Software Engineering and Computer Science Degrees Near Grand Rapids for 2027

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 inside Grand Rapids’s city limits awards the first, so this guide covers the area’s computer science programs and the software engineering degrees taught online.

Computer science programs nearby (1 school, 2 programs)

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 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.

The Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area employed 4,310 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, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, 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.

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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area.

The first three of those industries employ 1.0% of the metro area’s private-sector workers, against 2.6% nationally, below the national share.

Of these industries, computer and electronic product manufacturing employs the most people in the metro area, 4,659, while software publishers pays the most per employee, $109,900.

Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.

The metro area’s median is $107,520, $28,460 below the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $82,720 and $133,760.

BEA puts prices in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area at 95.5 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $112,590 would nationally, $23,390 less than the national median.

BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, metropolitan areas, May 2025.

The path to software engineering near Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids’s options in each.

1. 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. No bachelor’s around Grand Rapids is titled software engineering, but you’ve got three computer science bachelor’s programs across the metro, including Calvin, Cornerstone and Davenport, and employers hire from both. Before you fall for one, compare tuition and ask each school what fees add on top.

2. 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 Grand Rapids, computer science is the route, with four programs across the metro, at Calvin, Cornerstone and Davenport. Put Calvin’s and Cornerstone’s course lists side by side and look for the one with more hands-on software courses. Compare them.

3. 3

   Build experience before you graduate

   Internships are often what turn a degree into a job offer. When you talk to Calvin and Cornerstone, ask how they connect students with internships. Look for a capstone where you build real software with a team; it gives you something concrete to talk about in interviews. With 359 computer systems design firms in the metro, a summer role close to home is realistic.

4. 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 Grand Rapids is Trine’s bachelor’s in Angola, about 98 miles away. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.

5. 5

   Look for your first job nearby

   The Grand Rapids area had 4,310 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $107,520. The biggest software industries here are computer and electronics manufacturing (4,659 jobs) and computer systems design (3,491 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.

The closest route to a software engineering degree from Grand Rapids is online. These are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near Grand Rapids.

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.

• All of Michigan› Michigan: all 6 software engineering programs, with statewide pay and job growth.
• Detroit› 3 programs titled software engineering in the Detroit metro area and 1 computer science program in the city, with local pay from BLS.

• Software Engineering Programs by State› All 50 states and DC, with the number of software engineering programs in each.
• Software Engineering Programs by City› The 50 largest metro areas, with the software engineering and computer science programs in each.
• Best Bachelor’s in Software Engineering› The national ranking of 75 bachelor’s programs, scored on completion, net price, ABET status and size.
• Best Online Software Engineering Degrees› Software engineering degrees you can finish online, from any state.
• Software Engineering vs. Computer Science› How the two degrees differ, and which programs offer each.
• Software Engineer Salary› What software developers earn in every state, the top metros and the top industries, from BLS.
• Software Engineering Degrees in Michigan› All 6 software engineering programs in Michigan, with statewide cost, pay and job growth.