3 Utah universities among best places to get a technology degree

SALT LAKE CITY — It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Beehive State is a good place to be if you're in the technology realm.

The same is true for students pursuing tech careers.

A recent study led by European technology company Ajelix compared 514 U.S. higher education institutions using six measures: tech graduate earnings, student loan debt, average net price, first-year retention, computing program accreditation and the number of tech programs with graduates.

The study found that three Utah universities ranked among the top 25 schools for a tech career, with Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University and the University of Utah all representing the state.

Here's how each university measured out.

Brigham Young University

BYU was the highest-ranked Utah school on the list, coming in third, behind only the University of Illinois and MIT and scoring a 75.9 on the "tech degree index" (a composite score of the six measurement factors using Department of Education data).

BYU awarded 545 tech degrees across seven different programs.

Additionally, the report showed that BYU graduates were earning a reported $130,543 four years on, and those who borrowed had median federal student loan debt of $11,178 — only $101 more than at MIT.

Utah Valley University

UVU nearly cracked the list's top 10, coming in at the 11th spot with a score of 71.6.

Across eight different tech programs, UVU awarded 314 degrees. The report noted that borrowers had a median federal loan debt of $19,060.

At the same time, UVU's average annual net price was lower than that of every other school in the top 25, at only $6,376. Four years after graduating, graduates were earning a reported $111,038.

In 2024, UVU launched the Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, establishing UVU as a living laboratory and model for AI in higher education.

University of Utah

The state's flagship university has been at the forefront of integrating AI into higher education, in 2026 greenlighting the creation of a first-of-its-kind bachelor's degree program in artificial intelligence.

Foundational coursework includes computer science and mathematics before building toward core AI areas like machine learning, data analysis, natural language processing, computer vision and robotics, according to a release from the U.

Efforts like this surely contributed to the U. scoring a 68 on the index, good for the 22nd spot in the rankings.

Awarding 576 degrees across six programs, the U. graduates earned a reported $124,517 four years on.

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