San José State University Ranked in Top 10 for Computer Science
San José State University (SJSU) has been ranked 9th among the top 50 universities for computer science in the United States in 2025,
'I'm super happy and proud of our students for having achieved this,' Chris Pollett, chair of the university's computer science department, told The Epoch Times.
The ranking assesses students' coding skills using the industry standard General Coding Assessment.
CodeSignal, the platform behind the rankings, provides major tech companies such as Google and Meta with assessments to ensure that incoming candidates are qualified.
Despite being one of the two top 10 schools in the list that were not included in the U.S. News & World Report's top 30 for engineering programs, SJSU is home to top coding talent.
CodeSignal's tip for recruiters? Target overlooked schools like SJSU, which, according to the report, are significantly less likely to be targeted than Stanford, MIT, and UC Berkeley.
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'Talent comes from everywhere—not just the schools traditionally recognized as top engineering schools,' the report states.
Pollett said that in Silicon Valley, it's possible to 'perform above your weight class.'
The university's location in the heart of Silicon Valley gives it a unique edge in students' job and internship opportunities. The area is home to tech giants like Apple, Google, Meta, Nvidia, and several others that are headquartered there.
'Silicon Valley is just chock-full of our graduates,' said longtime computer science professor Jon Pearce.
Being at SJSU affords students plenty of internships that they wouldn't be able to find in other areas, Pearce told The Epoch Times.
Pollett agreed that SJSU is a major supplier of computer science students to Silicon Valley companies. He said the university tries to give students opportunities to work with local companies.
One such opportunity was taken by software engineering student Samarth Sharma, who currently interns at a venture capital firm. Sharma told The Epoch Times that his manager said he really likes SJSU because he's had great experiences with previous interns from the university.
Software engineering graduate student Nivedita Nair and several of her friends have also found internships during their time at SJSU.
She told The Epoch Times that the school hosts career fairs where students have opportunities to connect with recruiters from local tech companies, which can lead to internships. For Nair, the university's proximity to major tech headquarters was part of the reason she chose to attend.
Besides recruiters, faculty members themselves often have experience in tech.
They stay on top of current trends and advancements such as AI, so they're able to teach students what really matters in the industry, according to Sharma. He said that all of his current professors are industry professionals.
As all these advantages have become available, the program has become more competitive, in recent years. Admissions requirements such as GPA are higher than ever, which Pollett said is improving the quality of students they receive.
Pearce's impression is that the above average students are now 'way above average' and could excel at any university.
Both Sharma and Nair appreciate how helpful their student peers have been, saying that they've learned and benefited a lot from them, especially those with industry experience.
SJSU was
'That's certainly been the wisdom for a while now,' he said.
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