The University of California, Berkeley, has topped the list of Computer Science Colleges based on salary packages, according to a new salary-centric report from research company PayScale. The public research university earned the top spot with a starting pay of $82,000 and mid-career pay of $141, 400.
UCB encourages high research activity as majority of the support comes from federal sources. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, the school received overall $730.7 million in new research funding with $486.7 coming from federal sources.
UC Berkeley scientists have so far discovered 6 chemical elements of the periodic table (californium, seaborgium, berkelium, einsteinium, fermium, lawrencium) and 16 chemical elements in total - more than any other university in the world.
Plus, Berkeley physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer developed the first atomic bomb in the world during World War II. Faculty member Edward Teller is deemed as the "father of the hydrogen bomb".
The list is dominated by five Californian computer science schools including California Polytechnic State University (2nd), University of California Santa Barbara (3rd), University of California Irvine along with Stanford University (4th) and University of California San Diego (9th).
The research company arrived at the rankings after surveying 1.4 million civilian full-time American employees. Those who possess a bachelor's degree are only included in PayScale's College Salary Report. The rankings are based on the median mid-career earnings of graduates.
Following UCB is California Polytechnic State University with $67,000 in starting pay and $125,000 in mid-career pay.
Among various achievements, Jessie Pease, Cal Poly computer science senior is selected for the prestigious Hewlett-Packard Scholarship as she embodies a new generation of female engineers.
The scholarships aim to bridge the gender gap in the cybersecurity field. Nationally, only 18 percent of computer science degrees are conferred to women, and in the field of cybersecurity, the number is even lower.
RANK | SCHOOL NAME | STARTING PAY | MID-CAREER PAY |
1 | University of California, Berkeley | $82,000 | $141,400 |
2 | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (CalPoly) | $67,000 | $125,000 |
3 | University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) | $68,000 | $120,200 |
4 - tie | Stanford University | $90,000 | $120,000 |
4 - tie | University of California, Irvine (UCI) | $64,200 | $120,000 |
6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | $82,400 | $117,500 |
7 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) | $66,700 | $117,000 |
8 | Cornell University | $70,000 | $116,500 |
9 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | $70,000 | $115,000 |
10 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick | $63,000 | $114,500 |
