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Computer Engineering Degree

174 schools compared · Average earnings $78,695/yr

Students study the design of computer hardware, embedded systems, microprocessors, and the integration of hardware with software at the system level. Graduates typically pursue careers designing processors, developing embedded systems for autonomous vehicles and IoT devices, and working at semiconductor companies like Intel, AMD, and Nvidia. Computer engineering graduates command some of the highest starting salaries among all bachelor's degrees.

What Computer Engineering Graduates Do

Your degree places you at the critical intersection of hardware and software. Many graduates begin as software developers, spending their days writing and debugging code in team “sprints,” fixing bugs flagged by QA, and building new application features. Others become hardware engineers, using design software to create and test the physical processors and circuit boards that power our devices. A third common path is in software quality assurance, where your job is to systematically find and document flaws before a product reaches users.

With a few years of experience, you can advance to senior technical roles or transition into engineering management, where your focus shifts from code to leading teams and planning project roadmaps. While software-focused roles are growing rapidly, they also face profound change from AI. With extremely high exposure, these jobs are being fundamentally reshaped. AI now automates much of the routine coding and testing that junior engineers once did, making entry-level roles more competitive. Your career value will increasingly depend not on writing basic code, but on your ability to architect complex systems, validate AI-generated work, and make critical judgment calls.

Schools Offering

174

Avg Grad Earnings

$78,695/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

77/100

AI Automation Risk

Very High

62% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Computer Engineering graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 167,700 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Architectural and engineering managers	$167,740 $135K$207K	14,500	+3.8%	41%
Computer hardware engineers	$155,020 $116K$185K	4,700	+7.3%	73%
Database architects	$135,980 $108K$169K	4,000	+8.7%	94%
Software developers	$133,080 $103K$169K	115,200	+15.8%	87%
Computer network architects	$130,390 $102K$164K	11,200	+11.9%	61%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	$106,120 $80K$136K	4,100	+8.1%	50%
Software quality assurance analysts and testers	$102,610 $80K$132K	14,000	+10.0%	88%

Architectural and engineering managers

$167,740

$135K $207K

14,500 openings/yr +3.8% growth 41% AI risk

Computer hardware engineers

$155,020

$116K $185K

4,700 openings/yr +7.3% growth 73% AI risk

Database architects

$135,980

$108K $169K

4,000 openings/yr +8.7% growth 94% AI risk

Software developers

$133,080

$103K $169K

115,200 openings/yr +15.8% growth 87% AI risk

Computer network architects

$130,390

$102K $164K

11,200 openings/yr +11.9% growth 61% AI risk

Engineering teachers, postsecondary

$106,120

$80K $136K

4,100 openings/yr +8.1% growth 50% AI risk

Software quality assurance analysts and testers

$102,610

$80K $132K

14,000 openings/yr +10.0% growth 88% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Computer Engineering

