How We Rank Software Engineering Degrees for 2027

A program qualifies when its degree is titled software engineering. We start from federal IPEDS data, which lists every school awarding a degree under the software engineering classification, and check each one against the school’s own pages. IPEDS lists 186 software engineering records at the bachelor’s and master’s levels; 48 are excluded after that check, and 138 remain. 119 of them are ranked.

Computer science programs appear on the state and city pages in their own table, with links to each program’s page, but are not ranked: they are a different degree, and many schools file software engineering tracks under them.

A record is excluded when the school’s own site doesn’t support it as a degree titled software engineering. The usual reasons: the degree has a different title (a computer science degree with a software engineering track, say), the program no longer appears in the school’s current catalog, or the school itself has changed. Each exclusion and its reason:

48 excluded records

School	Level	Why it is excluded
Arizona State University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is Computer Science (Software Engineering), BS, a concentration. ASU's degree titled software engineering is the online BS (ASU Digital Immersion record).
Ashford University	Bachelor’s	Not a degree titled software engineering, and the school has changed: its federal record is now the University of Arizona Global Campus (College Navigator: public, Chandler, AZ), and its program in this area is the Bachelor of Science in Computer Software Technology (uagc.edu, saved 2026-10-02).
Aurora University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: software engineering is a specialization within computer science.
California Baptist University	Bachelor’s	HELD for owner review (2026-10-02), possibly discontinued: no program page for a Software Engineering BS anywhere on calbaptist.edu. The 2025-26 and 2026-27 undergraduate catalogs name it only in the degree-authority paragraph; the College of Engineering lists Computer Science, BCS and a Software Engineering & App Development Minor; catalog links for the BSSE redirect to the catalogs landing page. IPEDS shows 10 completions in 2023-24.
California State University-Sacramento	Master’s	Admission is suspended: the school’s 2026-2027 catalog states “Admission to the MS in Software Engineering is currently suspended” (https://catalog.csus.edu/colleges/engineering-computer-science/computer-science/ms-in-software-engineering/). Owner decision 2026-10-01: removed from all rankings.
Concordia University Ann Arbor	Bachelor’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Concordia University Ann Arbor's Department of Computer Science (https://www.cuaa.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/departments/computer-science/index.html) and its 2024-2025 undergraduate catalog list software engineering only as a minor; the degrees are Computer Science and Applied Computer Science.
DeVry University-Arizona	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-California	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Florida	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Georgia	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Illinois	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Ohio	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Texas	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
DeVry University-Virginia	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Bachelor of Science in Software Development.
Drury University	Bachelor’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Drury's Computer Science-Software Engineering major URL (https://www.drury.edu/math-and-computer-science/computer-science-software-engineering/) now redirects to the Computer Science Major page (https://www.drury.edu/math-and-computer-science/comp-sci/, saved 2026-10-07), a B.S. in Computer Science with one Software Engineering course.
Dunwoody College of Technology	Bachelor’s	The program no longer appears offered: dunwoody.edu/engineering/software/ redirects to the Computer Engineering degree, a new program whose first class graduates in May 2026. Owner decision 2026-10-01.
Fresno Pacific University	Bachelor’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): the program page https://www.fresno.edu/programs-majors/undergraduate/software-engineering-bs now redirects to an 'Access denied' page, and the only catalog entry is the archived 2020-21 catalog (https://catalog.fresno.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=2747). The program is no longer published.
Full Sail University	Bachelor’s	The only program page found on the school’s site is computer science; no degree titled software engineering was found.
Full Sail University	Master’s	The only program page found on the school’s site is computer science; no degree titled software engineering was found.
Gannon University	Master’s	Not enrolling, and not a degree titled software engineering: it is the Software Engineering option of Gannon’s MS in Computer and Information Science, and the page says "This program is currently in abeyance. We are not accepting new students at this time." (gannon.edu, saved 2026-10-02).
Harvard University	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Harvard Extension School's master's program pages say the software engineering degree is no longer offered and point to the Computer Science Master's Degree Program instead (https://extension.harvard.edu/academics/programs/computer-science-masters-degree-program/). No other Harvard software engineering master's exists.
Illinois Institute of Technology	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner), title rule, not discontinued: Illinois Tech's program reported under software engineering is Software Development (M.A.S.) (https://www.iit.edu/academics/programs/software-development-mas), a software development track offered by the Department of Information Technology and Management, not a degree titled software engineering. The same reason as DeVry's Software Development and the concentration-only programs. The page returns HTTP 403 to every fetch, so it could not be saved.
Liberty University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: software engineering is a cognate within computer science.
