2025 Best Colleges for Data Science
February 24, 2025
There has never been a better time in all of human history to be a 鈥渜uant nerd.鈥 The past decade has seen a near-universal celebration of data and analytics in business, finance, sports, entertainment, technology, and just about any other field you could name. Those who rule Wall Street, retail, athletics, politics, etc. generally rely on data analysis, modeling, and 鈥渂ig data鈥 systems to guide their actions. To study data science and analytics in college, you鈥檒l need a solid foundation of computer science and advanced math skills, but you won鈥檛 necessarily need Ivy-level credentials. Some of our Best Colleges for Data Science will open their doors to good-but-not-perfect candidates.
Finally, note that although some of the colleges featured below do not offer a formal major in data science, their undergraduate offerings in this subject area are so strong that they warrant inclusion on our list.
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Click here to read our methodology for the Best Colleges for Data Science.
Best Colleges for Data Science
Here鈥檚 a quick preview of the first ten data science institutions that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats for these and other programs can be found when you scroll below.
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All of the schools profiled below have a history of sending graduates to the most desirable applied data science-related jobs and grad schools in the country. For each of the best colleges for data science, 国产第一福利影院草草 will provide you with the:
- Enrollment
- Cost of Attendance
- Acceptance Rate
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- Retention Rate
- Graduation Rate
We will also include a longer write-up of each college鈥檚:
- Academic Highlights 鈥 Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
- Professional Outcomes 鈥 Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.
After reviewing our list of best Data Science programs below, feel free to check out our rankings of other computing and tech-related programs:
University of California, Berkeley
- Berkeley, CA
Academic Highlights: More than 150 undergraduate majors and minors are available across six schools. Undergrads will encounter a mix of large lectures (20% of sections contain more than 50 students) and tiny, single-digit enrollments in seminar-style courses (21% of sections contain nine or fewer students). Plenty of undergraduate research opportunities exist, with many facilitated by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarships; 48% of students participate in research during their time at Berkeley. Over 200 study abroad opportunities are available for those who desire them, and approximately 1,800 undergrads take advantage each year.
Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 53% of Cal鈥檚 Class of 2023 had already secured employment, and 17% were headed to graduate school. The median starting salary was $94,000 across all majors. Thousands of alumni can be found in the offices of Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, and 500+ Golden Bears are currently employed by NVIDIA and LinkedIn. The school is the number one all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers. For those continuing their education, most chose to stay at UC Berkeley, with Stanford, the University of Southern California, Columbia, and Harvard rounding out the top five grad school destinations.
- Enrollment: 33,078
- Cost of Attendance: $45,053 (In-State); $75,830 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Carnegie Mellon University
- Pittsburgh, PA
Academic Highlights: Impressively, particularly for a school with more graduate students than undergrads, CMU boasts a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and small class sizes, with roughly one-third containing single digits and 68% having an enrollment of nineteen or fewer. In a given school year, 800+ undergraduates conduct research through the University Research Office, and many others participated through various outside arrangements. Between 500-600 students study abroad for a semester each year in such countries as Japan, China, and Germany.
Professional Outcomes: By the end of the calendar year in which they received their diplomas, 74% of recent grads were employed, and 17% were continuing to graduate school. The companies that have routinely scooped up CMU grads include Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, TikTok, and NVIDIA. With an average starting salary of $124,107, CMU grads outpace the average starting salary for a college grad nationally.
- Enrollment: 7,289
- Cost of Attendance: $83,697
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 11%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Stanford University
- Palo Alto, CA
Academic Highlights: A virtually unmatched 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio sets students up for a personalized classroom experience and an incredible amount of face time with some of the leaders in their respective fields. Sixty-nine percent of classes have fewer than twenty students, and 32% have a single-digit enrollment. Stanford puts immense resources behind undergraduate research; more than $6.5 million in grant funding is allocated each year to support roughly 1,100 student research projects. Close to 900 students study abroad annually through the Bing Overseas Studies Program in 12 international cities.
