Software Engineering Degrees in California for 2027
California has 9 programs titled software engineering at 7 schools, 3 accredited by ABET, and 93 computer science programs. This guide covers each one, what it costs, and what software developers earn in the state.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
9
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
3
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
93
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$174,410
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01California has 9 degrees titled software engineering, 5 bachelor’s and 4 master’s, at 7 schools, plus 93 computer science programs. 3 of the software engineering programs are on ABET’s accredited list. San Jose State ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 87.0 out of 100, #1 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page.
02At California’s public schools, the median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $6,084 in state and $18,684 out of state, so residency saves about $12,600 a year at the median. Private schools had a median of $56,722. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in California earned a median of $174,410 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $136,990 and $216,670. The state employed 284,390 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices in California were 10.7% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 154.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $157,550. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: Arizona (9) and Oregon (1). Each has its own guide with the same comparisons of programs, cost and pay, so a program across the state line can be weighed against one at home, keeping in mind that a public school charges nonresidents more.
This guide
Studying software engineering in California
A degree titled software engineering puts design, testing and the management of large software projects at the center, where computer science centers on computation itself. California offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 9 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in California titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’s 93 bachelor’s and master’s programs in computer science, from federal data.
Online programs: software engineering degrees from our rankings that can be completed online.
Not included: associate degrees, certificates, bootcamps, doctoral programs and degrees in related fields such as information technology.
Methodology
How we ranked these programs
Programs in California are ranked against each other at the same degree level, highest score first. The score is out of 100 and comes from our national rankings, so a program carries the same score on every page of this site. It isn’t curved for California: each factor is measured against fixed national standards, which is why even the strongest program here can sit well below 100.
The bachelor’s score
San Jose State: #1 of 75 nationally
San Jose State leads in California with 87.0 out of 100
Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Its biggest gap is completion, where it earns 27 of 35 points. Every scored program is in Best Bachelor’s in Software Engineering.
Scored factors
100 pts total
Cost25 pts
The school’s average net price after grants (IPEDS), in fixed dollar tiers.
Under $12,00025 pts
$12,000 to $15,99920 pts
$16,000 to $19,99915 pts
$20,000 to $24,99910 pts
$25,000 to $31,9995 pts
$32,000 or more0 pts
Completion35 pts
The school’s eight-year completion rate for all entering students (IPEDS Outcome Measures), as a share of the points.
ABET accreditation25 pts
Full points if the program is on ABET’s own accredited list, none if not.
Program size15 pts
Graduates a year, on a log scale that reaches full points at 100.
The master’s score
Cal State Fullerton: #3 of 44 nationally
Cal State Fullerton leads in California with 84.6 out of 100
Across the country the median master’s score is 52.0 and the highest is 86.9. Its biggest gap is program size, where it earns 20.6 of 30 points. Every scored program is in Software Engineering Master’s Programs.
Scored factors
100 pts total
Cost40 pts
The school’s graduate tuition (IPEDS), in fixed dollar tiers.
Under $10,00040 pts
$10,000 to $14,99932 pts
$15,000 to $19,99924 pts
$20,000 to $29,99916 pts
$30,000 to $39,9998 pts
$40,000 or more0 pts
Program size30 pts
Graduates a year, on a log scale that reaches full points at 500.
Research activity15 pts
The school’s Carnegie research class, from IPEDS.
R115
R29
Doctoral/professional3
Other0
ABET-accredited department15 pts
Full points if the school’s software engineering or computer science bachelor’s is on ABET’s list.
Not ranked. One program here has no score, because a figure the score needs wouldn’t describe it: Cal State San Marcos (sets its own tuition, so the federal figure our score uses doesn’t apply). We never score a program on a guess.
Each program is ranked against the others in California at the same degree level, by the score our national rankings use. Tuition is IPEDS 2023–24; grad rate is the school’s. Full details for a ranked program are on its ranking page.
Bachelor’s
Master’s
Top 3 in California
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
5 programs, 4 ranked
#1 in California
87.0of 100
San Jose State
San Jose, CA
BSCampus
In-state
$5,742
Out-of-state
$17,622
Completion
77%
✓ ABET-accredited
Lowest in-state tuition of the 4 bachelor’s programs in California with a federal figure
Senior design paired with a global and social issues course
San Jose State's BS is 123 units: 24 of university requirements, 33 of major preparation and 66 in the major. Preparation includes three calculus courses, discrete mathematics, two physics courses and a biology course. Calculus I and II and Physics I need a C or better, and the other major courses need a C- or better. Major courses include two software engineering classes, Software Engineering Process Management, Software Quality Engineering, Enterprise Software Platforms, Computer Networks, Object-Oriented Design, Information Security and a database course.