Lipscomb University	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): https://www.lipscomb.edu/academics/programs/software-engineering-graduate 'requires special permissions' (unpublished); the M.S. in Software Engineering appears only in archived catalogs (https://catalog.lipscomb.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=6&poid=1578, marked ARCHIVED) and not in the current 2026-2027 Graduate Catalog (catoid 32), which lists no software engineering program or MSSE course.
Messiah University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: it is a Software Development major (B.S.) (messiah.edu/undergraduate/software-development-major, saved 2026-10-02).
Monmouth University	Master’s	Possibly discontinued (2026-10-02): the current Monmouth graduate catalog (https://catalog.monmouth.edu/graduate-catalog/science/computer-science-software-engineering/) lists only the M.S. in Computer Science (thesis, non-thesis, Computer Networks, Databases and Intelligent Information Systems, Cybersecurity tracks) and the M.S. in Data Science; no M.S. in Software Engineering.
Naval Postgraduate School	Master’s	Not enrolling: the NPS computer science department page says "The Software Engineering program is no longer accepting new entries into the degree programs." (nps.edu/web/cs/cs_swe_general_info, saved 2026-10-02).
Northeastern University Oakland	Master’s	Not offered at this campus: Northeastern’s MS in Software Engineering Systems lists its campus locations as Arlington, Boston and Toronto, not Oakland (graduate.northeastern.edu, saved 2026-10-02).
Northeastern University Professional Programs	Master’s	Same degree and page as Northeastern University’s main record; listed once.
Nova Southeastern University	Bachelor’s	The only program page found on the school’s site is computer science; no degree titled software engineering was found.
Nova Southeastern University	Master’s	The only program page found on the school’s site is computer science; no degree titled software engineering was found.
Ohio Dominican University	Bachelor’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Ohio Dominican's software engineering page (https://www.ohiodominican.edu/academics/bachelors-degrees/software-engineering/index.html) returns 404, and its computer science page names software engineering only in one sentence.
Pennsylvania State University	Bachelor’s	Penn State Behrend’s program page states its B.S. is the only undergraduate software engineering program in the Penn State system; this University Park row is not confirmed.
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: the page found is computer science.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Bachelor’s	The school no longer shows this degree: the 2026-27 catalog’s undergraduate programs list has no Software Engineering BS (catalog.rose-hulman.edu/catalog/undergraduate-programs-study/software-engineering-bs/ returns Page Not Found, checked 2026-10-08); software engineering appears only as a minor, and the Computer Science BS carries a Developer track covering core software engineering. The page summary came from the 2022-23 catalog.
Saint Xavier University	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Saint Xavier lists no software engineering master's: its computer science page (https://www.sxu.edu/academics/programs/computer-science/index.html) is the B.S. in Computer Science, and its only graduate computing degree is the Master of Applied Computer Science.
Santa Clara University	Master’s	Not enrolling: Santa Clara’s 2026-27 engineering graduate bulletin says "We are currently not accepting applications for the Master of Science in Software Engineering program." (scu.edu/bulletin/graduate/school-of-engineering/chapter-11, saved 2026-10-02).
Texas State University	Master’s	Not a degree titled software engineering: Texas State lists an M.S. in Computer Science with a Software Engineering concentration (gradcollege.txst.edu/programs/cs.html, saved 2026-10-02).
Texas Tech University	Master’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: the only match is the online Master of Science in Software and Security Engineering. Owner decision 2026-10-01.
Trevecca Nazarene University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: software engineering is a concentration within the computer science and IT bachelor’s.
University of California-Merced	Master’s	No degree titled software engineering found: three lookups on ucmerced.edu found only an EECS M.S., no software engineering master’s. Owner decision 2026-10-01.
University of Denver	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. The University of Denver's Software Design and Programming master's page (https://universitycollege.du.edu/ict/degree/masters/software-design-and-programming-online/degreeid/396) redirects to the generic graduate academics page (https://www.du.edu/academics/graduate-academics); no software engineering master's page remains.
University of Evansville	Bachelor’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. The University of Evansville's program list (https://www.evansville.edu/engineering/programs.cfm) shows civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering, computer science, construction management and cybersecurity, but no software engineering; the major's page (https://www.evansville.edu/majors/softwareengineering/) returns 404. The major launched in fall 2017 per the school's announcement.
University of Utah	Master’s	No degree titled software engineering found: the University of Utah catalog (catalog.utah.edu) lists an MS in Computer Science, an MS in Computing and a Master of Software Development, but no software engineering master’s. Owner decision 2026-10-01.
Vermont State University	Bachelor’s	The school’s page says this program is not offered in the 2026-27 academic year.
Vermont State University	Master’s	Excluded 2026-10-07 (owner): discontinued. Vermont State University's master's degree list (https://vermontstate.edu/academics/programs-courses/graduate-studies/masters-degrees/) has no software engineering master's; the only reference is the 2018-2019 Vermont Tech catalog. Vermont State's software engineering B.S. is a separate, current record.
Walden University	Master’s	The school’s page shows this degree is not titled software engineering: software engineering is a specialization within an MS in Information Technology.
Wichita State University	Master’s	No master’s titled software engineering found: the only Wichita State page found is a 12-credit graduate certificate. Owner decision 2026-10-01.