Professional Outcomes: Stanford grads entering the working world flock to three major industries: business development, engineering, and education. Among the companies employing the largest number of grads are Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. A sizable number of newly minted Cardinals dive into the world of entrepreneurship. San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles were the top three US destinations for recent grads. Starting salaries for Stanford grads are among the highest in the country.
- Enrollment: 8,054
- Cost of Attendance: $87,833
- Median SAT: 1550
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 4%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
University of Michigan
- Ann Arbor, MI
Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges. Michigan sports a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 18% of classes contain 50 or more students, but a solid 53% of classes offer a more intimate experience with fewer than 20 students. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program draws in 1,300 participants each year who partner with 800+ research mentors. For students in all academic programs at Michigan, study abroad opportunities are taken advantage of at high rates. In fact, the university is second in the nation in the number of students it sends to study in foreign lands.
Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school. The median salary across all majors is approximately 70k. Top employers include PwC, EY, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Citi, Bank of America, and Capital One.聽 Within six months, 93% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $99k) or in grad school. General Motors, Ford, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft employ the greatest number of alumni.
- Enrollment: 33,730
- Cost of Attendance: $34,782 (In-State); $75,626 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1470
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 18%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
University of Chicago
- Chicago, IL
Academic Highlights: A 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio means that classrooms remain very intimate, and face time with the renowned faculty is a reality. More than three-quarters of UChicago undergraduate sections have an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students. Undergraduate research opportunities are ubiquitous as 80% of students end up working in a research capacity alongside a faculty member. A solid 60% of undergrads study abroad at one of the 77 programs offered in 31 cities around the world.
Professional Outcomes: On commencement day, 99% of the Class of 2023 were employed or continuing their education. The most popular employers for UChicago grads include Google, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. University of Chicago grads are highly sought after by elite graduate universities. The top destinations for recent graduates are Yale, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, and Harvard A fairly substantial 50% of graduates remain in the Midwest after finishing their degrees, 29% migrate to the Northeast, and 10% make the journey west.
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- Enrollment: 7,643
- Cost of Attendance: $90,360
- Median SAT: 1550
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 5%
- Retention Rate: 99%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
University of California, San Diego
- San Diego, CA
Academic Highlights: There are 140+ undergraduate majors offered at UCSD, and all students join one of eight undergraduate colleges meant to forge flourishing communities within the larger university. While 26% of course sections are held in larger lecture halls and contain 50+ students, 42% of undergraduate courses sport an enrollment under 20. Twenty percent of undergrads assist faculty with at least one research project during their time at the university; Roughly one-third of undergraduate study abroad per year, and over 400 opportunities in 40+ countries are available for those who desire a semester of study outside of the United States.
Professional Outcomes: Employers of recent graduates included Amazon, Boeing, EY, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Qualcomm, and Tesla. More than 1,000 current Google employees are UC San Diego alumni, and Apple, Meta, and Microsoft all employ 500+ each. The median early career salary is $70,000 across all majors, placing the university in the top 10 public universities in the country. UCSD also fares well in measures of its return-on-investment potential.
- Enrollment: 33,792
- Cost of Attendance: $38,505 (In-State); $69,282 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 25%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Champaign-Urbana, IL
Academic Highlights: Eight of UIUC’s fifteen schools cater to undergraduate students. Illinois鈥 student-to-faculty ratio of 20:1 is high even for a public institution, but the school still manages to keep 39% of sections capped at 19 students. Further, 40% of undergraduates participate in research; over 800 students each year present at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Unique opportunities for experiential learning abound at Research Park, an on-campus technology hub and business incubator that hosts more than 120 major corporations and 800 student interns.