Senior Design Project runs as a two-course sequence, two units then three, next to a Global and Social Issues in Engineering sequence, and both sequences need a C or better. Six units of upper-division electives are picked with an advisor. The department page says the degree covers data science topics including probability, data visualization and data ethics. The BS is accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission under the general criteria and the software program criteria.
#2 in California
83.2of 100
Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA
BSCampus
In-state
$5,742
Out-of-state
$17,622
Completion
87%
✓ ABET-accredited
Year-long team capstone builds one large system
Cal Poly's BS is 120 units on the San Luis Obispo campus, and the catalog says it differs from the computer science degree by leaning harder on mathematics and engineering methods. Classes stress software processes and lifecycles, with real coursework in QA, testing, metrics, maintenance and configuration management. The last year is a capstone sequence, Software Engineering Capstone I and then Senior Project, where teams build a large system. Major courses include Modern Application Development, a Software Engineering class, security basics, Programming Languages and a four-unit Algorithms and Complexity course.
Software engineering electives run from Software Evaluation and Software Security to Human-Computer Interaction. Support requirements are heavier than you might expect: linear algebra, calculus or calculus for data science, Engineering Statistics, Introductory Psychology, and Ethics, Science, and Technology. Graduation also takes 40 upper-division units and a 2.0 GPA. No major or support course can be taken credit/no credit, and cooperative or internship courses count for at most 12 units. The four-year flowchart is a planning guide and not a required order. The program is accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission.
#3 in California
63.3of 100
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA
BSCampus
In-state
$11,834
Out-of-state
$42,611
Completion
86%
Highest school graduation rate of California’s 5 bachelor’s programs
Two quarter capstone with an outside organization
UC Irvine's BS is built around hands-on work, from the first programming courses to a capstone where you spend two quarters with an outside organization building a substantial system. Freshmen follow the general undergraduate admissions process. Transfer applicants who finish the course prerequisites get preference, and they need one year of approved calculus, one year of object-oriented programming in Python, Java or C++, and lower-division writing. Lower-division work includes a programming series, C/C++ and Java as second languages, data structure implementation, computer organization, discrete mathematics, linear algebra, statistics and Introduction to Software Engineering.
The upper-division core adds requirements analysis, testing and quality assurance, human computer interaction, two software design courses, internet applications engineering, project management, operating systems, networks, algorithms and a critical writing course. You then pick four 4-unit upper-division electives from the school, and honors research or independent study can fill at most two of them. The two-part Senior Design Project requires the upper-division core first. The lower-division writing requirement must be done by the end of your seventh quarter.
#4 in California
35.9of 100
Chapman
Orange, CA
BSCampus
In-state
$62,400
Out-of-state
$62,400
Completion
80%
Three one credit Grand Challenges seminars
The major at Chapman runs 77 to 78 credits. You start with a Grand Challenges sequence of three one-credit courses, then lower-division work in design and fabrication, accelerated calculus, statistics, linear algebra with differential equations, two computer science courses, discrete mathematics and a social and ethical issues course. The upper division is 33 credits: software requirements and testing, software design, the development lifecycle, human factors, human computer interaction, data structures, programming languages, operating systems, databases and technical writing.
It ends in a three-credit Software Engineering Capstone Project. Nine elective credits are built with the software engineering advising committee, with choices such as Android and iOS development, machine learning, web engineering and formal methods. You also complete three one-credit sections of a computer science colloquium. Every major course needs a C- or better, with a 2.5 GPA in lower-division major courses and a 2.0 across all required major courses, and at least 21 upper-division credits must be in the major. The program page names the regional accreditor WASC and mentions ABET only for the computer and electrical engineering degrees.
Not ranked 1 program, each missing something the score needs
Not rankedSets its own tuition, so the federal figure our score uses doesn’t apply
Cal State San Marcos
San Marcos, CA
BSCampus
Published rate
$545 per unit
Completion
68%
✓ ABET-accredited
Degree completion
Degree completion program for transfer students
Cal State San Marcos teaches this degree as a completion program, so you apply with the required prerequisite courses, at least 60 transferable units (90 quarter units) and the CSU general education transfer requirements. Classes meet in person at the Temecula Valley campus, typically two or three days a week, and you move through four semesters with the same cohort. New cohorts start each spring and fall. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Your last two semesters go to projects for outside clients.
Coursework named on the page includes data structures and algorithms, cloud computing with virtualization and containers, and software requirements and design, covering elicitation, specification and validation. Tuition is listed at $545 per unit, active-duty military get discounts, and the program is eligible for financial aid. You can also ask for credit for prior learning based on certifications or work and military experience, which faculty review case by case. A pathway with Moreno Valley Unified and Mt. San Jacinto College lets you start the prerequisites in 11th grade. The page says the courses and faculty match the San Marcos campus version, so location is the difference.
