SCS Ranks First Among U.S. Computer Science PhD Programs

Byron SpiceThursday, April 15, 2010

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science ranks number one among computer science Ph.D. programs in U.S. News and World Report's 2011 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools, tying programs at MIT, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.

Carnegie Mellon and the other three top-ranked schools received a 5.0 average score, the highest possible assessment. Rankings are based on surveys sent in fall 2009 to department heads and directors of graduate programs at schools that awarded at least five doctoral degrees from 2003-2008. Cornell and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign tied for fifth with an average score of 4.6. The other top 10 schools were University of Washington, Princeton, University of Texas-Austin and Georgia Tech.

"Carnegie Mellon strives to push the frontiers of research and education in computer science," said Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science. "We pursue a very broad agenda, spanning both the theory and design of computers, as well as how information technology can transform society and the lives of individuals. We are pleased to be counted among the top computer science graduate programs in the United States."

In computer science specialties, Carnegie Mellon ranked first in programming languages, second in artificial intelligence, third in systems and fifth in theory. Specialty rankings are based solely on nominations by department heads and directors of graduate studies at peer schools.

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Byron Spice | 412-268-9068 | bspice@cs.cmu.edu