Software Engineering Degrees Near San Diego for 2027
The San Diego area has 1 program titled software engineering at 1 school, 1 accredited by ABET, and 9 computer science programs. This guide covers each one, what it costs, and what software developers earn in the metro area. Fewer than 5 programs titled software engineering sit inside San Diego’s city limits, so this guide covers the whole San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
1
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
1
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
9
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$163,270
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01The San Diego area has 1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school, plus 9 computer science programs. 1 of the software engineering programs is on ABET’s accredited list. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. It is Cal State San Marcos’s bachelor’s (21 miles from San Diego’s center). Across California as a whole, 9 programs carry the title.
02At San Diego’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 $45,300. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earned a median of $163,270 in May 2025, against $174,410 across California and $135,980 nationally. The metro area employed 20,610 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices near San Diego were 11.9% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 179.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the metro area’s developer median goes as far as about $145,910. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05This page covers the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area only. The California guide covers all 9 programs titled software engineering across the state, 5 bachelor’s and 4 master’s, with the same comparisons of cost and pay, so a program elsewhere in the state can be weighed against one here.
This guide
Studying software engineering here
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. San Diego offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 1 bachelor’s or master’s degree near San Diego titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the area’s 9 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.
SE programs
Software engineering programs near San Diego
Each program is ranked against the others near San Diego 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 near San Diego
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program, none ranked
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 · about 21 mi from central San Diego
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.
Compare
Programs side by side
San Diego 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 · 1 program, none 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. Grads/yr: IPEDS, three-year average. ABET: ABET’s list, retrieved 2026-09-30. #: the program’s rank among San Diego’s ranked programs at its level; NR, not ranked. Score: out of 100, the same score as on the ranking pages.
Nearby
Within driving distance
Programs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area whose campus is outside San Diego’s city limits.
City limits: Census TIGER incorporated place boundaries; campus locations: IPEDS 2024. Distances are straight-line miles from the city’s Census internal point, rounded.
Computer science
Computer science programs
6 schools, 9 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.
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. 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
Public, in-state
$6,084
median of 3 schools
Public, out-of-state
$18,684
median of 3 schools
Private
$45,300
median of 3 schools
Living near San Diego 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 near San Diego were 111.9 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 179.3, 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 6 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 metro area, 2024, all items and housing services.
Job market
The software job market
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area employed 20,610 software developers in May 2025. 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, metropolitan areas, May 2025, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Metro estimates are published for fewer occupations than state estimates; the occupations BLS doesn’t publish here are left out. Growth: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, national.
Who hires
Who hires software developers
We don’t list company names: no source counts software hiring by employer the same way in every metro. What the Census Bureau does count is the businesses themselves, by industry, in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area.
Industry
Businesses
Employees
Payroll per employee
Computer systems design and related services
2,146
36,527
$164,600
Software publishers
272
18,005
$187,800
Data processing, hosting and related services
236
8,127
$134,900
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
304
21,812
$111,000
The first three of those industries employ 4.5% of the metro area’s private-sector workers, against 2.6% nationally, 1.7 times the national share.
Of these industries, computer systems design and related services employs the most people in the metro area, 36,527, while software publishers pays the most per employee, $187,800.
Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.
Pay
What software developers earn
$95,42010th
$128,59025th
$163,270median
$193,98075th
$223,26090th
Software developers, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The metro area’s median is $163,270, $27,290 above the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $128,590 and $193,980.
BEA puts prices in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area at 111.9 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $145,910 would nationally, $9,930 more than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, metropolitan areas, May 2025.
Steps
How to become a software engineer
The path to software engineering near San Diego is the same one people take everywhere: a degree, real experience before you graduate, and a first job search. What changes is the schools you can choose from and who’s hiring nearby. Here are the five steps, with San Diego’s options in each.
1
Start with a bachelor’s degree
Most software developer jobs ask for a bachelor's degree, and you don’t need work experience to get your first one. Around San Diego you’ve got one bachelor’s program titled software engineering, at Cal State San Marcos, plus six computer science bachelor’s programs across the metro if you want a wider net. Before you fall for one, compare what they cost; the tuition figures above make that quick.
2
Pick between software engineering and computer science
Employers hire from both majors. Software engineering leans toward building and maintaining large systems as a team; computer science gives you a broader base in theory. Around San Diego, that’s one software engineering program and 11 computer science programs across the metro, so you really can choose. An easy way to decide: put Cal State San Marcos’s course list next to National University’s and see which you’d rather spend four years in. Compare them.
3
Build experience before you graduate
Internships are often what turn a degree into a job offer. When you talk to Cal State San Marcos, ask how they connect students with internships. Look for a capstone where you build real software with a team; it gives you something concrete to talk about in interviews. With 2,146 computer systems design firms in the metro, a summer role close to home is realistic.
4
Know where licensing stands
You don’t need a license to work as a software engineer, and there’s no longer a licensing exam for it: the last one was given in April 2019. Accreditation still matters if you might want a license or certification later, since those often ask for an ABET-accredited degree. The closest accredited software engineering program to San Diego is Cal State San Marcos’s bachelor’s in San Marcos, about 21 miles away. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.
5
Look for your first job nearby
The San Diego area had 20,610 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $163,270. The biggest software industries here are computer systems design (36,527 jobs) and computer and electronics manufacturing (21,812 jobs), so start your search with those firms. Ask your program which local employers hire its graduates, and go to its career fairs from your first year. Across the country there are about 95,300 openings a year, so you can widen the search if you’re willing to move.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees
If no program near San Diego fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near San Diego.
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 near San Diego?
1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school. 1 of them is on ABET’s accredited list.
Which software engineering programs near San Diego are ABET-accredited?
Cal State San Marcos (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much does a software engineering degree cost near San Diego?
Across San Diego’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 $45,300. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make near San Diego?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $163,270 near San Diego in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $95,420 and the 90th $223,260.
Is San Diego pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts San Diego’s prices at 111.9 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $163,270 is worth about $145,910 at national prices.
Who hires software engineers near San Diego?
No source counts software hiring by company the same way in every metro, so we don’t name employers. The Census Bureau counted 2,146 computer systems design businesses in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area in 2023, employing 36,527 people. Nationally, the industries that employ the most software developers are computer systems design and related services, software publishers and management of companies and enterprises.
Can San Diego 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 near San Diego.
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 .
13NCES IPEDS HD2024: campus coordinatesCampus latitude and longitude, for the distance from San Diego to the nearest ABET-accredited software engineering program (straight line).
