Software Engineering and Computer Science Degrees in the District of Columbia for 2027
- Software engineering programs
- 0
- titled software engineering
- Computer science programs
- 12
- IPEDS 2024
- Median pay, software developers
- $136,880
- BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
- No college in the District of Columbia awards a degree titled software engineering. The state has 12 computer science programs at 6 schools, 1 with a named software engineering track. Computer science is the degree most software engineers hold besides software engineering itself, and a software engineering degree can still be taken online from a school in another state, listed below.
- Software developers in the District of Columbia earned a median of $136,880 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $117,120 and $169,580. The state employed 6,120 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
- Prices in the District of Columbia were 9.9% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 155 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $124,550. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
- Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: Virginia (2). 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.
- If nothing in the District of Columbia fits, the degree can be taken online. The highest-scoring online programs in our rankings are Kennesaw State’s bachelor’s, at 72.5 out of 100, and Kennesaw State’s master’s, at 67.6. Check with each school that it enrolls students living where you do before you apply.
Studying software engineering in the District of Columbia
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. No college in the District of Columbia awards the first, so this guide covers the state’s computer science programs and the software engineering degrees taught online.
What this page covers
- Computer science programs: the state’s 12 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.
Computer science programs in the District of Columbia
6 schools, 12 programs in the table below.
Computer science is the neighboring degree, and many software engineers hold it. 1 program names a software engineering track, tagged below. These rows come from federal data, not from each school’s page.
| School | Degree | City | ABET | Tuition 2023–24 | School grad rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American University | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Washington | B: $55,724M: $32,224 | 75% | |
| George Washington University | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Washington | B: $64,508M: $35,100 | 84% | |
| Georgetown | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Washington | B: $64,896M: $58,848 | 95% | |
| Howard | Bachelor’s · Master’sSE track | Washington | ✓ ABET bachelor’s | B: $32,878M: $37,334 | 70% |
| The Catholic University of America | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Washington | ✓ ABET bachelor’s | B: $54,630M: $52,190 | 79% |
| University of the District of Columbia | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Washington | ✓ ABET bachelor’s | B: $5,292M: $9,234 | 33% |
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.
The software job market in the District of Columbia
District of Columbia employed 6,120 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 0.8: the jobs are less 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.
| Occupation | Employed | Median | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 6,120 | $136,880 | 0.8 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 760 | $103,340 | 0.9 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 2,480 | $116,820 | 1.06 |
| Computer Programmers | 230 | 0.54 | |
| Web Developers | 430 | $114,690 | 1.35 |
| Data Scientists | 2,680 | $126,490 | 2.27 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, District of Columbia. 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, 1 is in the District of Columbia. Software developer employment and pay in each:
| Metro area | Software developers | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 69,060 | $154,930 |
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.
What software developers earn in the District of Columbia
The state median is $136,880, $900 above the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $117,120 and $169,580.
BEA puts prices in the District of Columbia at 109.9 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $124,550 would nationally, $11,430 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Software engineering degrees District of Columbia residents can take online
The closest route to a software engineering degree from the District of Columbia is online. These are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in the District of Columbia.
| School | National rank | Based in | Tuition 2023–24 | ABET | Score of 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s in software engineering | |||||
| Kennesaw State | #13 | Kennesaw, GA | $15,704 | ✓ ABET | 72.5 |
| Minnesota-Crookston | #41 | Crookston, MN | $11,478 | 44.8 | |
| University of Arizona | #43 | Tucson, AZ | $37,053 | 42.8 | |
| North Dakota State | #49 | Fargo, ND | $13,963 | 38.7 | |
| Penn State World Campus | #59 | University Park, PA | $15,204 | 35.2 | |
| Master’s in software engineering | |||||
| Kennesaw State | #11 | Kennesaw, GA | $19,188 | 67.6 | |
| UH-Clear Lake | #14 | Houston, TX | $17,532 | 59.5 | |
| North Dakota State | #15 | Fargo, ND | $11,377 | 58.9 | |
| St. Cloud State | #19 | Saint Cloud, MN | $14,130 | 53.3 | |
| Washington State | #20 | Pullman, WA | $27,842 | 53.0 | |
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.
The full lists: Best Online Software Engineering Degrees and Online Master’s in Software Engineering.
More in District of Columbia
Neighboring states
Frequently asked questions
Can you study software engineering in the District of Columbia?
No college in the District of Columbia awards a degree titled software engineering. The state has 12 computer science programs, and software engineering degrees can be taken online from schools elsewhere.
How much do software engineers make in the District of Columbia?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $136,880 in the District of Columbia in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $85,140 and the 90th $197,000.
Is District of Columbia pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts the District of Columbia’s prices at 109.9 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $136,880 is worth about $124,550 at national prices.
Can District of Columbia 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 the District of Columbia.
Which schools in the District of Columbia offer computer science degrees?
American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, The Catholic University of America and University of the District of Columbia. This page lists 6 bachelor’s programs and 6 master’s programs in computer science.
Are there computer science master’s programs in the District of Columbia?
Yes: 6 programs, at American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, The Catholic University of America and University of the District of Columbia.
References
Every figure on this page comes from one of these, read by the site’s data scripts and computed at build time, never typed in.
- 1 NCES IPEDS 2024: completions and programs offered The program list: bachelor’s and master’s programs in software engineering and in computer science, and graduates a year (three-year average).
- 2 NCES IPEDS institutional charges, 2023–24 Tuition at the program’s level, and undergraduate tuition per school for the cost medians. Excludes fees, housing and aid.
- 3 NCES IPEDS graduation rates The school’s six-year graduation rate, for the whole school rather than the program; IPEDS DRVGR2023 where the main pull has no figure.
- 4 Each school’s own program page Program name, delivery, credits, and every bullet on the program cards, quoted from the saved page. Read .
- 5 ABET Accredited Program Search Which programs are on ABET’s accredited list. Read .
- 6 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: state estimates Employment, median and percentiles in the District of Columbia for software developers; employment and median for the related occupations, and location quotients. Read .
- 7 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, metropolitan areas, May 2025 Software developer employment and median in the metro areas of the District of Columbia among the 50 largest. Read .
- 8 BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 National projected growth, 2025 to 2035. Read .
- 9 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State (SARPP), 2024 All-items and housing price levels for the District of Columbia (US = 100), used for the price-adjusted median. Read .