Professional Outcomes: 91% of recent UIUC grads landed at their next destination within six months of graduation, with 35% matriculating directly into an advanced degree program. 56% were employed full-time. Corporations landing the most recent Illinois grads were Amazon, Deloitte, Epic, KPMG, and PwC. The average salary across all majors was an extremely solid $76,000. Two-thirds of graduates remained in the Land of Lincoln; California and New York commandeer the next greatest percentages of migrating alumni.
- Enrollment: 35,564
- Cost of Attendance: $33,642 (In-State); $52,139 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1410
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 44%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Cambridge, MA
Academic Highlights: Undergraduates pursue one of 58 majors and 59 minors at this world-class research institution. The student-to-faculty ratio is an astonishing 3-to-1, and even with a substantial focus on graduate programs, the class sizes are intimate. Over two-fifths of all class sections have single-digit enrollments, and 66% of courses contain fewer than twenty students. MIT is known for having one of the best formalized undergraduate research programs in the country. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) operates year-round and helped connect 93%+ of students to a research experience with an MIT faculty member. Studying abroad is strongly encouraged; almost half participate.
Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 saw 49% of its members enter the world of employment and 43% continue on their educational paths. The top employers included Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google, General Motors, the US Navy, Apple, Bain & Company, and McKinsey. The median starting salary for an MIT bachelor鈥檚 degree holder was $110,000. The most frequently attended graduate schools are a who鈥檚 who of elite institutions including MIT itself, Stanford, Cornell, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins.
- Enrollment: 4,567
- Cost of Attendance: $82,730
- Median SAT: 1550
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 5%
- Retention Rate: 99%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
California Institute of Technology
- Pasadena, CA
Academic Highlights: Across all six divisions at Caltech, there are 28 distinct majors. Possessing an absurdly favorable 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio, plenty of individualized attention is up for grabs. Class sizes are not quite as tiny as the student-to-faculty ratio might suggest, but 66% of courses enroll fewer than twenty students, and 28% enroll fewer than ten. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) enjoy wide participation with 90% of undergraduates partaking, and 20% of that group going on to publish their results.
Professional Outcomes: Caltech is a rare school that sees six-figure average starting salaries for its graduates; in 2023, the median base salary range was 110k-119k. Forty-four percent of recent grads went directly into the workforce and found homes at tech giants such as Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta. A healthy 43% of those receiving their diplomas in 2023 continued directly on the higher education path, immediately entering graduate school. Seventy-four percent of these students were admitted to their top-choice school.
- Enrollment: 1,023
- Cost of Attendance: $86,886
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 3%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Northwestern University
- Evanston, IL
Academic Highlights: The quarter system allows students to take four courses at a time rather than the typical five. Even so, the academic demands are intense, and Northwestern students work hard for their grades. The university has a phenomenal 6:1 student-faculty ratio, and a spectacular 39% of class sections have nine or fewer students enrolled; 76% have fewer than twenty enrollees. Faculty receive generally favorable reviews from undergraduate students and are rated as being highly accessible outside of the classroom. Fifty-eight percent of recent grads had the chance to conduct research with a faculty member at some point during their undergraduate years.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 70% of the Class of 2023 had found employment and 25% were in graduate school. Employers include Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Deloitte, McKinsey & Co., and Salesforce. Across all majors, the average starting salary was $77k. The vast majority of Northwestern graduates can be found in Illinois, with the next largest concentration of alums living in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
- Enrollment: 9,157
- Cost of Attendance: $91,290
- Median SAT: 1530
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
University of Maryland, College Park
- College Park, MD
Academic Highlights: Undergraduates can select from 100+ majors across twelve colleges and schools. 47% of class sections enroll fewer than twenty students. Undergraduate research opportunities are within reach as 21% of recent graduates completed one. The Office of Undergraduate Research facilitates numerous opportunities throughout the year, and hosts an annual Undergraduate Research Day and Summer Undergraduate Research Conference at which 550+ students make presentations. Fourteen percent of students also pursue a study abroad experience at one of 300+ destinations in 60 countries.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 94% of Class of 2023 grads had positive outcomes. 71% found employment; the companies/organizations that hired the greatest number of grads included Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, Capital One, and Montgomery County Public Schools. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft employ more than 900 alumni each.聽 The salary range for 2023 grads was between $60k and $86k. 21% of the Class of 2023 headed directly to graduate and professional school.
