Software Engineering Degrees Near Detroit for 2027
The Detroit area has 3 programs titled software engineering at 2 schools, and 1 computer science program. 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 Detroit’s city limits, so this guide covers the whole Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area.
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
1
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$130,760
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01The Detroit area has 3 degrees titled software engineering, 2 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools, plus 1 computer science program. Lawrence Technological University ranks first among the area’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 21.9 out of 100, #74 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. Across Michigan as a whole, 6 programs carry the title.
02Software developers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area earned a median of $130,760 in May 2025, against $125,570 across Michigan and $135,980 nationally. The metro area employed 24,870 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
03Prices near Detroit were 0.3% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 94.7 against a national 100. At national prices, the metro area’s developer median goes as far as about $130,370. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
04This page covers the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area only. The Michigan guide covers all 6 programs titled software engineering across the state, 4 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 Detroit 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. Detroit offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 3 bachelor’s and master’s degrees near Detroit titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the area’s 1 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 Detroit 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 Detroit: 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
Lawrence Technological University: #74 of 75 nationally
No software engineering bachelor’s is inside Detroit’s city limits
The highest score in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area is Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, 21.9 out of 100. Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Lawrence Technological University’s biggest gap is cost, 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
University of Detroit Mercy: #43 of 44 nationally
University of Detroit Mercy leads near Detroit with 25.7 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.
Not ranked. One program here has no score, because a figure the score needs wouldn’t describe it: University of Detroit Mercy (no graduates yet to measure). We never score a program on a guess.
Each program is ranked against the others near Detroit 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 Detroit
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
2 programs, 1 ranked
#1 near Detroit
21.9of 100
Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, MI · about 10 mi from central Detroit
BSCampus
In-state
$40,672
Out-of-state
$40,672
Completion
56%
Lawrence Tech's software engineering degree is the Bachelor of Science in Embedded Software Engineering, which prepares you to design the software that runs complex machinery. LTU says it was created with input from automotive OEMs and industry leaders. The curriculum is laid out over four years and mixes software with engineering and science: University Chemistry 1, Intro. to ECE, Digital Electronics, Circuits and Electronics, Embedded Systems, which covers microcontrollers, and Real Time Systems.
On the software side you take Embedded Software Eng. Lab 1 and Lab 2, where you work on team based software engineering projects, plus Software Quality & Project Management. Your education ends in a senior capstone project, with ESE Senior Design Projects 1 and 2 in the fourth year. You also build a foundation in mathematics, science, engineering and design. LTU points to its location in a major technology hub with co-op, internship and career opportunities, and to small class sizes and faculty guidance.
Not ranked 1 program, each missing something the score needs
Not rankedNo graduates yet to measure
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, MI · about 3 mi from central Detroit
BSCampus
In-state
$32,300
Out-of-state
$32,300
Completion
66%
Newer program
Five-year BS Computer Science plus MS Software Engineering
UDM's route to this degree is a five-year combined program: a BS in Computer Science plus an MS in Software Engineering, called the BSCS-MSSE. The requirements are 124 undergraduate credits and 30 graduate credits, with six credits double-counted, so you finish with at least 148 credits. New freshmen need an ACT composite of 26, with at least 22 in each section and 23 in math, or SAT scores of 560 math, 560 ERW and 1230 combined.
High school GPA must be 3.4, or 3.6 without test scores. Current UDM students can apply with a 3.25 GPA after at least 30 credits in the program. You can take up to six graduate credits in your fourth year that count toward both degrees, and up to two graduate courses at the undergraduate tuition rate. In the fifth year you register as a full-time graduate student, with at least nine graduate credit hours per term at graduate rates. You have to keep a 3.25 GPA to stay in the program.
Master’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 near Detroit
25.7of 100
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, MI · about 3 mi from central Detroit
MSCampus
Tuition
$22,250
Out-of-state
$22,250
Grads/yr
3
Thesis or non-thesis route with a design project option
UDM's Master of Science in Software Engineering is 30 credit hours, and at least half of them, 15 credits minimum, must come from graduate-level-only options. You pick 15 credits from required options such as Software Engineering, Software Quality Engineering, Architectures for Software Systems, Software Requirements Engineering and Software Systems Project Management. Then you choose a thesis or a non-thesis route. The thesis option is six credits and the non-thesis option is three credits, taken as the Graduate Design Project in your last semester or semesters.
Technical electives fill the rest: 9 credits with the thesis and 12 without. Electives include Data Mining, Artificial Intelligence, Web Technology, Network Security, Machine Learning and Ethical Hacking. To be admitted you need a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 GPA, though 2.7 or higher may be considered with added prerequisite courses. You also need coursework or proven skill in a modern programming language such as C++ or Java, plus Data Structures and Algorithms. The program says its focus is team-based projects and practical lab assignments.
Compare
Programs side by side
Detroit software engineering programs compared, by level
#
Program
Format
In-state
Out-of- state
Grads/ yr
ABET
Scoreof 100
Bachelor’s in software engineering · 2 programs, 1 ranked
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 Detroit’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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area whose campus is outside Detroit’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
1 school 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). 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
Too few schools here publish a federal tuition figure for a Detroit median, so this is each program’s own figure: graduate tuition for a master’s, undergraduate for a bachelor’s, as on its card.
Prices near Detroit were 100.3 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 94.7, 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, each program’s school-wide figure at its level (graduate or undergraduate). 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area employed 24,870 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, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI. 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area.
Industry
Businesses
Employees
Payroll per employee
Computer systems design and related services
1,766
32,231
$103,300
Software publishers
165
6,605
$178,000
Data processing, hosting and related services
242
5,903
$104,800
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
182
4,743
$85,900
The first three of those industries employ 2.4% 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, 32,231, while software publishers pays the most per employee, $178,000.
Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.
Pay
What software developers earn
$82,72010th
$101,85025th
$130,760median
$153,27075th
$167,49090th
Software developers, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The metro area’s median is $130,760, $5,220 below the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $101,850 and $153,270.
BEA puts prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area at 100.3 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $130,370 would nationally, $5,610 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 Detroit 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 Detroit’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 Detroit you’ve got two bachelor’s programs titled software engineering, at Lawrence Technological University and University of Detroit Mercy, 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 Detroit, that’s three software engineering programs and four computer science programs across the metro, so you really can choose. An easy way to decide: put Lawrence Technological University’s course list next to University of Detroit Mercy’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 Lawrence Technological University and University of Detroit Mercy, ask how they connect students with internships. Lawrence Technological University includes a capstone or senior project where you build real software with a team. With 1,766 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 Detroit is Michigan-Dearborn’s bachelor’s in Dearborn, about 8 miles away. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.
5
Look for your first job nearby
The Detroit area had 24,870 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $130,760. The biggest software industries here are computer systems design (32,231 jobs) and software publishing (6,605 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 Detroit fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near Detroit.
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 Detroit?
3 degrees titled software engineering, 2 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 near Detroit?
Lawrence Technological University ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs near Detroit, with a score of 21.9 out of 100 (#74 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
How much do software engineers make near Detroit?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $130,760 near Detroit in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $82,720 and the 90th $167,490.
Is Detroit pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Detroit’s prices at 100.3 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $130,760 is worth about $130,370 at national prices.
Who hires software engineers near Detroit?
No source counts software hiring by company the same way in every metro, so we don’t name employers. The Census Bureau counted 1,766 computer systems design businesses in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area in 2023, employing 32,231 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 Detroit 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 Detroit.
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 .
12NCES IPEDS HD2024: campus coordinatesCampus latitude and longitude, for the distance from Detroit to the nearest ABET-accredited software engineering program (straight line).
