master's degree from Cornell University earn $8,861 more than the typical cis graduate.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Cornell University

14
500 Annual Graduates
$92,223 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the computer information systems major at Columbia University in the City of New York make $14,508 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Columbia University in the City of New York

15
94 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from The University of Texas at Austin

16
75 Annual Graduates

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Virginia - Main Campus

17
152 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of Wisconsin - Madison

18
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

19
475 Annual Graduates

Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Syracuse University

20
22 Annual Graduates

Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Northwestern University

21
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
90 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Virginia Tech

22
631 Annual Graduates

WGU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City.More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Western Governors University

23

Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Master's recipients from the computer information systems degree program at Purdue University - Main Campus make $16,221 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from Purdue University - Main Campus

24

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

Computer Information Systems master's degree recipients from University of California - San Diego receive an earnings boost of around $38,371 above the average earnings of computer information systems graduates.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from University of California - San Diego

25

GMU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Fairfax.

Those computer information systems students who get their master's degree from George Mason University make $24,171 more than the standard cis grad.

More information about a master’s in computer information systems from George Mason University

Rest of the Top Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Computer Information Systems students that almost earned our Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools award.

RankCollegeLocation
35University of FloridaGainesville, FL
36Iowa State UniversityAmes, IA
37University of ArizonaTucson, AZ
38University of ChicagoChicago, IL
39Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL
40Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, AZ
41Indiana University - BloomingtonBloomington, IN
42Marquette UniversityMilwaukee, WI
43University of DenverDenver, CO
44Missouri University of Science and TechnologyRolla, MO
45The University of Texas at DallasRichardson, TX

Computer Information Systems by Region

View the Best Computer Information Systems Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 10 majors within the Computer & Information Sciences area of study, Computer Information Systems has other similar majors worth exploring.

CIS Concentrations

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Computer & Information Sciences11,283
Information Technology5,927
Informatics1,019
Artificial Intelligence397
Other Computer & Information Sciences314
Human-Centered Technology Design52

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Computer Science14,364
Information Technology9,181
Information Science6,396
Computer Software & Applications3,555
Computer Systems Analysis628
Computer Systems Networking566
Computer Programming378
Other Computer & Information Sciences251
Data Processing199

Notes and References

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