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Data Science

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

Data Science and AI sit at the intersection of computer science, statistics, and business logic. Coursework blends Python/SQL, machine learning, deep learning, algorithms, and data wrangling. You'll build recommendation engines, train models on massive messy datasets, and learn the dark art of hyperparameter tuning. It’s highly applied and incredibly fast-paced; half the libraries you learn will be updated or replaced by the time you graduate.

What you'll do after college

Grads become data scientists, machine learning engineers, and AI researchers. Despite the hype of building autonomous AI, a typical day often consists of spending 80% of your time cleaning disastrously messy data and 20% complaining about it. Starting salaries are astronomical, but you must constantly upskill to keep pace with the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$86,581
639
100–78%
$95,936
1,558
78–41%
$113,172
1,982
40–6%
$150,796
115
6–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$82,816
435
400–1190
$95,303
1,035
1190–1360
$104,439
1,018
1370–1500
$136,884
452
1510–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$75,626p10 $106,325p90 Arts Military STEM Non-Research Female-only Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University Public University 1–15 Private University 1–30 Bennington College · $80,581 Johnson & Wales University - Providence · $68,369 United States Air Force Academy · $105,650 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott · $97,229 Florida Polytechnic University · $97,754 Smith College · $89,179 Mount Holyoke College · $88,565 St Catherine University · $87,026 Denison University · $91,225 Macalester College · $94,912 Dickinson College · $100,285 St. Lawrence University · $80,528 Earlham College · $78,306 William Jewell College · $84,327 Berry College · $81,539 Centre College · $85,743 Lake Forest College · $83,805 Ohio Wesleyan University · $80,690 Carthage College · $84,842 Champlain College · $95,124 Dordt University · $85,325 Elizabethtown College · $80,132 Knox College · $79,558 Washington College · $80,299 Beloit College · $85,089 Juniata College · $79,645 Loras College · $83,981 Coe College · $85,298 Lipscomb University · $83,462 Bridgewater College · $73,008 Calvin University · $76,809 Augsburg University · $81,871 Willamette University · $82,860 Roanoke College · $81,543 Nebraska Wesleyan University · $81,401 Pacific University · $84,445 William & Mary · $106,325 Morgan State University · $70,610 University of Central Florida · $82,396 University of California, Davis · $89,137 Salisbury University · $83,469 Ohio State University · $85,955 Ramapo College of New Jersey · $85,464 Florida Atlantic University · $93,025 Virginia Tech · $93,661 Pennsylvania State University · $110,944 University of Pittsburgh · $85,879 Winthrop University · $73,302 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $97,337 Ball State University · $76,081 Eastern Michigan University · $75,626 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $103,322 New Jersey Institute of Technology · $94,900 College of Charleston · $75,081 Cleveland State University · $77,336 University of Houston - Downtown · $79,826 University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth · $77,954 University of Texas at Arlington · $80,270 University of Texas at Dallas · $87,746 University of Vermont · $98,053 Miami University - Ohio · $91,864 Winona State University · $84,695 University of North Carolina at Charlotte · $96,752 Middle Tennessee State University · $76,677 University of Missouri - Saint Louis · $78,695 University of Iowa · $88,313 Portland State University · $85,576 University of Toledo · $81,050 University of Central Oklahoma · $86,470 University of North Texas · $84,364 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $91,298 University of North Dakota · $87,349 Purdue University Fort Wayne · $75,876 Southern Connecticut State University · $72,929 Mississippi State University · $97,887 Central Washington University · $79,608 Montana Technological University · $91,966 Northern Kentucky University · $70,906 Rhode Island College · $71,256 South Dakota State University · $86,801 Stockton University · $71,662 Western Oregon University · $73,993 Metropolitan State University · $79,874 Northern Michigan University · $76,656 University of Wisconsin - River Falls · $80,127 University of Washington - Bothell · $111,357 University of Oregon · $88,270 Arizona State University · $88,996 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $99,237 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $82,940 Northern Arizona University · $100,750 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point · $79,894 Western Washington University · $83,391 Utah Valley University · $83,161 College of Wooster · $83,469 Saint Louis University · $91,901 Baylor University · $87,098 Andrews University · $80,266 Olivet Nazarene University · $76,781 University of San Francisco · $99,196 Bellarmine University · $76,327 Harding University · $80,923 American University · $85,017 Arcadia University · $77,942 California Baptist University · $80,363 Concordia University Wisconsin · $77,914 Eastern University · $72,459 Lewis University · $78,798 John Carroll University · $80,158 St. Ambrose University · $81,055 Saint Vincent College · $79,345 Loyola University Chicago · $88,569 University of Mount Union · $75,535 Canisius University · $77,868 Mercyhurst University · $91,961 Mount St. Mary's University · $77,626 University of Northwestern - St Paul · $96,883 Siena College · $91,963 Point Loma Nazarene University · $79,868 Saint John's University (NY) · $94,042 Thiel College · $72,179 Valparaiso University · $88,332 Carlow University · $74,548 University of the Incarnate Word · $76,015 Syracuse University · $88,051 Jacksonville University · $84,147 Quinnipiac University · $94,345 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $115,795 Drake University · $92,127 Elon University · $84,737 Bradley University · $82,779 University of Charleston · $76,459 Lasell University · $76,737 Long Island University · $82,742 Clarkson University · $85,210 Drexel University · $98,089 Lynn University · $70,633 Norwich University · $83,740 Maryville University of Saint Louis · $84,128 University of California, Berkeley · $111,668 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $113,684 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $116,797 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $103,503 MIT · $158,174 Stanford University · $142,805 University of Chicago · $151,593 Dartmouth · $153,378 Columbia University · $136,626 Northwestern University · $152,895 Emory University · $106,887 Tufts University · $139,739 New York University · $113,247 Case Western Reserve University · $89,228 Arts: mean $74,475 Military: mean $101,440 STEM Non-Research: mean $97,754 Female-only: mean $88,257 Liberal Arts: mean $83,788 Public University: mean $85,592 Religious University: mean $82,480 Private University: mean $86,648 Public University 1–15: mean $111,413 Private University 1–30: mean $134,457 All colleges: p10 $75,626 All colleges: p90 $106,325
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Data Science 222 4,578 60% / 40% 20% $90,597 89%
Data Science 176 3,881 59% / 41% 22% $88,500 88%
Data Analytics 51 370 67% / 33% 10% $81,564 100%
Computational Modeling and Data Analytics 1 138 73% / 27% 18% $93,661
Data Science and Society 1 123 59% / 41% 12% $158,713 98%
Data Visualization 1 38 53% / 47% 3% $111,357
Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (Course 6-14) 1 28 54% / 46% 4% $158,174