Master’s in software engineering
4 programs
#1 in California
84.6of 100
Cal State Fullerton
Fullerton, CA
MSCampus
Tuition
$7,176
Out-of-state
$16,680
Grads/yr
69.7
Online cohort with asynchronous courses, no meeting times
Cal State Fullerton's online MS is ten courses, 30 units, spread over 22 months of year-round study at two courses per semester. You move through it in a cohort on one shared schedule. Courses are asynchronous with no meeting times, and everything goes through Canvas. You attend an orientation first and a midpoint seminar later, both held at the campus but open online. Admission asks for a resume so the department can judge whether your work history covers CPSC 362, Foundations of Software Engineering, and the FAQ says at least one year of software development experience is expected.
The GRE is not required. There is no thesis option and no exit exam, only a terminal project, CPSC 597. The program is fully online, so it cannot issue an I-20 for international students. Cost is listed at roughly $14,000 for a California resident and $26,000 for a non-resident. The department also runs an on-campus accelerated version through Extension and International Programs that takes 17 months at roughly $26,000 for all students. If you miss a course, it is only offered once a year, so you would wait for the next cycle.
#2 in California
82.9of 100
San Jose State
San Jose, CA
MSCampus
Tuition
$7,176
Out-of-state
$16,680
Grads/yr
322.3
Largest master’s program in California by graduates a year
Choice of enterprise or cloud specializations
Check which catalog year applies to you, because San Jose State's MSSE has changed. For students admitted from Fall 2020, the degree is 33 semester units: 6 in the degree core, 9 in specialization courses, 9 in electives, a 3-unit written English class and a 6-unit project or thesis. The core is Software Systems Engineering and Enterprise Software Platforms. Beginning in Fall 2026, the former third core course, CMPE 255 Data Mining, is no longer required and an extra elective replaces it. You choose a specialization, take its two core courses, and add one choice course from a different specialization.
Electives can be any graduate CMPE course numbered 200 or higher with a short list of exclusions, and the 2022-2023 catalog adds that up to 15 units of upper-division undergraduate work may count. Fifteen units must be finished before the culminating experience begins, including the core and your specialization core. CMPE 294 or ENGR 200W satisfies the written English requirement. The project route is CMPE 295A and 295B, and the thesis route is CMPE 299A and 299B. Internships are optional through CMPE 298I.
#3 in California
81.1of 100
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA
MSCampus
Tuition
$12,264
Out-of-state
$27,366
Grads/yr
51.3
Admission weighs open source work and developer jobs
UC Irvine's MSWE asks for a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and it weighs proof that you want to work as a software engineer: open source contributions, a past developer job, relevant undergraduate courses, or a non-trivial application you programmed. You also need to program well in two languages, know algorithms and data structures, and read and speak English well. A design portfolio, GitHub link or GRE score is optional. The plan has four required courses, Curricular Practical Training, two capstone courses and Advisement. On top of those you take at least six courses from SWE 240P through 259P and at least seven from SWE 260P through 277P.
Independent study, SWE 299P, needs the instructor's permission. Your GPA has to stay at 3.0 or above, no single grade can fall under B-, and the first quarter is a hurdle: finish two-thirds of the programming breadth courses you enroll in with a B or higher, or you can be considered for dismissal. The final exam is a written technical report plus an oral presentation on your capstone, run by the capstone faculty in your last quarter. The expected time is 15 months full time or 27 months part time, and one extension of up to a year can be granted.
#4 in California
65.8of 100
Cal State Northridge
Northridge, CA
MSCampus
Tuition
$7,176
Out-of-state
$16,680
Grads/yr
8.3
Thesis degree with a six unit thesis and proposal
Cal State Northridge's MS is a thesis degree, 30 units with 21 required and 9 in electives. Applicants take the GRE and need acceptance from the Computer Science department, though anyone with an ABET-accredited computer science BS and a 3.0 GPA or better is exempt from the test. To reach fully classified status you finish any prerequisite undergraduate material, or show equivalent work experience, and keep a 3.0 GPA while conditionally classified. The graduate coordinator can tell you what the prerequisites are. Fifteen of the required units are a breadth block: you choose five courses from a list of six covering requirements, management, verification, metrics, architecture and an advanced topics course.
The last six units are COMP 696 Directed Graduate Research and COMP 698C Thesis. Your thesis proposal needs sign-off from the faculty supervisor, the coordinator and the chair, and a three-member committee hears your defense. Electives are one software engineering course, such as Advanced Web Engineering or Graphical User Interfaces, plus two computer science courses at the 400 level or above. Grades must be C or better in every course, and nothing taken more than seven years before you finish counts toward the 30 units.
