Iowa has 3 programs titled software engineering at 3 schools, 1 accredited by ABET, and 22 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
3
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
1
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
22
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$114,890
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01Iowa has 3 degrees titled software engineering, all bachelor’s, at 3 schools, plus 22 computer science programs. 1 of the software engineering programs is on ABET’s accredited list. Iowa State ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 81.3 out of 100, #5 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. They are Iowa State’s bachelor’s, Northwestern College’s bachelor’s and William Penn University’s bachelor’s.
02At Iowa’s public schools, the median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $9,252 in state and $27,346 out of state, so residency saves about $18,094 a year at the median. Private schools had a median of $37,912. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in Iowa earned a median of $114,890 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $95,600 and $137,090. The state employed 9,040 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices in Iowa were 12.2% below the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 65.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $130,850. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: Minnesota (6), Wisconsin (5), Illinois (3) and Missouri (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.
This guide
Studying software engineering in Iowa
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. Iowa offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 3 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Iowa titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’s 22 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 Iowa 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 Iowa: 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
Iowa State: #5 of 75 nationally
Iowa State leads in Iowa with 81.3 out of 100
Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Its biggest gap is cost, where it earns 15 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 in Iowa 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 Iowa
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
3 programs
#1 in Iowa
81.3of 100
Iowa State
Ames, IA
BSCampus
In-state
$8,982
Out-of-state
$26,168
Completion
75%
✓ ABET-accredited
The only ABET-accredited bachelor’s program in Iowa
Software engineering is one of four computing-related engineering majors at Iowa State University, alongside computer, cyber security and electrical, and the page calls it the largest computing major on campus. The degree is one of the earliest developed programs in the country. Every engineering major starts with a basic program of courses common to all engineering curricula, and students normally take most of them in the first year. For 2025-26, software engineering students preferred minors in cyber security, data science and applied artificial intelligence.
Co-ops and internships are not required by the college, but they are highly encouraged, they must be paid, and they must involve the practice of engineering. The college reports that 75% of its engineering students graduate with engineering work experience and that 1,400 employers recruit engineering students each year, and it offers one-on-one career advising. You must own or obtain a laptop appropriate to your program, and you can work alongside professors on undergraduate research. A four-year course plan is posted. ABET accredits the major through its Engineering Accreditation Commission.
#2 in Iowa
36.9of 100
Northwestern College
Orange City, IA
BSCampus
In-state
$35,000
Out-of-state
$35,000
Completion
69%
Databases, web development, cybersecurity and project management are the major course topics, and you learn to design, build and test code to create functional, large-scale software. Classes are small: the college puts the average software engineering class at 15 to 20 students. It reports that 100% of software engineering graduates found a job or started graduate school within six months.
You can pair the major with a computer programming minor or a computer science career concentration. The page also says you learn to view programming as an act of co-creation with God. Student membership in the Association for Computing Machinery connects you with computing professionals, and the Compass Center for Career & Calling connects you with internship experiences.
#3 in Iowa
29.8of 100
William Penn University
Oskaloosa, IA
BSCampus
In-state
$28,750
Out-of-state
$28,750
Completion
43%
This major mixes software engineering with artificial intelligence. You take the common computer science and math core, then specialized software engineering and AI courses, and finish with an application minor of your choice. Along the way you learn programming languages, design techniques, foundational AI methods and machine learning frameworks.
The program emphasizes teamwork, innovation and the process of building AI-powered solutions focused on the end user. Internship partners named on the program page include Pella Corporation, Cargill and Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and the AI Explorers Club runs hackathons and workshops for students interested in AI, software engineering and emerging technologies.
Compare
Iowa software engineering programs side by side
Iowa 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 Iowa’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 Iowa
19 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.
Also offered: master’s at Iowa State, Maharishi International University and Orion Technical College.
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). 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 Iowa
Public, in-state
$9,252
median of 3 schools
Public, out-of-state
$27,346
median of 3 schools
Private
$37,912
median of 15 schools
Living in Iowa is worth about $18,094 a year in tuition at the median public school, the gap between the two public medians. Over a four-year degree that is roughly $72,376, before any change in rates.
Prices in Iowa were 87.8 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 65.3, 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 18 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 Iowa
Iowa employed 9,040 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 0.53: 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.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Iowa. 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.
Pay
What software developers earn in Iowa
$74,39010th
$95,60025th
$114,890median
$137,09075th
$165,88090th
Software developers, Iowa, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $114,890, $21,090 below the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $95,600 and $137,090.
BEA puts prices in Iowa at 87.8 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $130,850 would nationally, $5,130 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for Iowa residents
If no program in Iowa fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Iowa.
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 Iowa?
3 degrees titled software engineering, all bachelor’s, at 3 schools. 1 of them is on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in Iowa?
Iowa State ranks first of the 3 ranked bachelor’s programs in Iowa, with a score of 81.3 out of 100 (#5 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
Which software engineering programs in Iowa are ABET-accredited?
Iowa State (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much does a software engineering degree cost in Iowa?
Across Iowa’s public schools in this guide, median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $9,252 for residents and $27,346 for nonresidents; at private schools the median was $37,912. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make in Iowa?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $114,890 in Iowa in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $74,390 and the 90th $165,880.
Is Iowa pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Iowa’s prices at 87.8 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $114,890 is worth about $130,850 at national prices.
Can Iowa 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 Iowa.
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 .
