CS Enrollment Just Fell Off a Cliff

Computer science enrollment fell 8.1% in the 2025-2026 school year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. CS majors specifically plunged 11.2%. More than 62% of universities surveyed by the Computing Research Association reported declines. Across the entire UC system, CS enrollment dropped for the first time since the dot-com bust.¹

Here's the number that makes this interesting: engineering enrollment grew 7.3% in the same period. Electrical engineering surged 13.8%. Mechanical engineering climbed 11.4%.¹

Students aren't leaving STEM. They're leaving CS.

The reason isn't subtle. Microsoft and Google now generate roughly 30% of their code with AI. Meta is targeting 50%. CS graduates face a 6.1% unemployment rate — higher than art history (3%) and philosophy (3.2%), according to 2023 Federal Reserve data.² Entry-level developer job postings have dropped 60% since 2022.³ Students can read.

Meanwhile, AI programs are booming — growing at 56% of institutions. Cybersecurity is expanding at 58%. Northwestern, Columbia, and USC are all launching dedicated AI programs for fall 2026.¹ The message: don't learn to write code, learn to direct the thing that writes code.

The paradox is that CS starting salaries are up — $81,535, a 7% increase year-over-year.⁴ The degree has one of the highest unemployment rates among STEM fields (6.1%, 7th worst overall) while also commanding top-tier starting salaries. The distribution is bimodal: top graduates command premium salaries, average graduates can't find work, and the middle is being squeezed out by AI tools that do mid-level work for free.

Why it matters: If today's 18-year-olds are choosing not to study CS, the pipeline of human developers narrows further — at the exact moment the industry claims it needs more of them to supervise AI output. The infinite intern can write code, but it can't become a senior engineer. That still requires humans. And the humans are choosing other majors.