Top 20 of 174 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	88 83–89	$141,588/yr	43.2x
2	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	88 83–89	$141,588/yr	43.5x
3	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	87 82–89	$111,560/yr	32.0x
4	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	87 80–88	$93,629/yr	26.9x
5	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	87 81–89	$88,785/yr	55.5x
6	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	87 80–88	$87,949/yr	44.0x
7	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	86 80–87	$103,123/yr	20.3x
8	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	86 80–88	$96,418/yr	23.0x
9	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	86 80–88	$96,256/yr	24.3x
10	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	86 80–87	$91,387/yr	22.4x
11	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	86 80–88	$89,965/yr	28.5x
12	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	86 80–88	$86,938/yr	26.5x
13	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	86 79–87	$86,366/yr	21.8x
14	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	86 80–88	$85,564/yr	39.1x
15	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	86 79–88	$83,660/yr	37.9x
16	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR	86 79–87	$83,545/yr	44.1x
17	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	86 79–88	$82,997/yr	30.2x
18	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	86 79–88	$79,809/yr	37.8x
19	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	86 79–87	$78,941/yr	44.3x
20	CUNY City College New York, NY	86 79–87	$78,326/yr	37.1x
21	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	86 79–87	$75,101/yr	46.0x
22	Washington State University Pullman, WA	85 79–87	$87,135/yr	20.3x
23	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	85 78–86	$86,636/yr	19.0x
24	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	85 79–87	$86,444/yr	20.5x
25	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	85 78–87	$85,619/yr	21.0x
26	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	85 78–86	$83,342/yr	19.8x
27	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	85 79–87	$82,398/yr	25.2x
28	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX	85 79–87	$81,226/yr	23.8x
29	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	85 78–87	$81,123/yr	22.5x
30	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	85 79–87	$79,969/yr	22.7x
31	Iowa State University Ames, IA	85 79–87	$79,182/yr	25.5x
32	University of North Texas Denton, TX	85 78–86	$78,714/yr	23.2x
33	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	85 79–87	$77,455/yr	42.1x
34	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	85 79–87	$77,306/yr	28.4x
35	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	85 79–87	$76,819/yr	37.9x
36	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV	85 78–86	$76,314/yr	29.7x
37	Florida International University Miami, FL	85 79–87	$75,210/yr	38.4x
38	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	85 79–87	$73,820/yr	29.5x
39	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	84 79–85	$118,232/yr	15.6x
40	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	84 78–86	$92,501/yr	16.9x
41	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	84 78–86	$89,327/yr	16.9x
42	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	84 78–86	$87,466/yr	18.7x
43	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	84 77–86	$79,812/yr	19.2x
44	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	84 78–86	$76,314/yr	24.7x
45	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	84 78–86	$74,753/yr	23.0x
46	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL	84 78–86	$72,029/yr	48.2x
47	University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI	84 78–85	$71,635/yr	28.6x
48	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	84 78–86	$71,117/yr	34.8x
49	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	84 78–86	$70,768/yr	33.3x
50	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	84 78–85	$69,310/yr	28.8x
51	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	83 76–84	$88,904/yr	14.7x
52	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	83 76–84	$86,211/yr	15.4x
53	Auburn University Auburn, AL	83 77–85	$80,067/yr	18.7x
54	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	83 76–85	$78,964/yr	17.5x
55	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA	83 76–84	$78,075/yr	16.7x
56	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	83 77–85	$77,609/yr	17.8x
57	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	83 76–84	$72,710/yr	19.3x
58	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	83 77–84	$71,986/yr	22.2x
59	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA	83 77–84	$70,298/yr	21.2x
60	Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN	83 77–85	$69,291/yr	25.1x
61	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	83 77–85	$66,266/yr	34.4x
62	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	82 75–83	$85,672/yr	14.4x
63	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	82 75–84	$83,934/yr	14.9x
64	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	82 76–84	$83,243/yr	16.1x
65	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	82 75–84	$82,924/yr	14.6x
66	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	82 75–84	$82,924/yr	14.6x
67	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	82 75–84	$82,924/yr	14.5x
68	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	82 75–84	$82,924/yr	14.6x
69	University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, MI	82 75–83	$79,022/yr	15.6x
70	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	82 75–84	$78,709/yr	16.0x
71	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	82 76–84	$65,003/yr	23.0x
72	Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL	82 76–84	$60,746/yr	45.0x
73	Clemson University Clemson, SC	81 74–83	$77,672/yr	14.8x
74	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH	81 75–82	$70,345/yr	18.6x
75	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH	81 75–82	$69,070/yr	17.9x
76	Wichita State University Wichita, KS	81 75–83	$66,207/yr	23.1x
77	University of Memphis Memphis, TN	81 75–83	$65,222/yr	21.9x
78	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	81 76–83	$65,049/yr	19.8x
79	University of Houston-Clear Lake Houston, TX	81 76–83	$63,751/yr	28.1x
80	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	81 75–82	$55,093/yr	39.0x
81	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	80 74–82	$82,924/yr	12.3x
82	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA	80 73–82	$80,574/yr	14.6x
83	Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI	80 74–82	$77,465/yr	13.4x
84	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	80 74–82	$73,982/yr	16.3x
85	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	80 74–82	$71,836/yr	14.1x
86	University of Toledo Toledo, OH	80 74–81	$68,597/yr	17.2x
87	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	80 74–82	$53,180/yr	36.4x