- Enrollment: 30,608
- Cost of Attendance: $30,885 (In-State); $59,686 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1460
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 45%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
Purdue University 鈥 West Lafayette
- West Lafayette, IN
Academic Highlights: Purdue offers over 200 majors at ten discipline-specific colleges, and 37% of course sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer. Undergraduates conduct more than 2,000 research projects per year; they can connect with professors during the academic year or apply to participate in a Summer Research Fellowship. Discipline-specific research programs, a research pitch competition, research conferences & symposiums, and publishing opportunities abound. 1,300 students per year elect to study abroad at one of 400 programs in 50 countries.
Professional Outcomes: Shortly after receiving their diplomas, 65% of 2023 grads headed to the world of employment while 25% headed to graduate/professional school. Companies employing the greatest number of recent alumni were Eli Lilly & Company, Amazon, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase, PepsiCo, and Cummins, Inc. The average starting salary was $71k across all degree programs. The majority of alumni remain in Indiana with Illinois, California, Texas, New York, and Wisconsin rounding out the five next most common destinations.
- Enrollment: 39,864
- Cost of Attendance: $24,882 (In-State); $43,434 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1320
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 50%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
The University of Texas at Austin
- Austin, TX
Academic Highlights: UT Austin offers over 170 majors. Sn encouraging 36% of course sections enroll nineteen or fewer students. Opportunities for undergraduate research vary by school, and many student must compete for slots in programs such as Summer聽Research Scholars or use the Eureka database to find individual professors offering research assistantships. A robust study abroad program boasts 400 offerings in 100+ foreign countries; 4,600+ students participate each year, the third-largest number in the country.
Professional Outcomes:聽 Over 1000 alumni work in the offices of Dell, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Deloitte; IBM, Meta, Oracle, and AMD employ over 500 each. Graduates early in their careers earn a median salary of $77,400, with median mid-career pay reaching $141,100. Roughly one-quarter of University of Texas at Austin undergraduates go on to pursue advanced degrees after completing their bachelor鈥檚. Many pursue advanced study at UT Austin itself, which offers more than one hundred graduate programs. Many alumni stay in Texas after graduation, settling in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
- Enrollment: 42,444
- Cost of Attendance: $31,572 (In-State); $62,672 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1370
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 29%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
University of Wisconsin 鈥 Madison
- Madison, WI
Academic Highlights: There are 230+ undergraduate majors offered across eight schools and colleges, Undergrads can expect a mix of large and small classes, with 43% of sections enrolling fewer than 20 students. Undergraduate research opportunities exist, but the onus is on the student to show initiative and procure the placement. Still, 44% of recent grads engaged in research, and the school hosts an annual Undergraduate Symposium where 600 students presented in 2024. Participation is much higher when it comes to study abroad programs; 25% of students take advantage each year and there are 325 programs in 80 countries to choose from.
Professional Outcomes: In 2023, 72% of job-seeking grads graduated with an offer.聽 Top employers included UW-Madison, Epic, UW Health, the State of Wisconsin, Kohl’s, and Deloitte. Across all graduating years, companies employing 250+ alumni include Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Target, Apple, Meta, and Salesforce. Class of 2023 grads enrolled in graduate/professional programs at a rate of 28%; volunteering is also a popular path post-graduation for UW-Madison alumni as the university is the #1 producer of Peace Corps volunteers.
