If you plan on getting your associate degree in computer programming, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #38 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 4 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of computer programming. Combined, these schools handed out 214 associate degrees in computer programming to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Computer Programming School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of computer programming for getting your associate degree school matters. 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
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate 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:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on computer programming students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other computer programming students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt computer programming students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer programming related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for computer programming students working on their associate degree.
The programming school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Computer Programming Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Computer Programming in the Middle Atlantic Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in computer programming.
Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for an Associate in Programming
It is hard to beat Community College of Allegheny County if you want to pursue an associate degree in computer programming. CCAC is a fairly large public college located in the city of Pittsburgh.
Associate recipients from the computer programming degree program at Community College of Allegheny County earn $4,406 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Pittsburgh Technical College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in computer programming. Located in the suburb of Oakdale, Pittsburgh Technical College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the programming program report average early career earnings of $33,829.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Your choice of computer programming for getting your associate degree school matters. 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:
