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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

$89,626
710
100–80%
$101,304
1,514
80–42%
$121,517
2,231
41–6%
$137,993
260
6–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$79,719
495
400–1190
$104,246
1,173
1190–1360
$120,219
1,118
1370–1490
$150,338
496
1500–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$70,593p10 $116,294p90 Art & Music STEM, Business & Military Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% Bennington College · $100,220 Johnson & Wales University - Providence · $74,361 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $117,266 New Jersey Institute of Technology · $85,897 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott · $106,765 Florida Polytechnic University · $95,987 Clarkson University · $98,816 Lawrence Technological University · $100,107 Montana Technological University · $90,656 Franklin and Marshall College · $112,479 Mount Holyoke College · $107,897 St. Lawrence University · $101,367 Florida Southern College · $77,139 Dickinson College · $107,852 William Jewell College · $78,272 Centre College · $108,483 Lake Forest College · $96,549 Tabor College · $68,977 Fisk University · $105,706 Carthage College · $99,601 Allegheny College · $93,306 Champlain College · $91,468 Albion College · $78,212 Cornell College · $80,677 Dordt University · $97,812 Berry College · $88,295 Ohio Wesleyan University · $81,041 Elizabethtown College · $81,481 Augustana College (IL) · $98,840 Calvin University · $80,648 Knox College · $87,721 Beloit College · $102,010 Juniata College · $80,301 Loras College · $79,803 Coe College · $98,769 Earlham College · $77,433 Lipscomb University · $98,001 Meredith College · $75,639 Bridgewater College · $75,726 St Catherine University · $77,611 Augsburg University · $83,432 Warren Wilson College · $62,031 Saint Anselm College · $99,137 University of the Northwest (Willamette University) · $102,099 Roanoke College · $77,182 Nebraska Wesleyan University · $94,865 University of the Northwest (Pacific University) · $70,641 Washington College · $80,774 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $124,868 William & Mary · $119,495 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $125,704 University of Central Florida · $80,009 Purdue University · $113,056 University of California, Davis · $92,927 Ohio State University · $107,415 Ramapo College of New Jersey · $77,863 University of Connecticut · $105,654 Virginia Tech · $124,257 Pennsylvania State University · $111,632 Florida Atlantic University · $75,549 University of Pittsburgh · $101,807 University of Central Missouri · $68,532 Winthrop University · $64,543 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $110,106 Ball State University · $83,813 Eastern Michigan University · $68,274 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $106,514 University of Texas at Dallas · $104,266 University of Alabama · $105,438 College of Charleston · $82,961 University of Vermont · $98,504 Oklahoma State University · $101,438 Miami University - Ohio · $92,172 SUNY Brockport · $73,590 Winona State University · $82,638 University of North Carolina at Charlotte · $86,235 Middle Tennessee State University · $83,303 University of Missouri - Saint Louis · $74,461 Kennesaw State University · $79,196 University of Iowa · $105,108 Portland State University · $89,601 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $108,955 University of Toledo · $83,178 San Jose State University · $78,169 University of Texas at Arlington · $87,068 University of Central Oklahoma · $70,593 University of North Texas · $72,927 Morgan State University · $74,199 University of North Dakota · $105,375 Purdue University Fort Wayne · $70,903 Southern Connecticut State University · $69,883 University of Arizona · $103,005 Mississippi State University · $88,470 Central Washington University · $75,510 Northern Kentucky University · $57,779 Rhode Island College · $79,012 South Dakota State University · $80,391 Southern Utah University · $88,013 West Virginia University · $87,326 Western Oregon University · $64,892 Metropolitan State University · $87,709 Northern Michigan University · $70,030 University of Wisconsin - River Falls · $72,091 University of Washington - Bothell · $97,907 University of Oregon · $104,784 Salisbury University · $94,771 University