I only know the US side. But there are two schools of thought that I believe hold true -- specifically for the U.S. You can go to school for the education or t

I only know the US side. But there are two schools of thought that I believe hold true -- specifically for the U.S. You can go to school for the education or the reputation. The best of both worlds: Stanford... but it's a long shot to get in for just about anyone. Universities really aren't moving fast enough to keep up with web technologies, so what you teach yourself will be faster than what a school can keep up with. For reputation: Stanford, Harvard, MIT, CMU For theory, plenty of schools are good schools. Maryland (full disclosure, my alma mater), Michigan, Cornell, Berkeley, Austin Best of both worlds (in my personal opinion): Stanford, Berkeley, CMU Again, theory will depend on the classes you pick and the professors you get (You'll likely get 90% of it from one specific class that ends up matching up with your interest and learning style the most). Relevance will depend on what you can learn on your own.