Survey of American College Students 2022, Interest in Computer Science

This study presents data from 1,289 full time college students at 4-year colleges in the United States about their level of interest in computer science. Survey respondents relate the likelihood that they will apply for a graduate program in computer science, their views on the usefulness of undergraduate computer science courses, and their current need for such courses. In an open ended question, they list their main interest areas within the computer science discipline. Data is broken out by more than 20 institutional and personal variables including but not limited to: income of family of origin, race/ethnicity, religion, gender, regional origins, current employment status, sexual orientation, major field of study, age, year of school standing, type of college, size of college, tuition level of college, and many other variables. Just a few of the many findings of this 73-page report are: More than twice as a high a percentage of students who grew up in major cities than those who grew up in smaller cities, suburbs or rural areas planned to go to graduate school in computer science. 11% of undergraduates in the sample currently studying business expressed a strong interest in graduate school in computer science. Broken out by religious affiliation, students practicing Islam were the most interested in studying computer science on the undergraduate level. Among students studying the humanities, those in fine arts and architecture and classics had the most interest in computer science.