Software Engineering Degrees Near Tampa Bay for 2027
The Tampa Bay area has 1 program titled software engineering at 1 school, and 3 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 Tampa Bay’s city limits, so this guide covers the whole Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
1
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
0
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
3
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$130,450
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01The Tampa Bay area has 1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school, plus 3 computer science programs. Saint Leo University ranks first among the area’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 31.6 out of 100, #66 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. It is Saint Leo University’s bachelor’s (29 miles from Tampa Bay’s center).
02Software developers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area earned a median of $130,450 in May 2025, against $130,980 across Florida and $135,980 nationally. The metro area employed 14,230 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
03Prices near Tampa Bay were 0.9% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 125.8 against a national 100. At national prices, the metro area’s developer median goes as far as about $129,290. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
04This page covers the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area only. The Florida guide covers all 8 programs titled software engineering across the state, 6 bachelor’s and 2 master’s, with the same comparisons of cost and pay, so a program elsewhere in the state can be weighed against one here.
05If nothing near Tampa Bay 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.
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. Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the area’s 3 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 near Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay: 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
Saint Leo University: #66 of 75 nationally
No software engineering bachelor’s is inside Tampa Bay’s city limits
The highest score in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area is Saint Leo University in St. Leo, FL, 31.6 out of 100. Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Saint Leo University’s biggest gap is ABET accreditation, where it earns 0 of 25 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.
Each program is ranked against the others near Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 near Tampa Bay
31.6of 100
Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL · about 29 mi from central Tampa Bay
BSOnline
In-state
$26,240
Out-of-state
$26,240
Completion
31%
Online students get virtual access to the cybersecurity lab
Saint Leo offers its BS in Software Engineering at 120 credit hours, an estimated four years. Its education centers run the program in eight-week terms with evening and weekend classes. The curriculum combines software design techniques with a practical understanding of computer hardware, networks, databases and key areas of software architecture.
Faculty bring many years of practical experience in software engineering. Students are encouraged, but not required, to complete an internship. University Campus has two computer labs and a cybersecurity lab, and online students get virtual access to that cybersecurity lab.
Compare
Programs side by side
Tampa Bay software engineering programs compared, by level
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 Tampa Bay’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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area whose campus is outside Tampa Bay’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
3 schools 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
Private
$32,096
median of 3 schools
Prices near Tampa Bay were 100.9 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 125.8, 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 3 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area employed 14,230 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, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area.
Industry
Businesses
Employees
Payroll per employee
Computer systems design and related services
1,875
23,130
$88,100
Software publishers
160
8,782
$133,600
Data processing, hosting and related services
188
2,717
$101,500
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
120
9,525
$90,900
The first three of those industries employ 2.7% of the metro area’s private-sector workers, against 2.6% nationally, close to the national share.
Of these industries, computer systems design and related services employs the most people in the metro area, 23,130, while software publishers pays the most per employee, $133,600.
Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.
Pay
What software developers earn
$78,48010th
$100,45025th
$130,450median
$165,43075th
$207,33090th
Software developers, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The metro area’s median is $130,450, $5,530 below the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $100,450 and $165,430.
BEA puts prices in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area at 100.9 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $129,290 would nationally, $6,690 less 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 Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay’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 Tampa Bay you’ve got one bachelor’s program titled software engineering, at Saint Leo University, plus three 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 Tampa Bay, that’s one software engineering program and five computer science programs across the metro, so you really can choose. An easy way to decide: put Saint Leo University’s course list next to Eckerd College’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 Saint Leo University, 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 1,875 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 Tampa Bay is Florida Gulf Coast’s bachelor’s in Fort Myers, about 105 miles away. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.
5
Look for your first job nearby
The Tampa Bay area had 14,230 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $130,450. The biggest software industries here are computer systems design (23,130 jobs) and computer and electronics manufacturing (9,525 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 Tampa Bay fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near Tampa Bay.
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 Tampa Bay?
1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school. 0 of them are on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school near Tampa Bay?
Saint Leo University ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs near Tampa Bay, with a score of 31.6 out of 100 (#66 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
How much do software engineers make near Tampa Bay?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $130,450 near Tampa Bay in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $78,480 and the 90th $207,330.
Is Tampa Bay pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Tampa Bay’s prices at 100.9 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $130,450 is worth about $129,290 at national prices.
Who hires software engineers near Tampa Bay?
No source counts software hiring by company the same way in every metro, so we don’t name employers. The Census Bureau counted 1,875 computer systems design businesses in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area in 2023, employing 23,130 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 Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay.
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 Tampa Bay to the nearest ABET-accredited software engineering program (straight line).
