Software Engineering Degrees Near Dallas-Fort Worth for 2027
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has 5 programs titled software engineering at 3 schools, 2 accredited by ABET, and 2 computer science programs. 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 Dallas-Fort Worth’s city limits, so this guide covers the whole Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
5
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
2
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
2
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$133,290
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01The Dallas-Fort Worth area has 5 degrees titled software engineering, 2 bachelor’s and 3 master’s, at 3 schools, plus 2 computer science programs. 2 of the software engineering programs are on ABET’s accredited list. UT Dallas ranks first among the area’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 84.5 out of 100, #3 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page.
02Software developers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area earned a median of $133,290 in May 2025, against $132,150 across Texas and $135,980 nationally. The metro area employed 67,030 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
03Prices near Dallas-Fort Worth were 3.1% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 117.9 against a national 100. At national prices, the metro area’s developer median goes as far as about $129,280. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
04This page covers the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area only. The Texas guide covers all 10 programs titled software engineering across the state, 4 bachelor’s and 6 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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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. Dallas-Fort Worth offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 5 bachelor’s and master’s degrees near Dallas-Fort Worth titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the area’s 2 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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth: 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
UT Dallas: #3 of 75 nationally
No software engineering bachelor’s is inside Dallas-Fort Worth’s city limits
The highest score in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area is UT Dallas in Richardson, TX, 84.5 out of 100. Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. UT Dallas’ biggest gap is completion, where it earns 24.5 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.
The master’s score
UT Arlington: #1 of 44 nationally
No software engineering master’s is inside Dallas-Fort Worth’s city limits
The highest score in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area is UT Arlington in Arlington, TX, 86.9 out of 100. Across the country the median master’s score is 52.0 and the highest is 86.9. UT Arlington’s biggest gap is program size, where it earns 16.9 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.
Software engineering programs near Dallas-Fort Worth
Each program is ranked against the others near Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
2 programs
#1 near Dallas-Fort Worth
84.5of 100
UT Dallas
Richardson, TX · about 13 mi from central Dallas-Fort Worth
BSCampus
In-state
$14,564
Out-of-state
$40,064
Completion
70%
✓ ABET-accredited
Fast track option to earn the BS and MS together
UT Dallas offers its Software Engineering B.S. through the Department of Computer Science in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. The degree requires 123 semester credit hours and is accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission. It shares a core with the computer science degree, including analysis of algorithms and data structures, modern programming methodologies and operating systems, then diverges into requirements engineering, software validation and testing and software architecture. The sequence ends with a challenging project course in which students must demonstrate software engineering techniques.
Electives range across artificial intelligence, computer graphics, databases and compiler design. Majors need a C or better in each major requirements course and in each prerequisite before taking the next one. A fast track option lets students work toward the bachelor's and master's degrees together. The page lists the stated goals as preparing students for software engineering positions in industry or government, preparing them for graduate study, and giving a foundation in computer science that lets graduates adapt in a quickly changing field. Faculty include professors of instruction alongside research professors.
#2 near Dallas-Fort Worth
78.5of 100
UT Arlington
Arlington, TX · about 14 mi from central Dallas-Fort Worth
BSCampus
In-state
$9,206
Out-of-state
$27,138
Completion
58%
✓ ABET-accredited
Programming readiness exam for prior experience
The UT Arlington BSSE is accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission and has been since 2002. Students meet the profession through cooperative education programs, professional society activities, plant trips and industry speakers, and design work appears throughout the first three years before a senior team project that approximates an industrial work experience. Entry to the professional program requires a 2.5 GPA in three categories: overall, required science, math and engineering courses, and required CSE courses.
Incoming students are expected to have math through precalculus, high school chemistry and programming experience in C, C++, Java or Python, and students with programming experience but no course credit can sit a readiness examination. The professional core includes Software Testing and Maintenance, Software Project Management, Software Design Patterns and Information Security, along with a two-course computer system design project. Students choose three technical electives from options such as game design and development, machine learning, computer vision and cloud computing fundamentals. The listed total is 124 hours.
Master’s in software engineering
3 programs
#1 near Dallas-Fort Worth
86.9of 100
UT Arlington
Arlington, TX · about 14 mi from central Dallas-Fort Worth
MSCampus
Tuition
$9,015
Out-of-state
$23,507
Grads/yr
32.3
Lowest tuition of Dallas-Fort Worth’s 3 master’s programs
No recommendation letters or statement of purpose
UT Arlington's Master of Software Engineering is a 30-credit-hour degree that includes a two-course sequence devoted to implementing a software project. Foundations cover algorithm design and analysis, software testing and software design patterns. Students then choose three specialization courses, such as secure programming, advanced automation testing or agile software development, and two more from topics that include cloud computing and big data and machine learning. Two electives round out the plan, and one may come from outside the department.
Stated competencies include web and mobile application development and several programming languages, among them C, C++, C# and Java. Admission looks at an undergraduate degree preferably in a related area, a 3.0 GPA overall and a 3.2 across the final two years, and a GRE sum of at least 305 verbal plus quantitative. The department neither requires nor reviews recommendation letters or statements of purpose from master's applicants. Graduates of the department's own bachelor's program with a 3.2 GPA can ask about a GRE waiver, and a foundations course levels students missing background. Courses must be passed with a C or better.