- Enrollment: 36,797
- Cost of Attendance: $28,905 (In-State); $58,303 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1450
- Median ACT: 30
- Acceptance Rate: 43%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
Duke University
- Durham, NC
Academic Highlights: Class sizes are on the small side鈥74% are nineteen or fewer, and almost one-quarter are less than ten. A stellar 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio helps keep classes so reasonable even while catering to five figures worth of graduate students. The Undergraduate Research Support Office does great work connecting students with opportunities to conduct research, either over the summer or during the regular school year. All told, more than half of undergraduates conduct research. More Duke students pursue a semester abroad than students at any other top ten research institution鈥攔oughly half elect to venture off to one of the school鈥檚 300 partner programs scattered around the world.
Professional Outcomes: At graduation, approximately 76% of Duke diploma-earners enter the world of work, 17% continue into graduate schools, and 7% start their own businesses. Companies employing multiple Duke grads per year include Google, Capital One, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, and a host of other top-shelf corporations in the areas of technology, finance, and consulting. Eventually, 84% of Duke undergraduates will go on to earn an advanced degree One-third of Duke alumni elect to stay in North Carolina. New York, California, DC, and Massachusetts follow in聽popularity.
- Enrollment: 6,488
- Cost of Attendance: $87,072
- SAT Median: 1550
- ACT Median: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
Washington University in St. Louis
- St. Louis, MO
Academic Highlights: WashU admits students into four schools, many of which offer nationally recognized programs.The university has a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 66% of classes have fewer than 20 students; over one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps students land opportunities to research alongside faculty, primarily in the summers. A solid 60% of undergraduates report participating in a research endeavor and one-third study abroad.
Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 sent 65% of grads into the workforce and 23% into graduate and professional schools. Companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature sought-after employers such as Boeing, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Mastercard, Capital One, and Bayer. Of the employed members of the Class of 2023 who reported their starting salaries, the median salary was $85k. The universities welcoming the largest number of Bears included the prestigious institutions of Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, and Yale.
- Enrollment: 8,267
- Cost of Attendance: $88,488
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 94%
University of Virginia
- Charlottesville, VA
Academic Highlights: Undergrads can study within one of eight colleges/schools, which all offer many small classes; 14% boast single-digit enrollment and 48% contain 19 or fewer students. Undergraduate research opportunities can be challenging to uncover at any large school where graduate students get the prime spots, yet, UVA does offer a multitude of formal opportunities as well as the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and three undergraduate research journals. The classroom at UVA extends well beyond Charlottesville as one-fifth enjoy a semester abroad through one of fifty programs around the world.
Professional Outcomes: Upon receiving their degree, 86% of the Class of 2023 immediately joined the workforce鈥搘ith an average starting salary of $82k鈥搊r headed directly to graduate school.聽 Capital One (58), Amazon (45), Deloitte (41), and Accenture (34) scooped up the greatest number of 2023 grads. UVA itself was the most popular grad school destination followed by Columbia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Duke.
- Enrollment: 17,612
- Cost of Attendance: $39,926 (In-State); $76,954 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1490
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 17%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
New York University
- New York, NY
Academic Highlights: NYU is divided into a number of smaller (but still quite large) colleges organized by discipline; in sum, there are 270 areas of undergraduate study across nine schools and colleges. For its size, a commendable 59% of classes have an enrollment under 20 students. The school puts a great deal of money into undergraduate research, and it has been running an Undergraduate Research Conference for over forty years. Summer research opportunities are plentiful, including through the School of Engineering鈥檚 ten-week summer research program for rising juniors and seniors. With more than 4,000 students studying in foreign countries each year, NYU sends more undergrads abroad than any other US university.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of exiting, 94% of Class of 2023 grads had landed at their next destination, with 71% employed and 26% in graduate school. Large numbers of alumni can be found at Google, Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Meta, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs. The mean starting salary is $76,011. New York is (by more than ten times) the most popular destination over number two choice California. New Jersey, Texas, and Massachusetts were next in attracting the highest numbers of recent alumni.
