Computer Science & Engineering at Johns Hopkins University

JHU is the oldest and best-funded research institution in the United States. The school enjoys a preeminent status as the largest private employer in Maryland as well as one of the most productive institutions of scholarly work in the country.

This mission of excellence in research extends into the school’s CS program, ranked next to powerhouses like Yale and the University of Chicago. It is a top 30 curriculum with deep connections in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area, especially through government, NGO, and nonprofit opportunities.

Ultimately, JHU CS degrees will be highly coveted anywhere that employers are seeking extraordinary software engineering talent. It is an open secret in the world of tech talent that even among top programs, schools have varying expectations of their students in terms of the boundaries of a work-life balance: Hopkins is known to set that bar extraordinarily high. As a result, employers can be confident that hires from JHU are exceptional in both the knowledge they’ve acquired from their degree program and the work ethic it took to get there.

What to Expect from CS & Tech @ JHU 

That research culture translates into a collaborative academic environment where students are encouraged to pursue research early and often. 

CS Applicants choose between a BA or BS track when applying to JHU:

-The BS track has a deeper focus on the mathematical and theoretical foundations of CS, which makes it ideally suited for careers that emphasize STEM research. 

-Meanwhile, BA students have additional latitude with which to explore curricula in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. 

All this being said, it’s important to note that JHU does not have the ordinary core curriculum structure: instead, they have ‘distribution requirements’ that delineate the varieties of coursework permitted to achieve a certain degree outcome. Nevertheless, within those carefully-designed guardrails, students have far more freedom to define their own course of study in keeping with Hopkins’ longstanding traditions of freedom of thought and inquiry. 

That structure lends itself to a lot of interdepartmental collaboration and interdisciplinary opportunities for research. Students who thrive at Hopkins are likely to relish such prospects.

Finally, unlike with many other top schools, JHU generally has no restrictions on pursuing any course of study within the college of arts and sciences or the college of engineering. The only exception is Biomedical Engineering, which must be indicated on the application if a student would like to be considered for it and is otherwise seat-restricted. 

Strategies for Standing Out to JHU

There are a few things that you can do to strengthen your CS application to Hopkins:

1. Tailor your indicated major to your interests

While your admissions chances won’t hinge on your intended major as with other colleges, the story you tell admissions officers will be tremendously important in determining your admittance. If you’re an exceptional math student, consider leaning into the Applied Math & Stats major and emphasize your desire to leverage the quantitative foundations of CS to achieve something visionary. If your extracurriculars emphasize robotics or other real-world computing implementations, consider indicating your interest in Computer Engineering as an alternative major. 

Bonus points if you can show how you’d use the added flexibility of JHU’s curriculum to further specialize your knowledge and research efforts in exciting, innovative directions. 

To that end, the very best applications to JHU will leverage all or most of the student’s strengths and modes of excellence towards some unique and unexpected idea. 

A student interested in biology with 10 years of piano under their belt might choose to also study music theory, extrapolating the characteristics of various protein structures throughout the body to compose a classical symphony in movements through general anatomy as a celebration of life and embodiment. 

Alternatively, if that same student has an extracurricular activity list that includes some amount of research in astrophysics, they might be curious about applying galactic modeling techniques to epidemiological contexts—for example, seeing if the spread of viruses can be more accurately traced by adapting models developed for studying the movements of interstellar dust. 

2. Emphasize Research

As we’ve covered earlier in this post, in many ways Hopkins is THE research institution, the model upon which all other top universities compare and compete with when trying to showcase their excellence in academic output. To perpetuate this reputation, they’re looking for future leaders and innovators in research—that’s who gets admission offers. Your extracurricular activities should reflect this, as should your essays insofar as they relate to your academic interests and intentions. 

3. Know what you’re asking, and what you’re committing to

This is a school for the future nobel laureates, medical department heads, and, in the case of CS, the founders and/or lead software engineers of major technology companies. Prestige is the afterthought, and the work comes first. The institutional priorities are in building a brighter future and creating research with actionable results. While networking opportunities at JHU abound, it is the long-term relationships and life-long skills that truly set JHU students apart. Applicants should be clear-eyed about the singular intensity of this school’s academic culture, and their sense of purpose and composure should reflect that in their application materials. 

Exploring Hopkins’ Unique Offerings

With great responsibility comes great perks—on top of excellent industry contacts in silicon valley and a wellspring of tech startup founders from JHU: Hopkins has an internship and placement ecosystem in the DC Metro area, and in government, that is completely unprecedented. Those connections extend both ways, and there are numerous research projects directly funded by national security and NGOs at the college, meaning that students get to participate directly in that work before even graduating. 

Between these offerings, the unusual curricular flexibility, the unparalleled research opportunities, and the powerful networking promised by the Johns Hopkins University brand: there are many reasons why students may be attracted to studying CS at the school. Do any of these qualities speak to you? If so, JHU might be a worthwhile candidate for your school list! 

Final Thoughts

When applying to JHU, be sure to present a compelling, academically rigorous application that highlights your passion for technology, innovation and research, your future goals, and how JHU’s offerings are especially well-suited to help you achieve them. 

If that sounds like an overwhelming task, or you need additional support and guidance through this complex and ever-evolving process—let’s connect! Pathivy helps hundreds of students achieve their college applications goals every year.