a master's degree in computer & information sciences is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #4 out of 37 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 48 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Computer & Information Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,910 master's degrees in computer & information sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year.
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Cyber Security - IT Management" with relevance 0.8
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DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.7
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DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Computer Science - Data Analysis" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Computer Science - Data Analysis" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Computer Science - Information Security" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Computer Science - Information Security" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Information Technologies - Business Management" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Information Technologies - Business Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Information Technologies - Cybersecurity" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Information Technologies - Data Analytics" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Information Technologies - Project Management" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Information Technologies - Project Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA in Information Technology Management" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MBA in Information Technology Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Database Design" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Database Design" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Healthcare Informatics" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Information Security" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Enterprise Technology Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Software Application Development" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Software Application Development" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Web Design" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Web Design" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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Choosing a Great Computer & Information Sciences School for Your Master's Degree
The computer & information sciences master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality computer & information sciences program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to computer & information sciences students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of computer & information sciences students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for computer & information sciences to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer & information sciences related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer & information sciences students working on their master's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Computer & Information Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Cyber Security - IT Management" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Cyber Security - IT Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA in Information Technology Management" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MBA in Information Technology Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Database Design" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Database Design" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Healthcare Informatics" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Healthcare Informatics" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Information Security" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Information Security" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Enterprise Technology Management" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Enterprise Technology Management" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Software Application Development" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Software Application Development" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Information Technology - Web Design" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Information Technology - Web Design" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.7)
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Computer & Information Sciences students in the Far Western US Region that almost earned our Best Computer & Information Sciences Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
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.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
by our College Data Analytics Team
The computer & information sciences master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality computer & information sciences program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