- Enrollment: 29,760
- Cost of Attendance: $87,752
- Median SAT: 1530
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
University of California, Los Angeles
- Los Angeles, CA
Academic Highlights: Close to half of classrooms contain fewer than twenty Bruins, but those taking introductory courses will find themselves in a fair number of lecture halls with a hundred or more students. Professors are given impressively high marks for a research university of UCLA鈥檚 size. 93% of College of Letters and Science seniors rate their professors as being intellectually challenging. By the time they graduate, 45% of undergraduates have participated in a research experience. Every year, roughly one-quarter of the undergraduate population elects to study abroad, a sharp increase from only a few years ago. UCLA has 115 partner universities in 40+ countries around the globe.
Professional Outcomes: Thousands of alumni can be found working at Google, Amazon, and Apple. Companies that employ over 100 Bruins each include Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, TikTok, NVIDIA, and LinkedIn.聽Ultimately, one-third of UCLA grads go on to enroll in graduate/professional school, with many choosing to stay at their alma mater. Otherwise, the most attended grad schools are primarily other excellent California-based institutions including Stanford, USC, and Berkeley. For graduates early in their careers, the median salary is $78,600, with mid-career median earnings reaching over $149k. Many alumni remain in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area after graduating; other popular destinations include the San Francisco Bay area and New York City.
- Enrollment: 33,040
- Cost of Attendance: $38,031 (In-State); $68,808 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 9%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill, NC
Academic Highlights: Undergraduates can choose from 74 bachelor鈥檚 degree programs across several schools and colleges. 87% of classes have fewer than 50 students, while聽39% of classes have a student enrollment under 20. UNC sends forty percent of graduates abroad to one of 70 countries at some point in their educational career. Research is required as part of the general education curriculum, and plenty of faculty-mentored opportunities and funded formal programs are also available. In 2024, over 600 students shared their research at the annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after leaving Chapel Hill, 94% of 2023 grads had entered employment, military service, or graduate school. Among the for-profit companies that hire the most graduates are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Amazon, Fidelity Investments, and Epic Games. In the nonprofit sector, a large number of alumni are employed by AmeriCorps, NIH, Teach for America, and the Peace Corps. The average starting salary is $74,292. Nine percent of 2023 grads enrolled directly in graduate/professional school.
- Enrollment: 20,681
- Cost of Attendance: $26,109 (In-State); $56,450 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1470
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 19%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
University of Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, PA
Academic Highlights: 90 distinct degrees are available across four schools. The university boasts an exceptional 27% of courses with an enrollment under ten and 58% with an enrollment under twenty鈥攓uite an achievement for a school of Penn鈥檚 massive size. It also offers multiple ways for undergrads to conduct research, whether through independent studies or working side-by-side with faculty members. The university publishes 12 distinct journals featuring original undergraduate research. Penn ranks first among Ivies in study abroad participation rate; each year, over 1,400 students head off to earn a semester鈥檚 credit in one of 50 countries.
Professional Outcomes: 76% of Class of 2023 grads were employed within six months of graduating, and 16% were in graduate school. Employers hiring the greatest number of 2023 grads included McKinsey & Company, Penn Medicine, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Goldman Sachs. The median starting salary for all graduates is $100,000. For those continuing their educational journeys, the most popular move is to remain at Penn, followed by Harvard and Columbia.
- Enrollment: 11,611
- Cost of Attendance: $89,028
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 6%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 97%
Cornell University
- Ithaca, NY
Academic Highlights: Classes are a bit larger at Cornell than at many other elite institutions. Still, 54% of sections have fewer than 20 students. Introductory courses sometimes take place in larger lecture halls, so 24% of courses have an enrollment of more than forty students. Undergraduates do give their professors generally high marks: 88% report being satisfied with the instruction they have received, 48% report completing a thesis/research project, and 53% conducted research with a faculty member. Members of Big Red can choose from study abroad opportunities in more than forty countries, and roughly one-third participate.
