Montana has 1 program titled software engineering at 1 school, 1 accredited by ABET, and 8 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
1
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
1
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
8
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$121,990
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01Montana has 1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school, plus 8 computer science programs. 1 of the software engineering programs is on ABET’s accredited list. Montana Technological University ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 71.0 out of 100, #17 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. It is Montana Technological University’s bachelor’s.
02Software developers in Montana earned a median of $121,990 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $94,800 and $169,180. The state employed 2,160 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
03Prices in Montana were 5.4% below the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 84.6 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $128,950. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
04Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: North Dakota (3) and Idaho (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.
05If nothing in Montana 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 in Montana
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. Montana offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 1 bachelor’s or master’s degree in Montana titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’s 8 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 Montana 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 Montana: 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
Montana Technological University: #17 of 75 nationally
Montana Technological University leads in Montana with 71.0 out of 100
Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Its biggest gap is completion, where it earns 21.7 of 35 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 Montana 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 Montana
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Montana
71.0of 100
Montana Technological University
Butte, MT
BSCampus
In-state
$6,113
Out-of-state
$22,706
Completion
62%
✓ ABET-accredited
Montana Tech's software engineering degree in Butte is on ABET's accredited list under the Engineering Accreditation Commission. First-year students take a freshman seminar that introduces software engineering and computer science.
Later courses cover requirements and specifications, verification and validation, user interface design and software architecture, and the final year centers on a year-long capstone, the Senior Design Project. Members of the ACM student chapter travel over spring break to Seattle and San Francisco to tour companies that hire software engineering majors, and students can earn pay by tutoring in the Museum Computer Lab.
Compare
Montana software engineering programs side by side
Montana 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 Montana’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 Montana
6 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 Montana State and The University of Montana.
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 Montana
Private
$34,544
median of 3 schools
Prices in Montana were 94.6 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 84.6, 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 5 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 Montana
Montana employed 2,160 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 0.39: 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, Montana. Location quotient: the state’s share of employment in the occupation divided by the national share (1.0 = the national rate); – means no published figure. Growth: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, national.
Pay
What software developers earn in Montana
$73,37010th
$94,80025th
$121,990median
$169,18075th
$221,40090th
Software developers, Montana, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $121,990, $13,990 below the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $94,800 and $169,180.
BEA puts prices in Montana at 94.6 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $128,950 would nationally, $7,030 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for Montana residents
If no program in Montana fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Montana.
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 Montana?
1 degree titled software engineering, a bachelor’s, at 1 school. 1 of them is on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in Montana?
Montana Technological University ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs in Montana, with a score of 71.0 out of 100 (#17 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
Which software engineering programs in Montana are ABET-accredited?
Montana Technological University (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much do software engineers make in Montana?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $121,990 in Montana in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $73,370 and the 90th $221,400.
Is Montana pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Montana’s prices at 94.6 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $121,990 is worth about $128,950 at national prices.
Can Montana 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 Montana.
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 .