of Houston - Downtown · $81,992 Georgia College & State University · $99,466 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $84,841 Minot State University · $64,110 Arizona State University · $106,932 Cleveland State University · $86,582 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $91,749 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $79,503 Northern Arizona University · $83,732 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point · $75,086 University of Central Arkansas · $68,130 Western Washington University · $82,358 University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth · $77,066 Eastern Oregon University · $74,253 Montana State University · $84,030 Utah Valley University · $109,789 Ohio Christian University · $66,688 Azusa Pacific University · $73,052 Baylor University · $110,350 Ohio Dominican University · $73,916 Pacific Union College · $78,952 College of Wooster · $102,354 Andrews University · $84,142 High Point University · $96,402 Olivet Nazarene University · $67,454 University of San Francisco · $117,062 Harding University · $101,692 American University · $111,884 Arcadia University · $77,583 California Baptist University · $79,377 Concordia University Wisconsin · $79,804 Eastern University · $70,464 Lewis University · $66,224 John Carroll University · $100,671 Newman University · $99,433 Saint Peter's University · $69,804 Seton Hill University · $63,899 Saint Louis University · $103,042 Loyola University Chicago · $104,484 Malone University · $65,519 Saint Vincent College · $77,338 University of Mount Union · $73,758 St. Ambrose University · $71,042 Canisius University · $79,202 Mercyhurst University · $74,565 Mount St. Mary's University · $79,747 University of Northwestern - St Paul · $75,947 Siena College · $99,323 Neumann University · $76,873 Point Loma Nazarene University · $83,105 Xavier University · $104,278 Saint John's University (MN) · $79,954 DePaul University · $100,776 Valparaiso University · $98,809 Carlow University · $59,855 George Fox University · $74,726 Bellarmine University · $95,488 University of the Incarnate Word · $73,646 Case Western Reserve University · $116,415 University of Tampa · $89,166 George Washington University · $116,320 Syracuse University · $111,860 Jacksonville University · $85,195 Quinnipiac University · $93,940 University of Charleston · $89,943 Elon University · $106,412 Drake University · $115,880 Bradley University · $97,711 Drexel University · $107,104 Lasell University · $74,203 Lynn University · $60,104 Manhattanville College · $73,793 Long Island University · $72,709 Norwich University · $102,869 Western New England University · $85,434 Maryville University of Saint Louis · $91,005 University of Hartford · $72,124 Bellevue University · $89,497 Smith College · $102,773 Macalester College · $109,338 Emory University · $115,425 Tufts University · $120,163 Washington University in St Louis · $162,540 Boston University · $124,184 University of California, Berkeley · $111,668 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $130,730 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · $112,530 Denison University · $107,550 United States Air Force Academy · $116,294 Stanford University · $157,714 University of Chicago · $164,147 MIT · $178,343 Columbia University · $149,067 Dartmouth · $166,472 Northwestern University · $172,483 Rice University · $139,658 New York University · $116,009 Colby College · $142,872 United States Naval Academy · $109,508 Art & Music: mean $87,291 STEM, Business & Military: mean $99,356 Liberal Arts: mean $88,699 Public University: mean $88,426 Religious University: mean $84,350 Private University: mean $92,584 20–30%: mean $106,056 10–20%: mean $122,343 0–10%: mean $149,627 All colleges: p10 $70,593 All colleges: p90 $116,294
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Data Science 221 4,715 60% / 40% 20% $96,518 89%
Data Science 177 3,989 59% / 41% 22% $93,079 88%
Data Analytics 48 314 64% / 36% 11% $84,967 91%
Computational Modeling and Data Analytics 1 138 73% / 27% 18% $124,257
Data Science and Society 1 123 59% / 41% 12% $178,810 97%
Applied Data Science 1 54 83% / 17% 0% $111,860
Data Visualization 1 38 53% / 47% 3% $97,907
Informatics 2 31 61% / 39% 3% $103,639 96%
Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (Course 6-14) 1 28 54% / 46% 4% $178,343