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Philadelphia, PA · Computer science

Computer science at Penn

Penn graduates about 260 computer science majors a year, 9% of its graduating class. That puts it 19th of 691 schools we score for computer science, a standout program at 94 out of 100. Its current catalog lists 63 undergraduate courses in the field, more than 80% of the schools we've counted. Graduates in the major earn a median $204,000 four years out, 2.61× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $15 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

94/100Standout#19 of 691 for computer science →
Graduates a year2609% of the class
Courses in the catalog63more than 80% of schools
Median pay 4 years out$204,0002.61× the same major nationally
Research in the field$15Ma year, NSF
Admit rate5%whole school
SAT middle 50%1500–1570whole school

Around Penn

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States, February 2024
Penn Engineering bannerPhoto: Bredyhopi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Close-up of the ENIAC's function table. The computer was programmed with these k
ENIAC Function Table B midsection close-upPhoto: Logg Tandy · CC BY 4.0 · source
Typical weep hole in brick masonry wall replace the space of the mortar joint to
Weep holePhoto: Dcorchado · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania - panoramioPhoto: Bohao Zhao · CC BY 3.0 · source

Where computer science happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics, Center for Automation Technology, Alumni Engineering Labs, Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building, Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology, Bennet S. LeBow Engineering Center, Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, Drexel Life Sciences Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Dorm 109 · Academic 88 · Dining 16 · Arts 13 · Athletics 10 · Student housing 7.

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Nearby in the computer science ranking

  1. Northwestern University 95
  2. Washington University in St. Louis 95
  3. University of Notre Dame 95
  4. New York University 94
  5. Tufts University 94
  6. Vanderbilt University 94
  7. University of Washington 93
  8. Northeastern University 93

Other strong majors at Penn

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn with every school we score in computer science. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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