Top Colleges For Online Computer Science Degrees

For someone looking to get into IT, the array of learning options can be daunting. As demand grows for computer-savvy people, including network engineers, software developers, and IT security specialists, colleges are adding more computer science degree programs, including many online.

In fact, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting computer-related jobs will grow 22% through 2020, the educational opportunities are bound to increase.

Computer Science Online recently published a new guide that aims to help students sort through the options available for online computer science degrees. The guide includes a list of 52 US colleges and universities offering top-notch and affordable online programs in computer science and related fields.

The programs feature award-winning faculty and offer student support services, according to Computer Science Online. The organization's methodology includes general criteria such as nonprofit status, online tuition cost, and student-faculty ratio.

Its top-ranked college for online computer science degrees is Arizona State University, which offers four online Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Applied Science degree programs, including software engineering and Web development. Interestingly, ASU Online partners with Google Education Apps for its online classroom experience.

Computer Science Online rounds out the top five with:

2. Liberty University

3. Missouri State University

4. Middle Tennessee State University

5. Tennessee State University

The guide also includes a wealth of information about computer science degrees to help students chart their career path. Developed with input from professors at Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and five other top universities, the guide breaks down degree options by academic level. It provides a list of the types of technical jobs to which the degrees can lead.

It also breaks down computer science degrees by subject, and provides a cool tool to look up average salaries by geographic location (within the US) for a position such as network architect, network support specialist, and system administrator.

There's also a section on cutting-edge tech careers, such as data scientists and cloud computing, and the degree programs that can help prepare students for that career path.