UMD’s Computer Science Graduate Program Holds Steady as Top 10 Public

The University of Maryland’s computer science graduate program ranks No. 10 among the country’s public institutions in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.” The program ranks 17th overall, the same as last year.

UMD also ranks high in three computer science specialties:

• Artificial intelligence at No. 15 (No. 9 among publics)
• Theory at No. 22 (No. 10 among publics)
• Programming language at No. 23 (No. 13 among publics)

UMD’s computer science undergraduate program ranks 18th in the nation (No. 9 among publics) according to the latest list from U.S. News & World Report.

"Being ranked a top 10 department among public institutions reflects our collective passion, hard work, and innovation in the field. This milestone not only honors our past achievements but also sets the stage for future breakthroughs and advancements. We are proud of this recognition and remain dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and impact on society," said Matthias Zwicker, chair of UMD’s Department of Computer Science. Zwicker also holds the Elizabeth Iribe Chair for Innovation and the Phillip H. and Catherine C. Horvitz Professorship.

The Department of Computer Science has 450 graduate students in its computer science M.S. and Ph.D. programs and nearly 150 graduate students in its data science and machine learning master’s programs.

Graduates of UMD’s computer science graduate program in the department’s Alumni Hall of Fame include Narendra Ahuja (Ph.D. ’79), J. Gary Augustson (M.S. ’69), Suman Banerjee (M.S. ’99, Ph.D. ’03), Charles Dyer (Ph.D. ’79), Martin Farach (Ph.D. ’91), Gary Flake (Ph.D. ’93), Greg Frederickson (M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’77), Terry Gaasterland (M.S. ’88, Ph.D. ’92), Rajiv Gandhi (Ph.D. ’03), Ponani Gopalakrishnan (Ph.D. ’86), Naresh Gupta (M.S. ’91, Ph.D. ’93), Subbarao Kambhampati (M.S. ’85, Ph.D. ’89), Vipin Kumar (Ph.D. ’82), Ronald Larsen (Ph.D. ’81), Shmuel Peleg (M.S. ’78, Ph.D. ’79), Glenn Ricart (Ph.D. ’80), Debanjan Saha (M.S. ’93, Ph.D. ’95), S. Cenk Sahinalp (Ph.D. ’97), Pooja Sankar (M.S. ’04), Aya Soffer (M.S. ’92, Ph.D. ’95), Lee Spector (Ph.D. ’92), Granger Sutton (B.S. ’82, electrical engineering; Ph.D. ’82, compuer science), Gordon Vanderbrug (Ph.D. ’77), Qiang Yang (M.S. ’84, astronomy; M.S. ’86, Ph.D. ’89, computer science) and Shayan Zadeh (M.S. ’02).

In 2019, UMD opened a 215,600-square-foot facility where computer science students learn in collaborative classrooms and auditoriums, pursue research in specialized labs, create and innovate in fully equipped makerspaces, and engage with one another. The six-floor Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering serves as a hub for technology, collaboration and discovery that offers students unprecedented opportunities to innovate bold new applications for computer science.