88	University of California-Merced Merced, CA	79 73–80	$58,835/yr	17.0x
89	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX	79 73–80	$57,841/yr	21.2x
90	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	78 72–80	$78,075/yr	11.0x
91	New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ	78 72–80	$67,640/yr	13.0x
92	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	78 72–79	$49,043/yr	30.9x
93	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	77 71–78	$103,804/yr	7.1x
94	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	77 70–78	$71,148/yr	13.0x
95	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH	77 71–79	$68,852/yr	14.6x
96	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	77 71–79	$67,949/yr	14.0x
97	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	77 71–78	$65,436/yr	18.2x
98	Duke University Durham, NC	76 71–77	$111,145/yr	5.6x
99	Northeastern University Boston, MA	75 69–77	$99,499/yr	4.7x
100	Boston University Boston, MA	75 69–76	$93,995/yr	4.3x
101	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN	75 68–76	$92,123/yr	4.5x
102	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	75 68–76	$90,171/yr	4.4x
103	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	75 68–76	$89,001/yr	4.6x
104	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	74 68–76	$90,829/yr	4.4x
105	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	74 67–75	$89,605/yr	23.0x
106	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	74 67–75	$89,418/yr	3.9x
107	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC	74 67–75	$80,685/yr	28.9x
108	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID	74 67–75	$76,193/yr	39.9x
109	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	73 67–75	$95,847/yr	19.8x
110	Villanova University Villanova, PA	73 67–74	$94,228/yr	3.5x
111	Portland State University Portland, OR	73 66–74	$87,259/yr	18.4x
112	University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO	73 66–74	$82,084/yr	20.1x
113	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	73 66–74	$75,692/yr	25.7x
114	University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL	72 65–73	$83,909/yr	16.8x
115	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	72 66–74	$82,209/yr	3.6x
116	New York University New York, NY	72 65–73	$82,183/yr	3.5x
117	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	72 65–74	$81,252/yr	4.0x
118	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	72 66–74	$80,942/yr	3.8x
119	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI	72 65–74	$80,493/yr	18.8x
120	University of Houston Houston, TX	72 66–74	$80,438/yr	19.7x
121	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ	72 65–73	$79,276/yr	4.6x
122	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL	72 65–73	$79,276/yr	4.6x
123	Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL	72 66–74	$79,244/yr	4.7x
124	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	72 66–74	$76,812/yr	22.2x
125	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI	72 66–74	$76,187/yr	22.2x
126	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	71 65–73	$79,228/yr	17.1x
127	Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI	71 65–73	$78,333/yr	4.1x
128	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	71 64–73	$77,938/yr	16.8x
129	University of Georgia Athens, GA	71 64–72	$77,882/yr	16.4x
130	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN	71 65–73	$77,792/yr	18.2x
131	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	71 65–73	$76,982/yr	18.2x
132	North Dakota State University-Main Campus Fargo, ND	71 64–72	$76,558/yr	16.6x
133	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX	71 65–73	$73,639/yr	19.5x
134	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY	71 65–72	$71,436/yr	19.4x
135	Florida Polytechnic University Lakeland, FL	71 65–72	$65,126/yr	32.0x
136	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	70 64–72	$83,489/yr	14.4x
137	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	70 63–71	$79,620/yr	14.1x
138	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	70 64–72	$78,915/yr	15.5x
139	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	70 64–72	$72,820/yr	16.8x
140	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD	70 64–71	$72,639/yr	16.5x
141	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	70 64–72	$72,529/yr	17.5x
142	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	70 64–71	$70,904/yr	17.5x
143	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	70 64–71	$67,015/yr	19.7x
144	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	69 62–70	$80,746/yr	12.8x
145	University of Maine Orono, ME	69 62–70	$75,282/yr	13.9x
146	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	69 63–71	$75,087/yr	4.2x
147	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	69 64–71	$69,664/yr	4.0x
148	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	68 62–70	$85,280/yr	11.9x
149	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	68 61–70	$82,964/yr	11.6x
150	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA	68 61–70	$79,383/yr	12.0x
151	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	68 61–69	$74,085/yr	12.7x
152	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	67 60–68	$84,241/yr	10.3x
153	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	67 61–69	$80,029/yr	11.2x
154	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL	67 61–69	$71,841/yr	12.9x
155	University of Delaware Newark, DE	66 59–67	$73,750/yr	10.5x
156	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	66 60–67	$59,626/yr	14.4x
157	DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA	64 58–65	$101,832/yr	5.8x
158	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL	64 59–65	$45,453/yr	7.8x
159	Jackson State University Jackson, MS	63 57–64	$51,570/yr	13.2x
160	Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA	62 55–63	$82,057/yr	4.0x
161	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	62 55–64	$81,123/yr	—
162	University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO	62 56–64	$56,557/yr	10.8x
163	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	61 55–62	$102,083/yr	2.7x
164	Kettering University Flint, MI	61 55–63	$82,580/yr	3.5x
165	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	60 53–61	$84,793/yr	2.4x
166	Manhattan College Riverdale, NY	60 53–61	$77,463/yr	2.8x
167	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN	60 53–61	$75,484/yr	3.1x
168	Trine University Angola, IN	59 53–60	$67,500/yr	3.7x
169	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL	59 53–60	$61,553/yr	4.8x
170	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	57 51–59	$68,020/yr	2.3x
171	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI	57 51–58	$62,056/yr	2.8x
172	Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico Hato Rey, PR	56 58–57	$38,213/yr	14.4x
173	Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico-Orlando Orlando, FL	51 54–52	$38,213/yr	9.6x
174	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus Gurabo, PR	47 53–49	$28,052/yr	18.9x

