Kentucky has 2 programs titled software engineering at 2 schools, and 9 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
2
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
0
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
9
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$109,010
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01Kentucky has 2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools, plus 9 computer science programs. Bellarmine ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 41.1 out of 100, #44 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. They are American National University-Pikeville’s master’s and Bellarmine’s bachelor’s.
02At Kentucky’s public schools, the median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $11,652 in state and $27,000 out of state, so residency saves about $15,348 a year at the median. Private schools had a median of $47,180. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in Kentucky earned a median of $109,010 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $91,960 and $136,090. The state employed 7,660 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices in Kentucky were 9.8% below the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 64.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $120,850. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: Ohio (7), Indiana (6), 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 Kentucky
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. Kentucky offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 2 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Kentucky titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’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.
Methodology
How we ranked these programs
Programs in Kentucky 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 Kentucky: 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
Bellarmine: #44 of 75 nationally
Bellarmine leads in Kentucky with 41.1 out of 100
Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Its 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.
The master’s score
American National University-Pikeville: #37 of 44 nationally
American National University-Pikeville leads in Kentucky with 36.0 out of 100
Across the country the median master’s score is 52.0 and the highest is 86.9. Its biggest gap is program size, where it earns 4 of 30 points. Every scored program is in Software Engineering Master’s Programs.
Scored factors
100 pts total
Cost40 pts
The school’s graduate tuition (IPEDS), in fixed dollar tiers.
Under $10,00040 pts
$10,000 to $14,99932 pts
$15,000 to $19,99924 pts
$20,000 to $29,99916 pts
$30,000 to $39,9998 pts
$40,000 or more0 pts
Program size30 pts
Graduates a year, on a log scale that reaches full points at 500.
Research activity15 pts
The school’s Carnegie research class, from IPEDS.
R115
R29
Doctoral/professional3
Other0
ABET-accredited department15 pts
Full points if the school’s software engineering or computer science bachelor’s is on ABET’s list.
Each program is ranked against the others in Kentucky 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 Kentucky
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Kentucky
41.1of 100
Bellarmine
Louisville, KY
BSOnline
In-state
$45,190
Out-of-state
$45,190
Completion
67%
Bellarmine's Bachelor of Science in Software and Data Engineering is an accelerated second degree for people who already hold a bachelor's in another field. It is a post-baccalaureate program in the Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences. Admission calls for a prior bachelor's or higher in a non-CS/CIS discipline from a regionally accredited institution, any college-level mathematics course, and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.00 scale.
Applicants born outside the US, whose primary language is not English, or who earned a degree from a non-US institution also need an official TOEFL iBT or IELTS score. The program is 40 credit hours over three semesters, each split into two sessions of about eight weeks. You learn Java, C#, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and SQL, plus machine learning and database management. Two courses address the social and ethical side of technology: Theology 200 (Ultimate Questions) and Philosophy 434 (Technology, Ethics and Society). Robert Kelley.
Master’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Kentucky
36.0of 100
American National University-Pikeville
Pikeville, KY
MSOnline
Tuition
$13,039
Out-of-state
$13,039
Grads/yr
1.3
American National University's Master of Science in Software Development is built for people who already hold a bachelor's degree. It requires 49 credit hours: 37 in the core and 12 in electives. The core covers web-based research methods, database design and management, operating systems, software design, software engineering, software architecture, security architecture design, information security project management, and a capstone in software development. Electives come from Java Programming, NoSQL Programming, C Programming, and Python. Every student completes 50 hours of practicum training each term, and course prerequisites must be satisfied before admission.
You learn to gather customer requirements, design secure and reliable software using diagrams, models, and development tools, and work inside development teams. Topics include web and mobile application development, database management, operating systems, programming languages, and software design principles. The capstone project integrates the coursework into one comprehensive project. The page lists delivery at the Louisville, Kentucky campus as distance or blended. Distance means synchronous video plus asynchronous online learning, and blended adds a limited on-campus residency. Total tuition is listed as $21,560, and the school states that this figure includes fees, textbooks, and lab equipment.
Compare
Kentucky software engineering programs side by side
Kentucky 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; N/A on master’s rows, because federal data has no graduation rate for master’s programs. Grads/yr: IPEDS, three-year average. ABET: ABET’s list, retrieved 2026-09-30. #: the program’s rank among Kentucky’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 Kentucky
8 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 in Kentucky
Public, in-state
$11,652
median of 3 schools
Public, out-of-state
$27,000
median of 3 schools
Private
$47,180
median of 3 schools
Living in Kentucky is worth about $15,348 a year in tuition at the median public school, the gap between the two public medians. Over a four-year degree that is roughly $61,392, before any change in rates.
Prices in Kentucky were 90.2 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 64.3, 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 state, 2024, all items and housing services.
Job market
The software job market in Kentucky
Kentucky employed 7,660 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 0.35: 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, Kentucky. 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 Kentucky. Software developer employment and pay in each:
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.
Pay
What software developers earn in Kentucky
$76,31010th
$91,96025th
$109,010median
$136,09075th
$168,11090th
Software developers, Kentucky, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $109,010, $26,970 below the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $91,960 and $136,090.
BEA puts prices in Kentucky at 90.2 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $120,850 would nationally, $15,130 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for Kentucky residents
If no program in Kentucky fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Kentucky.
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 Kentucky?
2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools. 0 of them are on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in Kentucky?
Bellarmine ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs in Kentucky, with a score of 41.1 out of 100 (#44 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
How much does a software engineering degree cost in Kentucky?
Across Kentucky’s public schools in this guide, median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $11,652 for residents and $27,000 for nonresidents; at private schools the median was $47,180. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make in Kentucky?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $109,010 in Kentucky in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $76,310 and the 90th $168,110.
Is Kentucky pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Kentucky’s prices at 90.2 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $109,010 is worth about $120,850 at national prices.
Can Kentucky 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 Kentucky.
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 .
