Software Engineering and Computer Science Degrees in Hawaii for 2027
- Software engineering programs
- 0
- titled software engineering
- Computer science programs
- 6
- IPEDS 2024
- Median pay, software developers
- $124,040
- BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
- No college in Hawaii awards a degree titled software engineering. The state has 6 computer science programs at 5 schools. 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 Hawaii earned a median of $124,040 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $82,830 and $170,970. The state employed 1,600 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
- Prices in Hawaii were 10.0% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 125.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $112,760. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
- Hawaii shares no land border with another state. In the Census Bureau’s West region, the states with programs titled software engineering are Arizona (9), California (9), Utah (6) and Washington (4). Each has its own guide with the same comparisons of programs, cost and pay, keeping in mind that a public school charges nonresidents more.
- If nothing in Hawaii 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 Hawaii
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 Hawaii 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 6 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 Hawaii
5 schools, 6 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.
| School | Degree | City | ABET | Tuition 2023–24 | School grad rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigham Young University-Hawaii | Bachelor’s | Laie | $6,438 | 53% | |
| Chaminade University of Honolulu | Bachelor’s | Honolulu | $29,856 | 63% | |
| Hawaii Pacific University | Bachelor’s | Honolulu | ✓ ABET | $35,580 | 35% |
| University of Hawaii at Hilo | Bachelor’s | Hilo | $7,344 | 48% | |
| University of Hawaii at Manoa | Bachelor’s · Master’s | Honolulu | B: $11,304M: $15,600 | 64% |
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 Hawaii
Hawaii employed 1,600 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 0.23: 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 | 1,600 | $124,040 | 0.23 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | $102,930 | – | |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 1,670 | $88,640 | 0.79 |
| Computer Programmers | 450 | $118,180 | 1.22 |
| Web Developers | 310 | 1.09 | |
| Data Scientists | 300 | $102,130 | 0.29 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Hawaii. Location quotient: the state’s share of employment in the occupation divided by the national share (1.0 = the national rate); – means no published figure. Growth: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, national.
What software developers earn in Hawaii
The state median is $124,040, $11,940 below the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $82,830 and $170,970.
BEA puts prices in Hawaii at 110 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $112,760 would nationally, $23,220 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Software engineering degrees Hawaii residents can take online
The closest route to a software engineering degree from Hawaii is online. These are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Hawaii.
| 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.
Nearby states
Hawaii shares no land border with another state, so these are the other states in the Census Bureau’s West region that have programs.
- Arizona Arizona: 9 software engineering programs, with statewide pay and job growth.
- California California: 9 software engineering programs, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Utah Utah: 6 software engineering programs, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Washington Washington: 4 software engineering programs, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Colorado Colorado: 1 software engineering program, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Idaho Idaho: 1 software engineering program, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Montana Montana: 1 software engineering program, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Oregon Oregon: 1 software engineering program, with statewide pay and job growth.
- Alaska No program in Alaska is titled software engineering; its guide covers computer science programs and online options.
- Nevada No program in Nevada is titled software engineering; its guide covers computer science programs and online options.
- New Mexico No program in New Mexico is titled software engineering; its guide covers computer science programs and online options.
- Wyoming No program in Wyoming is titled software engineering; its guide covers computer science programs and online options.
Frequently asked questions
Can you study software engineering in Hawaii?
No college in Hawaii awards a degree titled software engineering. The state has 6 computer science programs, and software engineering degrees can be taken online from schools elsewhere.
How much do software engineers make in Hawaii?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $124,040 in Hawaii in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $64,690 and the 90th $238,930.
Is Hawaii pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Hawaii’s prices at 110 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $124,040 is worth about $112,760 at national prices.
Can Hawaii 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 Hawaii.
Which schools in Hawaii offer computer science degrees?
Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, University of Hawaii at Hilo and University of Hawaii at Manoa. This page lists 5 bachelor’s programs and 1 master’s program in computer science.
Are there computer science master’s programs in Hawaii?
Yes: 1 program, at University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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 Hawaii for software developers; employment and median for the related occupations, and location quotients. Read .
- 7 BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 National projected growth, 2025 to 2035. Read .
- 8 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State (SARPP), 2024 All-items and housing price levels for Hawaii (US = 100), used for the price-adjusted median. Read .