Every figure on the site comes from one of these sources. Pages cite the release they use beside the figure and in their Sources list.

These are the sources behind the scores. Data and sources lists every source the site cites, including the curriculum standards and the career and city data.

A program is never scored on a guessed figure, and the weights are never rescaled to cover a gap. Today:

• 3 programs are missing a scored figure. Each is listed after the ranking, marked “Missing a figure our score needs”, or with the specific figure it lacks.
• 11 programs have no graduates in any of the three IPEDS years. They are listed as newer programs (“No graduates yet to measure”) and scored once they have graduates.
• 5 programs set their own price on its own page (degree completion, extended learning or an online-only rate). The federal tuition figure doesn’t describe what it costs, so it is listed with its published rate instead of a score.

All of them still appear on their state and city pages, with a plain reason in place of a rank.

Each program has one score, computed once and read by every page that shows it: the national rankings, the online and ABET lists, and the state and city pages. A master’s program that can be completed online is scored on its out-of-state tuition everywhere, so it carries the same number on the master’s ranking and the online ranking. A build check compares every score printed on the built site against that one table and stops the release if any differs.

State rank. A state page ranks its scored programs against each other, bachelor’s and master’s separately, in order of the site’s one score. “#2 in Ohio” means the second-highest score among Ohio’s ranked programs at that level. Scores are not recalculated for a state.

City limits. A program counts as in a city only when its campus point (IPEDS latitude and longitude) falls inside the city’s Census TIGER boundary, checked through the Census Geocoder. The city name a school reports is never used, because it often names a neighborhood or a suburb. A page named for two cities (Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St. Paul) counts both.

Near a city. When fewer than 5 programs titled software engineering sit inside the city limits, the page covers the whole metro area as “near” the city, ranks those programs together and shows each one’s distance from the city center. Computer science tables always list only programs inside the city limits; the rest of the metro area’s programs appear under Within driving distance. There are 50 city pages, one for each of the most populous metro areas.

A build check confirms on every city page that each listed program passes the same boundary test.

• Reputation. No surveys of deans or employers.
• Earnings and debt for the field itself. The College Scorecard reports computer science earnings and debt for fewer than four in five programs in every ranking, so we show them on cards where they exist, marked not scored. Online bachelor’s rankings score the school-wide earnings figure instead, labeled as a proxy.
• Graduate completion. Federal completion and earnings figures describe undergraduates, so master’s rankings don’t use them.
• Online format details. Start dates, asynchronous classes and transfer limits appear on too few program pages to score; cards show them where the page states them.
• Curriculum and faculty. No source reports them the same way for every program. We quote them from each school’s page instead.
• Published costs from a program’s page. Shown where a school states one, but few do, and they aren’t on the same basis as each other.
• Online delivery. A filter for the online rankings, not a score: an online program is neither better nor worse for being online.
• ABET for master’s programs. No master’s program in software engineering is on ABET’s list, so the master’s rubric scores whether the same school’s software engineering or computer science bachelor’s is accredited, instead of scoring every program zero.

Every figure is tied to a dated release, named beside it and in each page’s Sources list. Federal sources publish on their own schedules: IPEDS and BLS pay data once a year, BLS projections once a year, BEA price parities once a year. When a source publishes a new release, we pull it and the pages show its year. Each program card shows the date its school’s page was last checked.

If a figure is wrong or a program has changed, tell us at hello@savomediagroup.com with the page and what the school’s own site says. We check it against the source, correct the page, and update the date on it. Schools cannot pay to change a score or a position. More about who runs the site is on the about page.

The rankings: Best Bachelor’s in Software Engineering and Software Engineering Master’s Programs.