Best Schools to Hire Software Engineers
Karat ranks the top universities for software engineer hiring as university recruiting season heats up. Learn what schools produce the most interview-ready grads based on technical interview performance, class sizes, and cost to hire across more than 30 countries.
Best schools for hiring software engineers
The best computer science schools to target for early career hiring depend on your company’s goals, brand, size, industry, and speciality. Use this ranking report to identify which schools make sense for you based on the concentrations of elite engineering talent (i.e. candidates who score in the top quartile on Karat’s technical interviews) or strong talent (i.e. candidates who score well enough to pass a standard tech company hiring bar).
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Global
US
India
EMEA
APAC
LATAM
National Taiwan University
#1 Global | #1 Taiwan
~350 computer science students
$54,200 average starting compensation for new grads (USD)
72%
elite engineers
California Institute of Technology
#2 Global | #1 USA
~350 computer science students
$142,700 average starting compensation for new grads
68%
elite engineers
University of Tokyo, Japan
#3 Global | #1 Japan
~900 computer science students
$31,513 average starting compensation for new grads
67%
elite engineers
Tsinghua University, China
#4 Global | #1 China
~650 computer science students
$20,395 average starting compensation for new grads
63%
elite engineers
Peking University, China
#5 Global | #2 China
~1,500 computer science students
$19,880 average starting compensation for new grads
62%
elite engineers
Carnegie Mellon University
#6 Global | #2 USA
~1,000 computer science students
$138,900 average starting compensation for new grads
57%
elite engineers
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
#7 Global | USA
~1,100 computer science students
$19,720 average starting compensation for new grads
56%
elite engineers
Peking University, China
#5 Global | #2 China
~1,500 computer science students
$19,880 average starting compensation for new grads
62%
elite engineers
Carnegie Mellon University
#6 Global | #2 USA
~1,000 computer science students
$138,900 average starting compensation for new grads
57%
elite engineers
California Institute of Technology
#2 Global | #1 USA
~350 computer science students
$142,700 average starting compensation for new grads
68%
elite engineers
Carnegie Mellon University
#6 Global | #2 USA
~1,000 computer science students
$138,900 average starting compensation for new grads
57%
elite engineers
University of Pennsylvania
#8 Global | #3 USA
~1,200 computer science students
$135,200 average starting compensation for new grads
56%
elite engineers
Brown University
#11 Global | #4 USA
~1,000 computer science students
$141,100 average starting compensation for new grads
55%
elite engineers
Rice University
#13 Global | #5 USA
~600 computer science students
$111,900 average starting compensation for new grads
54%
elite engineers
University of California San Diego
#14 Global | #6 USA
~2,000 computer science students
$80,800 average starting compensation for new grads
54%
elite engineers
Yale University
#15 Global | #7 USA
~450 computer science students
$120,300 average starting compensation for new grads
54%
elite engineers
Columbia University
#19 Global | #8 USA
~1,300 computer science students
$96,400 average starting compensation for new grads
51%
elite engineers
University of Chicago
#20 Global | #9 USA
~2,200 computer science students
$87,000 average starting compensation for new grads
49%
elite engineers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
#22 Global | #10 USA
~800 computer science students
$118,100 average starting compensation for new grads
49%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
#16 Global | #1 India
~500 computer science students
$22,800 average starting compensation for new grads
53%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi
#21 Global | #2 India
~400 computer science students
$21,886 average starting compensation for new grad
49%
elite engineers
International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad
#23 Global | #3 India
~600 computer science students
$27,600 average starting compensation for new grads
49%
elite engineers
Indian Insitute of Technology Delhi
#24 Global | #4 India
~400 computer science students
$25,200 average starting compensation for new grads
48%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
#26 Global | #5 India
~500 computer science students
$26,400 average starting compensation for new grads
48%
elite engineers
National Institute of Technology Jaipur
#55 Global | #6 India
~500 computer science students
$15,840 average starting compensation for new grads
35%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
NR Global | #7 India
~490 computer science students
$27,600 average starting compensation for new grads
31%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
NR Global | #8 India
~950 computer science students
$21,600 average starting compensation for new grads
30%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
NR Global | #9 India
~400 computer science students
$20,400 average starting compensation for new grads
30%
elite engineers
National Institute of Technology Allahabad
#26 Global | #5 India
~1200 computer science students
$20,400 average starting compensation for new grads
29%
elite engineers
Technical University of Munich, Germany
#10 Global | #1 EMEA
~15,000 computer science students
