Network World (02/22/10) Marsan, Carolyn Duffy

Leading universities are reporting that enrollment in computer science and engineering is up significantly this year as students discover computer-related degrees offer better job prospects and earnings potential.

“The government has made it clear that computer science is a growth field, and I think that message is getting back to students and their parents,” says Bruce Porter, chair of the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Corporate recruitment of top computer science graduates has stayed strong despite the economic downturn.

Last spring Georgia Tech’s College of Computing had the highest job placement rate of any major on campus, as well as the highest starting salary.

“The financial sector–credit card companies, insurance companies–are very much interested in computer science students, as are defense companies and software development and networking companies,” says Georgia Tech’s Cedric Stallworth.

Last year, computer science graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received an average of 2.3 job offers and had an average starting salary of more than $72,000. The number of students enrolling as computer science majors is up 40 percent from last year at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University reports that computer science applicants are up 14 percent from last year and 76 percent from 2005.