Best Data Science Degree Programs in Texas, 2026 Rankings

Verdict: Texas data science students benefit from the same state aid stack as CS students (TEXAS Grant, TEG, TEOG, Top 10% Scholarship) plus growing DS-specific institutional support at UT Austin's School of Data Science (formally launched 2023, one of the newer top US dedicated DS schools), Texas A&M's Statistics and DS programs, and UT Dallas's Naveen Jindal School of Management analytics tracks. Combined with no state income tax, Texas DS education delivers strong cost-to-quality economics, particularly at UT Austin, which has rapidly become a top-tier US public DS destination.

TEXAS Grant (up to ~$5,195/year for need-based in-state students) and Top 10% Scholarship (automatic for Texas HS grads in top 10% of class, $2,000/year + guaranteed admission to most Texas publics) stack with federal Pell. UT Austin's substantial institutional aid plus the Texas Advance Commitment (free tuition for Pell-eligible Texas residents) makes UT Austin DS one of the strongest financial value propositions in US data science.

UT Austin's School of Data Science (launched 2023) consolidates UT Austin's CS, Statistics, Information Studies, and Operations Research/Industrial Engineering data-science offerings into a single school. The MSDS program (Master of Science in Data Science) is among the strongest US public DS master's programs with growing enrollment and Texas-resident-friendly tuition.

Texas A&M's Department of Statistics has substantial DS programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. UT Dallas's analytics tracks through the Naveen Jindal School of Management have particularly strong Dallas-area enterprise placement. Rice University has substantial DS programs with no-loan financial aid for admitted students with demonstrated need. Federal Pell stacks on top. Industry scholarships from Texas-based DS employers (Capital One Plano DS, USAA, AT&T DS, Indeed Austin DS, Dell Round Rock DS) provide additional industry-track funding most students don't pursue.

Use our interactive ROI calculator to estimate your return on investment for a data science degree in Texas. Enter your expected tuition costs, financial aid, and career goals to see projected payback periods and lifetime earnings. The calculator uses current salary data from BLS and tuition data from IPEDS to provide accurate estimates.

Data sources: BLS OEWS May 2024, IPEDS 2024. Calculations use median salaries, 3% discount rate, and assume salary growth declines from 6% to 2% over career. Individual results will vary. | Powered by Hakia.com

Verdict: Texas's Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS) supports DS-track transfer pathways at the foundational level (calculus, linear algebra, statistics, intro programming). The DS-specific consideration is that UT Austin's School of Data Science is rapidly emerging as a major US DS destination, transfer admission is competitive but materially more accessible than UT Austin CS for comparable applicants. Texas A&M Statistics, UT Dallas analytics, and the broader Texas public university system all have growing DS programs with accessible transfer admission.

Best Texas community college DS-feeder schools: Houston Community College (largest CS/DS enrollment in Texas, strong UT Houston and Rice transfer record), Austin Community College (well-established UT Austin and Texas State articulation), Dallas College (DFW area, strong UT Dallas, UT Arlington, and Texas A&M transfer pipelines), Lone Star College (suburban Houston), San Jacinto College (Houston metro), and Collin College (Plano area, strong UT Dallas pipeline). Each has refined DS prerequisite sequences via TCCNS articulation.

The Houston Community College → UT Austin School of Data Science pathway is particularly accessible for top-performing transfer applicants, UT Austin DS transfer admission rates are substantially more open than UT Austin CS (estimated 25-40% vs UT Austin CS's tighter admissions). The HCC → Rice DS pathway is more competitive but available for the strongest CS/DS applicants. Collin College → UT Dallas is the strongest DFW-area DS transfer pipeline.

Beyond UT Austin: Texas A&M College Station offers strong undergraduate DS through Statistics and Computer Science departments with accessible transfer admission. UT Dallas has substantial DS/analytics programs with growing transfer admission. Rice University DS transfer admission is competitive (under 15%) but available, Rice's smaller scale produces stronger per-student outcomes. Sam Houston State University has growing DS programs at affordable in-state tuition. For Texas DS-track students, the UT Austin pathway is the research and top-employer optimization; UT Dallas is the DFW enterprise-DS optimization; Texas A&M is the strong Statistics-heavy option; Rice is the elite private option.

Verdict: Texas has the third-largest US data science job market after California and the NYC-NJ metro, with three meaningfully distinct DS clusters: Austin's tech-company DS (Apple, Tesla, Oracle, Indeed, Dell, plus a substantial AI startup scene), DFW's enterprise and financial-services DS (Capital One Plano, one of the largest US enterprise DS operations outside Big Tech, USAA San Antonio + Plano, Toyota North America IT, Charles Schwab, AT&T DS at scale, American Airlines DS), and Houston's energy DS (ExxonMobil DS, SLB / Schlumberger, Halliburton, operational DS, geophysics ML, predictive maintenance). Combined with no state income tax, Texas DS take-home compensation often exceeds equivalent California roles.

By metro: Austin averages ~$140,000-$175,000 for data scientist roles per Levels.fyi and BLS, with substantial concentrations at Apple Austin DS, Tesla DS (vehicle ML, manufacturing analytics, energy DS), Oracle Austin DS, Indeed search/recommendation DS (one of the largest US DS operations in employment-tech), Dell Round Rock DS, IBM Austin DS, Cisco Austin DS, plus a growing AI startup scene (Anthropic Austin, OpenAI Austin operations, Google Austin DS).

Dallas-Fort Worth averages ~$130,000-$165,000 with Capital One Plano DS as the standout employer, Capital One operates one of the largest US enterprise data science and ML organizations outside Big Tech, with thousands of data scientists and ML engineers across credit modeling, fraud detection, marketing analytics, and AI/ML platform engineering. USAA's combined San Antonio + Plano DS organization, Toyota North America IT analytics (Plano), Charles Schwab DS (Westlake, newer relocation from California), AT&T DS at scale (Dallas), American Airlines operational DS (Fort Worth), JPMorgan Chase DFW operations. Houston averages ~$120,000-$155,000 with energy-DS as the distinctive market, ExxonMobil's substantial industrial DS organization (operational analytics, geophysics ML, predictive maintenance at scale), Schlumberger/SLB digital operations, Halliburton DS, plus a growing healthcare DS market at Texas Medical Center (MD Anderson, Texas Children's, Memorial Hermann).

Texas DS-specific dynamics: (1) Capital One Plano's ML/AI organization is one of the most-overlooked elite US DS destinations, it pays comparable to Big Tech, has substantial ML research scope, and is materially less competitive than Bay Area FAANG DS for new graduate hiring. For DS-track graduates not optimizing for Bay Area location, Capital One Plano is one of the strongest US destinations by per-student outcomes. (2) Austin's AI startup scene has accelerated substantially in 2024-2025 with Anthropic, OpenAI, and similar frontier AI labs adding Austin operations, providing real alternatives to Bay Area frontier AI employment without California cost of living. (3) Houston's energy-DS market is distinctive, operational technology DS, geophysics ML, and predictive-maintenance applications create a DS career path that doesn't really exist elsewhere at this scale. See AI/ML Engineer Career Guide and Data Analyst Career Guide.

Last Updated: June 26, 2026. Rankings based on IPEDS 2024 data. Salary data from BLS OEWS May 2024.