Software Engineering Degrees in Massachusetts for 2027
Massachusetts has 3 programs titled software engineering at 3 schools, and 51 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
0
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
51
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$165,210
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01Massachusetts has 3 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 2 master’s, at 3 schools, plus 51 computer science programs. Massachusetts-Dartmouth ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 36.2 out of 100, #56 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. They are Northeastern’s master’s, Tufts’s master’s and Massachusetts-Dartmouth’s bachelor’s.
02At Massachusetts’s public schools, the median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $8,124 in state and $21,297 out of state, so residency saves about $13,173 a year at the median. Private schools had a median of $57,440. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in Massachusetts earned a median of $165,210 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $131,370 and $190,280. The state employed 48,190 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices in Massachusetts were 5.8% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 128.1 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $156,150. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: New York (6), Connecticut (4) and Vermont (1). 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 Massachusetts
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. Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’s 51 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: 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
Massachusetts-Dartmouth: #56 of 75 nationally
Massachusetts-Dartmouth leads in Massachusetts with 36.2 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
Northeastern: #13 of 44 nationally
Northeastern leads in Massachusetts with 61.0 out of 100
Across the country the median master’s score is 52.0 and the highest is 86.9. Its biggest gap is cost, where it earns 16 of 40 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Massachusetts
36.2of 100
Massachusetts-Dartmouth
North Dartmouth, MA
BSCampus
In-state
$14,533
Out-of-state
$31,075
Completion
57%
Accelerated BS/MS saves 9 credits
At UMass Dartmouth, software engineering is a concentration inside the Computer Science bachelor's degree, not a separate major. The major is 60 credit hours inside at least 120 overall. The core includes Object-Oriented Programming, Systems Programming, Software Specification & Design, Algorithms & Data Structures, Foundations of Secure Computing and Models of Computation, with Discrete Mathematics I and II and two semesters of calculus. The concentration requires Software Architecture & Design plus two more courses from Software Process and Project Management, Secure Software Development, Formal Methods for Software Engineering, Software Development for the Web and Software Testing & Automation, along with one more CIS course at the 400 level.
Seniors take Senior Software Engineering Project I and II, and most senior engineering students work in small teams on a real-world, industry-specific challenge. Every CIS course needs a C or better to progress, and you need a 2.000 GPA both overall and in the major. Admission is test optional and expects 17 college preparatory courses, including four units of mathematics. The college offers co-op and internship programs. An accelerated BS/MS option in computer science lets qualified students finish both degrees with 9 fewer credits than taking them separately. The Computer Science program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.
Master’s in software engineering
2 programs
#1 in Massachusetts
61.0of 100
Northeastern
Boston, MA
MSCampus
Tuition
$27,728
Out-of-state
$27,728
Grads/yr
812
Pairs with a Gordon engineering leadership certificate
Northeastern lists its Master of Science in Software Engineering Systems as an on-ground program with part-time and full-time options and a two-year duration. Campuses are Arlington, Boston and Toronto, and you can start in the fall or spring. The program takes an analytical, engineering view of software development, with a lot of data work. Coursework covers data management at basic and advanced levels, business intelligence, column databases, plus data science and Big Data engineering topics. Scala-based functional programming at an advanced level comes next, along with advanced data science, cloud computing and multithread concurrent computing.
If you want leadership training on top, you can pair the degree with the Gordon Institute's Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership, a 16-semester hour certificate with an industry-based challenge project. You have to be admitted to the Gordon Institute separately. The application asks for transcripts from every school attended, two letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose and a resume. International applicants need TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo scores unless they meet the waiver rules, and the program meets F-1 visa requirements.
#2 in Massachusetts
23.9of 100
Tufts
Medford, MA
MSCampus
Tuition
$48,324
Out-of-state
$48,324
Grads/yr
5.3
Tufts calls this degree the M.S. in Software Systems Development. It is a 30-credit master's program offered by the Department of Computer Science and delivered on campus, based on the Medford/Somerville campus. Classes meet during the day for both full-time and part-time students, and on average students finish in 12 to 24 months. You can start in fall or spring. The program prepares you to design, build, test and maintain complex software systems, with an emphasis on systems programming in C and C++, software development, program security, systems engineering and data management.
Coursework also touches software design, software testing, back-end development, operating systems and networked and distributed systems. You need a bachelor's degree and either formal instruction or practical experience in software development, including programming in a high-level language such as Java, C, C++, C# or J#. If your high-level experience is in a language other than C or C++, Tufts can advise preparatory coursework in C. Applications include a resume, personal statement, transcripts and three letters of recommendation. GRE scores are not required, and a portfolio is optional.
Compare
Massachusetts software engineering programs side by side
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts’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 Massachusetts
36 schools, 46 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.
Also offered: master’s at Clark University, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Western New England University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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. – means no published figure. 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 Massachusetts
Public, in-state
$8,124
median of 6 schools
Public, out-of-state
$21,297
median of 6 schools
Private
$57,440
median of 27 schools
Living in Massachusetts is worth about $13,173 a year in tuition at the median public school, the gap between the two public medians. Over a four-year degree that is roughly $52,692, before any change in rates.
Prices in Massachusetts were 105.8 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 128.1, 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 34 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 Massachusetts
Massachusetts employed 48,190 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 1.22: the jobs are more 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, Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts
$102,81010th
$131,37025th
$165,210median
$190,28075th
$213,97090th
Software developers, Massachusetts, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $165,210, $29,230 above the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $131,370 and $190,280.
BEA puts prices in Massachusetts at 105.8 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $156,150 would nationally, $20,170 more than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for Massachusetts residents
If no program in Massachusetts fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Massachusetts.
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 Massachusetts?
3 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 2 master’s, at 3 schools. 0 of them are on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts-Dartmouth ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs in Massachusetts, with a score of 36.2 out of 100 (#56 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
How much does a software engineering degree cost in Massachusetts?
Across Massachusetts’s public schools in this guide, median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $8,124 for residents and $21,297 for nonresidents; at private schools the median was $57,440. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make in Massachusetts?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $165,210 in Massachusetts in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $102,810 and the 90th $213,970.
Is Massachusetts pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Massachusetts’s prices at 105.8 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $165,210 is worth about $156,150 at national prices.
Can Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts.
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 .