Professional Outcomes: Breaking down the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Cornell, 63% entered the workforce, 26% entered graduate school, 2% pursued other endeavors such as travel or volunteer work, and the remaining 4% were still seeking employment six months after receiving their diplomas. Graduates earned a median salary of $85,000. Of the students from A&S going on to graduate school, 13% pursued JDs, 4% MDs, and 25% PhDs. Popular destinations included staying at Cornell, other Ivies, Stanford, MIT, universities in the UC system, or abroad at Oxford, Cambridge, the University of Toronto, or the University of St. Andrews
- Enrollment: 16,051
- Cost of Attendance: $88,140
- Median SAT: 1520
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 8%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
University of California, Irvine
- Irvine, CA
Academic Highlights: UCI offers over eighty undergrad programs as well as many opportunities for personal connection; 54% of all sections enroll 19 or fewer students and over 70% of students participate in undergraduate research. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program helps students with聽proposal writing, developing research plans, and presenting their results at the annual spring UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium and/or publishing their results in the UCI Undergraduate Research Journal.
Professional Outcomes: Companies employing large numbers of recent grads include Amazon, Deloitte, Northrop Grumman, Ernst & Young, and PwC. Hundreds of alumni are also found at Google, Microsoft, and Meta. The median salary is $70,000, with School of Information and Computer Sciences grads earning $117k right off the bat. 38% of graduates enroll in graduate school, with many choosing to remain at UC Irvine. The majority pursue master’s degrees (89%), with the remainder enrolling in doctorate programs.
- Enrollment: 29,503
- Cost of Attendance: $39,051 (In-State); $69,828 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 26%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
Johns Hopkins University
- Baltimore, MD
Academic Highlights: Boasting an enviable 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with close to 80% of course sections possessing an enrollment under 20, face time with professors is a reality. That presents a phenomenal opportunity to learn directly from a group that includes four Nobel Laureates, four Medal of Science winners, and two recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fitting for America鈥檚 first research university, 70% of JHU undergraduates complete a research experience while working closely with a faculty member. Each year, hundreds of students receive significant funding for independent projects through the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research.
Professional Outcomes: Ninety-four percent of recent graduates successfully land at their next destination within six months of exiting the university; 69% of graduates entered the world of employment and a robust 20% went directly to graduate/professional school. The median starting salary across all majors was $80,000 with top employers including Amazon, DCPS, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Blue Jays pursue further education at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, and JHU.
- Enrollment: 6,089
- Cost of Attendance: $86,065
- Median SAT: 1550
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 8%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
Tufts University
- Medford, MA
Academic Highlights: Classes are small, especially when considering the school鈥檚 legitimate research university status. Seventeen percent of all courses see fewer than ten students enrolled, and 63% have sub-twenty enrollments. The student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1. Across all colleges, 60% of students participate in a research project at some point during their collegiate experience. . A substantial segment of the student body, 40-45%, study abroad, either at Tufts鈥 campus in Talloires, one of nine Tufts-sponsored programs in locales such as Chile, Ghana, Hong Kong, and Madrid, or one of eighty pre-approved programs around the globe.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after earning their diplomas, 96% of 2023 graduates were employed or attending graduate school. Prolific employers of Tufts alums include Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Morgan Stanley, and McKinsey & Company. Of the 20% of 2023 grads who went directly to graduate school, 82% were accepted into their first-choice institution. Most Tufts alumni remain in the Boston area, but many also head to New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, DC, and Chicago.
- Enrollment: 6,877
- Cost of Attendance: $88,300
- Median SAT: 1510
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 10%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Rutgers University 鈥 New Brunswick
- New Brunswick, NJ
Academic Highlights: Rutgers is divided into 19 schools and colleges, collectively offering 120+ undergraduate majors. Forty percent of class sections have an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students compared to only 19% of sections that contain more than 50 undergrads. The Aresty Research Center facilitates several programs that match 300+ undergraduates per year with faculty members conducting research in an area of interest. An annual Undergraduate Research Symposium鈥攐ne of the largest in the country鈥攈as showcased thousands of student projects in its 20 years of existence.
