Cornell University

Cornell is a consistently top-ranked computer science department and one of the broadest in the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 in Ithaca, New York, it was an early mover in computer science as an academic discipline and has kept a place near the front of the field ever since.

The department is strong across the whole subject, from the theory of computation and programming languages to systems, databases, graphics, robotics and artificial intelligence. It is known for work that bridges computer science and other fields, including the study of networks and the social side of computing, and it runs a large research presence at Cornell Tech in New York City as well as the main campus.

Cornell combines the resources of a large research university with Ivy League standing. Its computer science programme is highly competitive to enter and produces graduates who go into both academia and the technology industry.

Admissions

Cornell admitted 5,516 of 65,612 first-year applicants for autumn 2024, an overall rate of about 8.4 per cent, though you apply to one of its colleges rather than to Cornell in the abstract. Computer science is unusual in being taught through two of them, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, so applicants choose the college whose wider requirements suit them best. Among enrolled first-years who submitted scores, the middle half had SAT composites of 1510 to 1560.