So I been looking at computer science ranking for different school. My first choice for the ranking is USNews.com.
But I found this website called http://computer-science-schools.com/. It listed a lot more schools ranking while USNews does not always have cs ranking for each school.
But how accurate is http://computer-science-schools.com/ because they ranked NJIT as #15. I know NJIT has pretty nice cs program, but USNews said NJIT is only ranked #90.
They also ranked Lafayette College cs as #519 in the US. http://computer-science-schools.com/lafayette-college
Which I find it ridiculous because
So is this website trustworthy?
If not, then what can I do to determine if a college/university has good cs programs since USNews only list like the top 200 and sometimes some liberal arts college do not even get ranks.
I often check their own college websites, but they all look so nice and it’s hard to judge if they are good or not.
Thank you
Given that they rank George Mason as the 2nd best Computer Science program, I would say this is not a reliable list. It would be interesting to know the methodology of the ranking, but probably not worth your time to figure out.
CS is taught at a very competent level at many universities, public as well as private. Most (and perhaps) all of the (public) State flagships have strong computer science programs. Look at the course offerings and the frequency at which advanced courses are taught. Moreso than most majors, CS, possibly because it is a relatively new field is taught is a similar fashion (e.g. coursewise, class project wise) at many universities. In practice most smaller colleges (“LACs”) do not do as well in CS training as the larger universities. Look beyond the CS rankings – breadth of non-CS courses (such as EE), location, overall fit, etc. in your search. You typically won’t go wrong if you pick a CS program ranked “27” instead of one ranked “12”.
Figure out the types of courses needed for a CS program to educate you suitably, then check if those courses exist at a particular school and how often, check whether the school in general is affordable and is a good academic and social fit, check job placement, check your attitude toward prestige. You never know, George Mason may come in at #1.
Highly inaccurate. They appear to be using number of computer related degrees and certificates as a large factor in their “rankings”, regardless of whether that degree is a computer science degree. For example, they’re counting information systems and IT majors. In addition, when they say majors, they are counting each individual certificate and degree offered. This includes associates degrees and one and two year certificate programs. No, just no. You should only care about the CS program that you would be attending for.
I looked up URichmond on there to see what they say and they don’t even have what majors are offered right. They’re counting degrees and certificates offered through the school of professional and continuing studies (which is not the same) and don’t even mention the computer science major actually offered at UR as a BA or BS.
Also, I’m sorry, but any ranking system that refuses to detail out their methodology is not one worth trusting. If you click the methodology link at the bottom of the page, it says “The ranking algorithm is based on proprietary, unique formulas that involve 61 academic, financial, and organizational factors and metrics, as well as faculty profiles, student retention rates, and alumni job prospects. The factors are each weighted differently and are then scored to reflect program ratings.”
Flipping through the first link, the rankings seem useless or worse.
Regarding the second ranking, USNWR rates CS graduate departments. Hypothetically, if the best computer science department in terms of the undergraduate study of the field were at a school without a graduate department, then that school would not be listed at all.