$66,499 average starting compensation for new grads
70%
strong engineers
Middle East Technical University, Turkey
NR Global | #2 EMEA
69%
strong engineers
Oxford University, England
NR Global | #3 EMEA
60%
strong engineers
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
NR Global | #4 EMEA
55%
strong engineers
University of Manchester, England
NR Global | #5 EMEA
53%
strong engineers
University of Edinburgh, Scotland
NR Global | #6 EMEA
53%
strong engineers
Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
NR Global | #7 EMEA
52%
strong engineers
University of Cambridge, England
NR Global | #8 EMEA
45%
strong engineers
The Open University of Israel, Israel
NR Global | #9 EMEA
43%
strong engineers
Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
NR Global | #10 EMEA
42%
strong engineers
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
#1 Global | #1 APAC
~350 computer science students
$54,200 average starting compensation for new grads (USD)
72%
elite engineers
University of Tokyo, Japan
#3 Global | #2 APAC
~900 computer science students
$31,513 average starting compensation for new grads
63%
elite engineers
Tsinghua University, China
#4 Global | #3 APAC
~650 computer science students
$20,395 average starting compensation for new grads
63%
elite engineers
Peking University, China
#5 Global | #4 APAC
~1,500 computer science students
$19,880 average starting compensation for new grads
62%
elite engineers
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
#7 Global | #5 APAC
~1,100 computer science students
$19,720 average starting compensation for new grads
56%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
#16 Global | #6 APAC
~700 computer science students
$22,800 average starting compensation for new grads
53%
elite engineers
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
#19 Global | #7 APAC
~650 computer science students
$57,600 average starting compensation for new grads
52%
elite engineers
Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi
#21 Global | #8 APAC
~400 computer science students
$21,886 average starting compensation for new grads
49%
elite engineers
International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad, India
#23 Global | #9 APAC
~600 computer science students
$27,600 average starting compensation for new grads
49%
elite engineers
Indian Insitute of Technology Delhi, India
#24 Global | #10 APAC
~400 computer science students
$25,200 average starting compensation for new grads
48%
elite engineers
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil
NR Global | #1 LATAM
50%
strong engineers
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
NR Global | #2 LATAM
48%
strong engineers
Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico
NR Global | #3 LATAM
38%
strong engineers
Universidad de la República, Uruguay
NR Global | #4 LATAM
33%
strong engineers
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico
NR Global | #5 LATAM
29%
strong engineers
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
NR Global | #6 LATAM
27%
strong engineers
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
NR Global | #7 LATAM
24%
strong engineers
Universidad del Salvador, Argentina
NR Global | #8 LATAM
17%
strong engineers
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina
NR Global | #9 LATAM
14%
strong engineers
Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela
NR Global | #10 LATAM
13%
strong engineers
Computer Science School Highlights
University of Waterloo, Canada
#9 Global | #1 Canada
Canada’s top-ranked school for hiring software engineers has the most students in North America enrolled in computer science and computer engineering, with 4,790. The unique combination of quantity with incredible candidate quality makes The University of Waterloo a top source of talent for Silicon Valley and other big tech companies.
Carnegie Mellon University
#6 Global | #2 USA
Carnegie Mellon University is considered the “birthplace of AI,” having built the first AI computer program in 1956. CMU launched the world’s first AI undergraduate program, and recent developments include participation in 2023’s congressional policy briefings on AI and the 2024 Generative AI innovation challenge hosted by the school’s Center for Intelligent Business in collaboration with the Data Analytics Club and Google. CMU is a top choice for organizations looking to hire AI engineers.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
#16 Global | #1 India
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) system is known for producing the top engineering candidates in the country. IIT Madras ranks highest on our list, and has a reputation for partnering with global companies building out capability centers in India. Last year, IIT Madras launched a new center for quantum information, and is expanding partnerships with retail and tech giants like Walmart for the R&D around cutting-edge solutions that will help businesses adopt AI solutions and accelerate digital transformations.
What school is right for your university recruiting goals?
Check out the full report for detailed university rankings based on the concentrations of top engineers, size of the computer science class, and cost to hire based on average starting salaries for new grads. Whether you’re looking for the next city to launch a Global Capability Center hiring drive or planning for the fall, this report will help inform and shape your talent strategy.
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