# U.S. Computer Science Enrollment Fell About 12% This Fall, Early Clearinghouse Data Show, as Health Programs Grew

Times of AI Desk · 2026-10-29 · Work

[https://timesof.ai/2026/10/us-computer-science-enrollment-falls-fall-2026-clearinghouse](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/us-computer-science-enrollment-falls-fall-2026-clearinghouse)

> Preliminary fall 2026 data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show enrollment in computer and information sciences down 12.4% at four-year colleges, 12.3% at two-year colleges and 10.4% in graduate programs, while health programs grew and total enrollment edged up 0.2%. Bloomberg links the decline to AI cutting entry-level coding jobs; the Clearinghouse does not assign a cause. The figures cover about 46% of institutions; final data come in January.

Students are not leaving college; they are leaving computer science. Preliminary fall 2026 figures from the **National Student Clearinghouse Research Center**, published on **October 29**, show total U.S. enrollment up **0.2%** from a year earlier, while enrollment in computer and information sciences fell **12.4%** at four-year colleges.

## The numbers

The decline shows up at every level the Clearinghouse tracks. Computer and information sciences enrollment fell **12.3%** at two-year colleges and **10.4%** in graduate programs. Health programs moved the other way, rising 6.2% at four-year colleges, 4.3% at two-year colleges and 2.0% in graduate programs.

Undergraduate enrollment overall rose 0.6% and community college enrollment 1.2%, while graduate enrollment fell 1.6%, including a 3.7% drop in master's programs, according to the Clearinghouse.

Bloomberg, in a report published by Business Standard, reports that in two years computer science undergraduate programs have lost 18.4% of their students and graduate programs 27.1%, and links the decline to AI reducing entry-level coding jobs. The Clearinghouse itself does not attribute a cause.

## Reading it

A double-digit drop in one field while overall enrollment holds steady is a choice students are making, not a demographic effect. Whether AI is the driver is still an inference: employers have cited AI in cuts this year, as in [the March layoffs at Block, Morgan Stanley and Atlassian](https://timesof.ai/2026/03/ai-workforce-layoffs-and-adoption), but the Clearinghouse data cannot say why students chose other fields.

## Limits

- The figures are preliminary, based on about 7.92 million enrollments reported as of September 24, 2026, from 46.0% of institutions. The Clearinghouse's final fall report is due in January.
- The preliminary data exclude international student detail.
- Bloomberg's two-year figures were read in Business Standard's publication of the Bloomberg report and were not found on the Clearinghouse page.
- No source here establishes that AI caused the decline.

## Sources

- [National Student Clearinghouse Research Center: Preliminary Fall Enrollment Trends (October 29, 2026)](https://nscresearchcenter.org/prelim-fall-enrollment-trends/)
- [National Student Clearinghouse Research Center: Preliminary Fall 2026 methodological notes (October 29, 2026)](https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/PrelimFall2026-MethodNotes.pdf)
- [Business Standard (Bloomberg): Student enrolment in US computer science programs falls as AI takes jobs (October 29, 2026)](https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/student-enrolment-in-us-computer-science-programs-falls-as-ai-takes-jobs-126102900433_1.html)