Find top-ranked online bachelor’s in computer science degree programs for students looking to qualify for employment as IT specialists, cybersecurity consultants, multimedia programmers, systems analysts, games developers, web developers, and data scientists.
An online bachelor’s degree in computer science offers a comprehensive education on topics such as software development, programming languages, algorithms and artificial intelligence. Students will also learn the fundamentals of computing hardware and architecture.
Back to TopOnline computer science bachelor’s degrees are available both online and on campus, and students must typically complete 120-128 credits, including a capstone, to earn this degree. Bachelor’s degrees take between 4-5 years to complete for fulltime students.
Back to TopGraduates with an online bachelor’s in computer science will qualify for employment in a variety of industries as IT specialists, cybersecurity consultants, multimedia programmers, systems analysts, games developers, web developers, and data scientists.
Back to TopLearn more about how to major in computer science.
The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to Software Developers in the U.S.
Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
48K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
83%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1285/29
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
49%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
55%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/23
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
78%
Student body
33K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/28
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
67%
Student body
49K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
39%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1041/20
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
39%
Student body
102K
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
73%
Student body
9K
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
62%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/25
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
53%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/23
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
52%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/21
Tuition + fees
$12K
Graduation
23%
Student body
10K
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
55%
Graduation
47%
Student body
25K
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
51%
Student body
7K
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
60%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/20
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
46%
Student body
9K
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
62%
Student body
79K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/25
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
49%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
60%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
71%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/26
Tuition + fees
$21K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
50%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/22
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
22%
Student body
3K
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
68%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/22
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
58%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1172/24
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
61%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1066/22
Tuition + fees
$21K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
48%
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$12K
Graduation
24%
Student body
7K
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
37%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
59%
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$7K
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
34%
Student body
6K
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
32%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
960/19
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
30%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/22
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
51%
Student body
1K
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
60%
Student body
2K
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
21%
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
47%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1010/20
Tuition + fees
$13K
Graduation
32%
Student body
<1K
If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?
If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.
In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.
Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.
Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.
As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.
In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).
While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.