Compare
California software engineering programs side by side
California software engineering programs compared, by level
#
Program
Format
In-state
Out-of- state
Grad rate
Grads/ yr
ABET
Scoreof 100
Bachelor’s in software engineering · 5 programs, 4 ranked
A published rate is the school’s own price, shown but not scored.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24, at the program’s level (a master’s figure is the school’s graduate average). Grad rate: the school’s six-year rate for bachelor’s students; N/A on master’s rows, because federal data has no graduation rate for master’s programs. Grads/yr: IPEDS, three-year average. ABET: ABET’s list, retrieved 2026-09-30. #: the program’s rank among California’s ranked programs at its level; NR, not ranked. Score: out of 100, the same score as on the ranking pages.
Computer science
Computer science programs in California
57 schools, 89 programs in the table below.
Computer science is the neighboring degree, and many software engineers hold it. These rows come from federal data, not from each school’s page.
Also offered: master’s at Caltech, Chapman, NPS and University of Silicon Andhra.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24, in-state, before fees and aid; undergraduate for a bachelor’s, and for a master’s the school-wide average across graduate students, which excludes program fees. School grad rate: the school’s six-year rate for bachelor’s students (IPEDS); N/A on master’s rows, because federal data has no graduation rate for master’s programs. – means no published figure. ABET: on ABET’s computing (CAC) or engineering (EAC) list, retrieved 2026-10-05; a blank cell means not accredited. A school is in the table when it has at least two of a tuition figure, a grad rate or ABET accreditation, and a program page we could link; the rest are listed under it. SE track: named on the school’s own page.
Cost
What it costs in California
Public, in-state
$6,084
median of 30 schools
Public, out-of-state
$18,684
median of 30 schools
Private
$56,722
median of 24 schools
Living in California is worth about $12,600 a year in tuition at the median public school, the gap between the two public medians. Over a four-year degree that is roughly $50,400, before any change in rates.
Prices in California were 110.7 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 154.3, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Regional Price Parities. 2024 is BEA’s latest year, a year behind the May 2025 pay figures on this page.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24 undergraduate tuition, one figure per school, for the 54 schools with a bachelor’s program in this guide; a median needs at least 3 schools. Excludes fees, housing and aid. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities by state, 2024, all items and housing services.
Job market
The software job market in California
California employed 284,390 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 1.44: the jobs are more concentrated in the state than nationally. Nationally, BLS projects software developer jobs to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Location quotient: the state’s share of employment in the occupation divided by the national share (1.0 = the national rate). Growth: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, national.
Metro areas
Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, 7 are in California. Software developer employment and pay in each:
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, metropolitan areas, May 2025, software developers. Metro areas are federal CBSAs and can cross state lines; only the 50 largest are on file.
Pay
What software developers earn in California
$105,06010th
$136,99025th
$174,410median
$216,67075th
$272,67090th
Software developers, California, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $174,410, $38,430 above the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $136,990 and $216,670.
BEA puts prices in California at 110.7 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $157,550 would nationally, $21,570 more than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for California residents
If no program in California fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in California.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24 out-of-state, the rate an online student from another state usually pays (a master’s figure is the school’s graduate average); a published rate is the school’s own price. National rank and score: our national ranking at the program’s level.
How many software engineering programs are in California?
9 degrees titled software engineering, 5 bachelor’s and 4 master’s, at 7 schools. 3 of them are on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in California?
San Jose State ranks first of the 4 ranked bachelor’s programs in California, with a score of 87.0 out of 100 (#1 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
Which software engineering programs in California are ABET-accredited?
Cal Poly (bachelor’s), Cal State San Marcos (bachelor’s) and San Jose State (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much does a software engineering degree cost in California?
Across California’s public schools in this guide, median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $6,084 for residents and $18,684 for nonresidents; at private schools the median was $56,722. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make in California?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $174,410 in California in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $105,060 and the 90th $272,670.
Is California pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts California’s prices at 110.7 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $174,410 is worth about $157,550 at national prices.
Can California residents take a software engineering degree online?
Yes. Kennesaw State, Minnesota-Crookston and University of Arizona are among the online software engineering programs in our rankings. Check with each school that it enrolls students living in California.
2NCES IPEDS institutional charges, 2023–24Tuition at the program’s level, and undergraduate tuition per school for the cost medians. Excludes fees, housing and aid.
3NCES IPEDS graduation ratesThe school’s six-year graduation rate, for the whole school rather than the program; IPEDS DRVGR2023 where the main pull has no figure.
4Each school’s own program pageProgram name, delivery, credits, and every bullet on the program cards, quoted from the saved page. Read .