#2 near Dallas-Fort Worth
70.7of 100
UT Dallas
Richardson, TX · about 13 mi from central Dallas-Fort Worth
MSCampus
Tuition
$15,088
Out-of-state
$29,468
Grads/yr
31
Evening course program for part-time students
The UT Dallas Master of Science in Software Engineering requires a minimum of 33 semester credit hours. Students without a computer science or software engineering degree complete leveling courses first, which include Computer Science I and II, discrete structures, operating systems concepts and an introductory software engineering course. The five-course core covers object-oriented software engineering, advanced requirements engineering, advanced software architecture and design, software testing, validation and verification, and an advanced software engineering project.
Students must earn a 3.19 average in the core, or a 3.0 plus an extra approved elective. At least 18 hours of electives follow, and six of them can be thesis credit with approval. A comprehensive program of evening courses lets part-time students earn the degree. Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree with two semesters of calculus and one of linear algebra, a strong foundation in programming and a 3.0 GPA over the last 60 hours, plus three letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose. Students are accepted for fall, spring and summer, and a PhD in software engineering is also offered.
#3 near Dallas-Fort Worth
44.6of 100
SMU
Dallas, TX · about 4 mi from central Dallas-Fort Worth
MSCampus + online
Tuition
$31,590
Out-of-state
$31,590
Grads/yr
12.7
Online
The only master’s program near Dallas-Fort Worth offered online
Dual MS and SMU Cox MBA option
SMU delivers its master's in software engineering through the Lyle School both in person and online, and students can go full time or part time. The listed duration is two years for full-time study and three for part-time. Instead of a purely technical track, the program blends engineering depth with managerial skills like leading programming teams, plus scheduling and budgeting, and many courses follow those proposed by the Software Engineering Institute, an organization the Department of Defense founded.
Featured courses are Software Project Planning and Management, Software Architecture and Design, and User Interfaces, User Experience, which covers usability metrics and interaction styles from GUI to VR/AR. A dual M.S. computer science and SMU Cox MBA option is listed under specializations. Research touches software testing, measurement, reliability, safety, and service and cloud computing. Admission asks for a bachelor's in a quantitative science, math, computer science or an engineering field, with transcripts and an application fee, and every file gets a holistic review. Internships, clubs and community engagement are described as part of life outside the classroom.
Compare
Programs side by side
Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth’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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area whose campus is outside Dallas-Fort Worth’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
2 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.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth were 103.1 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 117.9, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area employed 67,030 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, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area.
Industry
Businesses
Employees
Payroll per employee
Computer systems design and related services
6,784
96,129
$122,500
Software publishers
425
27,160
$178,800
Data processing, hosting and related services
544
24,901
$125,400
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
284
37,386
$127,600
The first three of those industries employ 4.1% of the metro area’s private-sector workers, against 2.6% nationally, 1.6 times the national share.
Of these industries, computer systems design and related services employs the most people in the metro area, 96,129, while software publishers pays the most per employee, $178,800.
Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.
Pay
What software developers earn
$85,92010th
$105,66025th
$133,290median
$164,10075th
$179,40090th
Software developers, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The metro area’s median is $133,290, $2,690 below the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $105,660 and $164,100.
BEA puts prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area at 103.1 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $129,280 would nationally, $6,700 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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth’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 Dallas-Fort Worth you’ve got two bachelor’s programs titled software engineering, at UT Dallas and UT Arlington, plus six 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, that’s five software engineering programs and seven computer science programs across the metro, so you really can choose. An easy way to decide: put UT Dallas’s course list next to Dallas Baptist University’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 SMU, UT Arlington and UT Dallas, 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 6,784 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. Around Dallas-Fort Worth, UT Arlington and UT Dallas are accredited; the closest, UT Dallas in Richardson, is about 13 miles from Dallas-Fort Worth. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.
5
Look for your first job nearby
The Dallas-Fort Worth area had 67,030 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $133,290. The biggest software industries here are computer systems design (96,129 jobs) and computer and electronics manufacturing (37,386 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 Dallas-Fort Worth fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near Dallas-Fort Worth.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth?
5 degrees titled software engineering, 2 bachelor’s and 3 master’s, at 3 schools. 2 of them are on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school near Dallas-Fort Worth?
UT Dallas ranks first of the 2 ranked bachelor’s programs near Dallas-Fort Worth, with a score of 84.5 out of 100 (#3 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
Which software engineering programs near Dallas-Fort Worth are ABET-accredited?
UT Arlington (bachelor’s) and UT Dallas (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much do software engineers make near Dallas-Fort Worth?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $133,290 near Dallas-Fort Worth in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $85,920 and the 90th $179,400.
Is Dallas-Fort Worth pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Dallas-Fort Worth’s prices at 103.1 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $133,290 is worth about $129,280 at national prices.
Who hires software engineers near Dallas-Fort Worth?
No source counts software hiring by company the same way in every metro, so we don’t name employers. The Census Bureau counted 6,784 computer systems design businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area in 2023, employing 96,129 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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth.
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 .
13NCES IPEDS HD2024: campus coordinatesCampus latitude and longitude, for the distance from Dallas-Fort Worth to the nearest ABET-accredited software engineering program (straight line).