Highest Earning Computer Engineering Programs

Schools where Computer Engineering graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
University of Washington-Seattle Campus	$141,588/yr	88
University of Washington-Bothell Campus	$141,588/yr	88
University of Virginia-Main Campus	$118,232/yr	84
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$111,560/yr	87
Duke University	$111,145/yr	76
Santa Clara University	$103,804/yr	77
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	$103,123/yr	86
Columbia University in the City of New York	$102,083/yr	61
DigiPen Institute of Technology	$101,832/yr	64
Northeastern University	$99,499/yr	75

Best ROI for Computer Engineering

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Computer Engineering.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Brigham Young University	55.5x	$88,785/yr	87
Florida Atlantic University	48.2x	$72,029/yr	84
California State University-Fresno	46.0x	$75,101/yr	86
Florida Gulf Coast University	45.0x	$60,746/yr	82
Florida State University	44.3x	$78,941/yr	86
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	44.1x	$83,545/yr	86
University of Florida	44.0x	$87,949/yr	87
University of Washington-Bothell Campus	43.5x	$141,588/yr	88
University of Washington-Seattle Campus	43.2x	$141,588/yr	88
Kennesaw State University	42.1x	$77,455/yr	85

Want to compare two Computer Engineering programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

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Consider the Trade Route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Computer Engineering offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Computer Engineering graduates earn?

Across 174 schools, Computer Engineering graduates earn an average of $78,695 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $28,052 to $141,588 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Computer Engineering?

Computer Engineering is rated "Very High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 62% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Computer Engineering program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), University of Washington-Seattle Campus ranks #1 for Computer Engineering with a score of 88/100 and graduate earnings of $141,588/yr.

What's the outlook for a Computer Engineering degree?

On average, Computer Engineering graduates earn 19.0x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →