Ranked #15 in popularity, computer information systems is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 7 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Computer Information Systems Associate Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 907 associate degrees in computer information systems to qualified students.
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Choosing a Great Computer Information Systems School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of computer information systems for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality cis program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
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
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on computer information systems students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other computer information systems students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How easy is it for computer information systems to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer information systems related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for computer information systems students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Computer Information Systems Schools
The cis 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 Information Systems Associate Degree Schools in Virginia.
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It's hard to beat Northern Virginia Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in computer information systems. Northern Virginia Community College is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Annandale.
After graduation, cis associate recipients generally make around $39,679 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Tidewater Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Associate recipients from the computer information systems degree program at Tidewater Community College make $3,168 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
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.
Your choice of computer information systems for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality cis program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