Professional Outcomes: Upon graduation, 89% of Class of 2023 grads had secured a first job or were heading to an advanced degree program. 71% headed directly to the world of employment, where the companies hiring the largest number of grads included RWJBarnabas Health, Amazon, and Lockheed Martin. Investment banks like JP Morgan Chase employ hundreds of alumni, as do companies like Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and CVS Pharmacy. The median starting salary across all majors was $70,000.
- Enrollment: 36,588
- Cost of Attendance: $37,717 (In-State); $56,479 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1380
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 65%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
Pennsylvania State University 鈥 University Park
- State College, PA
Academic Highlights: Penn State offers 275 majors and a number of top-ranked programs in a host of disciplines. Unlike some public research universities that can have student-to-faculty ratios greater than 20:1, PSU boasts a solid 15:1 ratio. That level of support allows 61% of classes to have an enrollment below thirty students.聽 Even at such a large institution, it is possible to get involved in undergraduate research. Eberly College of Science professors are running upwards of 3,000 research projects per year, and the school has a well-maintained and up-to-date database of undergraduate research positions. All told, 16% of graduates report having engaged in undergraduate research. 22% of a recent graduating class availed themselves of study abroad opportunities in one of 300+ programs in 50+ countries each year.
Professional Outcomes: By graduation, 79% of Nittany Lions have found their next employment or graduate school home. Over a hundred alumni work at Tesla; Deloitte, Amazon, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Accenture each employ over 500 alumni. Three-quarters of recent graduates employed full-time earned starting salaries of greater than $50k. Penn State graduates mostly settle in the Greater Philadelphia area, with New York City and the Washington DC-Baltimore area also proving popular with alumni.
- Enrollment: 42,223
- Cost of Attendance: $39,892 (In-State); $59,846 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1310
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 54%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
University of Minnesota鈥揟win Cities
- Minneapolis, MN
Academic Highlights: There are 150 majors available across eight freshman-admitting undergraduate colleges. A 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio is deployed effectively so that 65% of sections enroll 29 or fewer students. No matter your field of study, you can utilize UM鈥檚 well-maintained database of upcoming faculty research projects as a way to connect directly with the professor of your choice; more than 2,000 undergraduates participate in a research or creative project every year. An outstanding 30% of UMTC students study abroad during their academic career with the most popular destinations being Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Professional Outcomes: Over 1000 alumni work at Target, Medtronic, 3M, and U.S. Bank; Amazon, Google, Cargill, and Microsoft employ 500+ UMN graduates each. The average starting salary across all majors is approximately 60k and recent employers include Boeing, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Abbott, IBM, EcoLab, Boston Scientific, Wells Fargo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft and Epic. With 130 graduate programs, the University of Minnesota retains many of its graduates as they pursue their next degrees.
- Enrollment: 39,556
- Cost of Attendance: $32,866 (In-State); $52,780 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1400
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 77%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
University of Pittsburgh
- Pittsburgh, PA
Academic Highlights: Forty percent of sections have an enrollment of under twenty students while 18% enroll more than 50. Plenty of personal connection with professors is available to those who seek it. Structured undergraduate research opportunities are available within every single school at UPitt; the bi-annual Research & Creative Expression Fair features 100+ projects. There are 350 study abroad programs in 75 countries, and many take advantage.
Professional Outcomes: Within a few months of graduating, 98% of 2023 grads entered full-time employment or full-time graduate or professional school. Employers scooping up the highest number of grads in one recent year included the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (208), PNC (67), BNY Mellon (37), and Deloitte (21). The median salary across all majors was $62,127. Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, and DC host the most alumni.
- Enrollment: 25,171
- Cost of Attendance: $38,446 (In-State); $56,812 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1360
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 50%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 84%
We hope you have found our list of the Best Colleges for Data Science to be useful and informative as you continue your college search process. We also invite you to check out some of our other resources and tools including:
