Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 769 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $7,540.
Key Statistics
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications: what the data shows
Common questions about computer systems networking and telecommunications degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a computer systems networking and telecommunications degree?
A Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications program is classified under NCES CIP 11.0901 in the Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications field family (11.09).
A program that focuses on the design, implementation, and management of linked systems of computers, peripherals, and associated software to maximize efficiency and productivity, and that prepares individuals to function as network specialists and managers at various levels. Includes instruction in operating systems and applications; systems design and analysis; networking theory and solutions; types of networks; network management and control; network and flow optimization; security; configuring; and troubleshooting
IPEDS counted 769 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a computer systems networking and telecommunications degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.0901 in our file:
- 2,948 Associate (70.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 769 Bachelor's (18.3% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 488 Master's (11.6% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 1 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in computer systems networking and telecommunications?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a computer systems networking and telecommunications degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a computer systems networking and telecommunications degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications bachelor's program family: median debt $10,624, median earnings $73,587 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.17.
About 4.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $7,540 and median net price is $17,622.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$7,540 Median In-State Public
$36,030 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors are, on average, $7,540 for in-state public colleges, and $36,030 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
769 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 76,996 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Copper Mountain Community College | CA | $1,114 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,126 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $10 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 3 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $576 |
| 5 | Oxnard College | CA | $659 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications programs.
Graduation Rates
47.87% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
48.92% Average Graduation Rate
381 Institutions Reporting
32.94% - 63.64% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications is in UT (127 completions). That state represents about 16.5% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is PR (0.17% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT | 127 | 16.5% | 0.12% |
| NC | 87 | 11.3% | 0.07% |
| MN | 74 | 9.6% | 0.09% |
| IL | 68 | 8.8% | 0.05% |
| OH | 67 | 8.7% | 0.05% |
| NJ | 57 | 7.4% | 0.07% |
| FL | 53 | 6.9% | 0.02% |
| PR | 50 | 6.5% | 0.17% |
| MI | 43 | 5.6% | 0.04% |
| WI | 29 | 3.8% | 0.04% |
| MA | 24 | 3.1% | 0.02% |
| MD | 16 | 2.1% | 0.02% |
| NY | 15 | 1.9% | 0.01% |
| PA | 13 | 1.7% | 0.01% |
| AL | 11 | 1.4% | 0.02% |
| WV | 10 | 1.3% | 0.03% |
| CA | 7 | 0.9% | 0.00% |
| MO | 6 | 0.8% | 0.01% |
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.0901 in the survey year used in our extract (4,206 total across levels below).
- 2,948 Associate (70.1% of IPEDS total)
- 769 Bachelor's (18.3% of IPEDS total)
- 488 Master's (11.6% of IPEDS total)
- 1 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications CIP family (13 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications graduate.
- $10,624 median federal loan debt among completers
- $73,587 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.17 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.2% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.
Age distribution for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
769 Total Degrees Awarded
650 Male (84.53%)
119 Female (15.47%)
Gender distribution of Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
359 White (46.68%)
131 Hispanic or Latino (17.04%)
117 Black or African American (15.21%)
66 Asian (8.58%)
28 Two or More Races (3.64%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications majors.
About
A program that focuses on the design, implementation, and management of linked systems of computers, peripherals, and associated software to maximize efficiency and productivity, and that prepares individuals to function as network specialists and managers at various levels. Includes instruction in operating systems and applications; systems design and analysis; networking theory and solutions; types of networks; network management and control; network and flow optimization; security; configuring; and troubleshooting
In 2023, 769 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.
CIP Code
11.0901 - Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $10,624 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $73,587, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.17. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications graduate.
Men earned 18.7% of 13,753 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $7,540 in-state at public colleges and $36,030 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.