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Which universities have a strong quantum computing curriculum, and offer some type of quantum computing/information courses/research?

The aim here is to collect a useful list for someone considering graduate study in these fields, not to discuss which is "best". To make this list useful, please include a brief description of the part of the university where this area is pursued (in many places this is in an interdisciplinary institute that may not be familiar to everyone), and a URL.

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    $\begingroup$ This would be extremely subjective; more importantly, the point of this website is not to rank universities. There are definitely enough of those already... on the other hand it's a perfect question to ask Scott's blog (if the topic hasn't already been covered, which seems doubtful). $\endgroup$
    – Ryan Williams
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 3:45
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    $\begingroup$ @Captainhampton: The point of closing a question is not to discourage you in any way. It's simply to indicate that the question as currently stated cannot be answered objectively. $\endgroup$
    – arnab
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 17:00
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    $\begingroup$ The new revised question still has the form of a ranking: "Please also post each place as a separate answer, so that they can be voted on separately." Let me say my objection another way: ranking papers, talks, problems, scientific answers... all of these are within the scope of the site. Ranking people, universities, programs... this is not within the scope. It's just too controversial. $\endgroup$
    – Ryan Williams
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 18:30
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    $\begingroup$ Of course they are all subjective, but wouldn't you agree that certain topics are a bit more subjective than others? Would you really feel equally comfortable holding a public vote on your peers as you do voting on which papers are must-reads? I won't complain if the question is made community wiki, but it is still the case that if you remove the ranking requirement, then the question can be easily answered with an Internet search. In the past, that was also grounds for closing a question. $\endgroup$
    – Ryan Williams
    Commented Oct 21, 2010 at 0:26
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    $\begingroup$ I have edited the question and have removed the last sentence, IHMO it is now suitable for reopening, answers should be voted based on the quality of information provided in them, not the quality of the programs mentioned in them. $\endgroup$
    – Kaveh
    Commented Oct 26, 2010 at 5:04

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There are two quantum wikis which provide reasonably good list of research groups in QIP: Quantiki and Qwiki. Quantiki has better European coverage, while Qwiki has better US coverage.

The geographic area I know best is the UK. In the UK there are large theory groups in Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, University College London and Imperial College, among other places.

In Oxford, where I have spent the last 5 years, QIP research is spread across a number of departments: Physics, Computer Science, Materials Science and Maths. There isn't much of a presence in Maths, although it is Artur Ekert's official affiliation. Computer Science has a growing group that mostly looks at category theory and quantum foundations. Physics has quite a number of different groups ranging from experiments to theory. Materials science is weirdly the department where I have been based (although I know little about materials) and there is both a theory group there and a fair number of experimentalists. Computer Science, Materials and Physics all have taught quantum computing courses which can be taken towards the course requirement of a DPhil.

Hope this is useful.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks a ton Joe, certainly points me in the right direction. I greatly appreciate your help. $\endgroup$
    – Vincent Russo
    Commented Nov 3, 2010 at 15:46
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    $\begingroup$ No problem. As it turns out, I have just moved to the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore, which as Artem mentioned is another large centre for quantum computing related research and which does have a specialized PhD program (see quantumlah.org/phd for details). There are a range of research groups spanning CS, theoretical physics and experimental physics. $\endgroup$
    – Joe Fitzsimons
    Commented Nov 4, 2010 at 6:00
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To my knowledge, the only institutes/universities currently introducing explicit graduate programs in quantum information processing are: IQC at University of Waterloo, CQT at National University of Singapore, MIT, and Imperial College. The 4 institutions are working together to come up with some sort of standard curriculum. Other institutes I am familiar with is the IQI at CalTech, the group at Berkley, and cryptographers at University de Montreal. There are also strong groups in Europe and Asia.

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The Université de Montréal has a pretty strong quantum computing laboratory, namely the Laboratoire d'informatique théorique et quantique. There are two grad courses (Quantum computing 1 & 2), four professors working specifically on quantum computing (Gilles Brassard, Michel Boyer, Alain Tapp & Louis Salvail) and multiple grad students. Gilles Brassard is considered as one of the founders of quantum cryptography and also has a chair in quantum computing. Quantum cryptography is one of their main research topics. I also know that they are doing some research about quantum communication complexity. The laboratory is a member of the INstitute for Transdisciplinary Research In Quantum computing.

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    $\begingroup$ On the other side of Mount Royal there is McGill University which houses QIP researchers like David Avis, Claude Crépeau, Patrick Hayden, and Prakash Panengaden (all members of InTRIQ and CQIL). $\endgroup$
    – Artem Kaznatcheev ♦
    Commented Oct 27, 2010 at 2:34
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Max Planck Institute does a lot of work on Quantum Computation. You can look at their Theory group website for more information on their publications, projects and positions open.

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MIT has three graduate classes in the field I know about. Two of them, 8.370 ( Quantum Computation) and 8.371 (Quantum Information Science ll) form a series and are theoretical classes. The other one, 6.645 (applied physics) is a more practical field where students get to lay their hands on actual development and qubit manipulation. 8.370 is offered jointly by the math and physics departments, while 8.371 is offered by math, physics and EECS departments. 6.645 is jointly offered by the physics and EECS departments. Professor Shor, the person who came up with Shor's algorithm for factorizing numbers on a quantum computer, teaches 8.370 once a year.

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    $\begingroup$ I don't teach 8.370 once a year ... It's offered every year, but I only teach it some years; Professors Seth Lloyd and Aram Harrow teach it other years. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jun 21, 2018 at 20:52
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center for quantum computation, Clarendon Laboratory, university of Oxford, who run www.qubit.org and home of David Deutsch one of the premier & senior researchers in the field.

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    $\begingroup$ Joe's answer already covers this. $\endgroup$
    – Artem Kaznatcheev ♦
    Commented May 10, 2012 at 3:42
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    $\begingroup$ ok. missed "oxford" in his msg. his answer does not mention www.qubit.org $\endgroup$
    – vzn
    Commented May 10, 2012 at 22:55
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the Perimeter institute in canada seems apparently not affiliated with a particular university but has a strong research program incl quantum foundations, quantum information processing etcetera. (questioner did mention "institute" & seems like artificial restriction to strictly limit to universities.)

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    $\begingroup$ how much do you know about this institute? have you been there? have you worked with someone there? are you working in quantum computing? if not how can you evaluate their program? (I am not an expert in quantum computing, but it seems to me that you are neither. It is better to allow experts knowledgeable about the field answer the question.) $\endgroup$
    – Kaveh
    Commented May 10, 2012 at 23:07
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    $\begingroup$ ps: I think this is a general issue with your answers, they seem to be results of searching and not expertise/knowledge. So far you have posted 46 answers and only 9 of them have +2 score. $\endgroup$
    – Kaveh
    Commented May 10, 2012 at 23:13
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    $\begingroup$ PI does not do quantum computing, that is handled by IQC (covered in my answer) also in Waterloo; many faculty are cross-appointed between the two. I also fully agree with @Kaveh's sentiment. $\endgroup$
    – Artem Kaznatcheev ♦
    Commented May 11, 2012 at 1:06
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    $\begingroup$ The OP is interested in graduate programs. The PI doesn't offer a graduate program in quantum computing, although they do have an excellent one-year Masters program in physics. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Shor
    Commented May 11, 2012 at 2:57
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    $\begingroup$ @Artem: I have to disagree. The PI does do quantum computing, as you could tell if you looked at their list of faculty. Lots of PI postdoctoral fellows are in quantum computing, as well as a few permanent faculty, and lots of associate faculty whose main positions are at IQC. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 24, 2018 at 12:05

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