Rankings & Statistics
Illinois: Altogether Extraordinary
Illinois CS Graduate Programs Brochure
- The Illinois CS undergraduate program is ranked 5th by U.S. News & World Report, last ranked in 2020.
- The Illinois CS graduate program is ranked 5th by U.S. News & World Report, last ranked in 2018.
- There are 18 Illinois CS degree programs and more than 90 courses in computer science.
- In 2020, Champaign-Urbana was ranked #27 on Livability's list of Top 100 Best Places to Live in America.
- Champaign County was ranked 16th in the U.S. as a relocation destination for young adults by 24/7 Wall St. in 2019.
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine lists the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on its list of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2017.
- The U of I ranks 10th in the number of entrepreneurs getting venture capital funding, with more than 600 founders receiving funding. (Pitchbook, 2020 Universities Report)
- Popular Mechanics designated C-U a Best Start-Up City in America.
1964
Department Founded
16,000+
Illinois CS Alumni
$32M+
In FY20 Research Expenditures
Illinois CS Academic Programs Facts
Undergraduate Programs
- 14 undergraduate degree programs, including 11 ground-breaking blended CS + X programs that are at the forefront of digital transformation.
- Total undergraduate enrollment, fall 2021: 2,329
- Total bachelor's degrees conferred, academic year 2019-20: 508
- Incoming 2020 freshman average composite ACT score: 34.3
- U.S. News & World Report ranking (2020): 5
Graduate Programs
- 4 graduate degree programs, with the MCS degree available both on campus and online, through Coursera's platform.
- Total graduate enrollment, fall 2021: 2,268
- Total MCS degrees conferred, academic year 2019-20: 314
- Total MS degrees conferred, academic year 2019-20: 72
- Total PhD degrees conferred, academic year 2019-20: 48
- U.S. News & World Report ranking (2018): 5
110
Computer Science Faculty
18
ACM Fellows
20
IEEE Fellows
44
NSF CAREER Award Winners
9
Sloan Research Fellows
Enrollments
According to the Division of Management Information.
Undergraduate Enrollments
| Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018 | Fall 2019 | Fall 2020 | Fall 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BS in CS from The Grainger College of Engineering | 1,105 | 1,123 | 1,054 | 1,021 | 1,057 | 1260 |
| Mathematics & CS | 305 | 301 | 273 | 276 | 261 | 275 |
| Statistics & CS | 142 | 191 | 259 | 308 | 316 | 313 |
| CS + Advertising | - | - | - | 10 | 30 | 39 |
| CS + Animal Sciences | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| CS + Anthropology | 16 | 26 | 36 | 32 | 19 | 15 |
| CS + Astronomy | 32 | 31 | 39 | 46 | 39 | 50 |
| CS + Chemistry | 33 | 46 | 41 | 32 | 31 | 31 |
| CS + Crop Sciences | - | - | 4 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
| CS + Economics | - | - | 3 | 28 | 72 | 137 |
| CS + GGIS | - | - | - | 5 | 10 | 13 |
| CS + Linguistics | 53 | 69 | 76 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| CS + Music | - | - | 1 | 14 | 19 | 28 |
| CS + Philosophy | - | - | - | 13 | 28 | 59 |
| Total | 1,686 | 1,787 | 1,786 | 1,883 | 1,982 | 2,329 |
Graduate Enrollments
| Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018 | Fall 2019 | Fall 2020 | Fall 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-Campus MCS | 79 | 120 | 159 | 132 | 170 | 224 |
| Online MCS* | 174 | 337 | 619 | 935 | 1189 | 1387 |
| MS in Bioinformatics | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| MS in Computer Science | 119 | 140 | 132 | 113 | 91 | 120 |
| PhD in Computer Science | 320 | 323 | 345 | 388 | 422 | 461 |
| Non-degree | 0 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 29 |
| Total | 697 | 932 | 1,272 | 1,585 | 1,897 | 2,268 |
*Includes our legacy online program and the Online MCS and MCS-DS offered through Coursera, which launched in fall 2016.
Average Starting Salaries for Illinois CS Graduates
According to Engineering Career Services.
B.S. (2019-2020)
M.S. (2019-2020)
Ph.D. (2019-2020)
The average starting salary projected by the National Association of Colleges and Employers is $72,173 for 2021 CS bachelor's degree recipients.
Degrees Conferred
According to the Division of Management Information.
Note: Degrees are awarded three times per year: August, December, and May.
Undergraduate Degrees Conferred
| 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BS in CS from The Grainger College of Engineering | 274 | 329 | 256 | 346 | 348 | 291 |
| Mathematics & CS | 22 | 32 | 60 | 78 | 59 | 80 |
| Statistics & CS | 8 | 17 | 20 | 38 | 62 | 77 |
| CS + Advertising | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CS + Anthropology | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| CS + Astronomy | - | - | 3 | 4 | 3 | 14 |
| CS + Chemistry | - | 1 | - | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| CS + Crop Sciences | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CS + Economics | - | - | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| CS + GGIS | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CS + Linguistics | 1 | 7 | 18 | 12 | 27 | |
| CS + Music | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CS + Philosophy | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 305 | 381 | 349 | 497 | 503 | 508 |
Graduate Degrees Conferred
| 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-Campus MCS | 52 | 100 | 59 | 93 | 115 | 90 |
| Online MCS* | 24 | 13 | 19 | 36 | 100 | 224 |
| MS in Bioinformatics | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| MS in Computer Science | 51 | 63 | 55 | 76 | 71 | 70 |
| PhD in Computer Science | 40 | 40 | 35 | 39 | 42 | 48 |
*Includes our legacy online program and the Online MCS and MCS-DS offered through Coursera, which launched in fall 2016.
FY21 IMPACT REPORT
This report highlights the innovations of our students, faculty, and alumni, and it recognizes their contributions to the field of computer science. See how the Illinois Computer Science community is leading the way.