Software Engineering Degrees Near Seattle for 2027
The Seattle area has 2 programs titled software engineering at 2 schools, and 7 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 Seattle’s city limits, so this guide covers the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
2
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
0
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
7
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$167,280
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01The Seattle area has 2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools, plus 7 computer science programs. DigiPen Institute of Technology ranks first among the area’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 25.0 out of 100, #71 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page. Across Washington as a whole, 4 programs carry the title.
02Software developers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area earned a median of $167,280 in May 2025, against $166,540 across Washington and $135,980 nationally. The metro area employed 92,770 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
03Prices near Seattle were 11.1% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 151.3 against a national 100. At national prices, the metro area’s developer median goes as far as about $150,570. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
04This page covers the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area only. The Washington guide covers all 4 programs titled software engineering across the state, 2 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 Seattle 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. Seattle offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 2 bachelor’s and master’s degrees near Seattle titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the area’s 7 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 Seattle 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 Seattle: 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
DigiPen Institute of Technology: #71 of 75 nationally
No software engineering bachelor’s is inside Seattle’s city limits
The highest score in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area is DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA, 25.0 out of 100. Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. DigiPen Institute of Technology’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.
Not ranked. One program here has no score, because a figure the score needs wouldn’t describe it: Seattle University (no graduates yet to measure). We never score a program on a guess.
Each program is ranked against the others near Seattle 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 Seattle
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 near Seattle
25.0of 100
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Redmond, WA · about 11 mi from central Seattle
BSCampus
In-state
$37,200
Out-of-state
$37,200
Completion
56%
DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond offers the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, its flagship programming degree, a four-year program built around game engines and computer graphics. You start with computer science basics, including precalculus and an introduction to C and C++, then build a custom game engine from scratch in your second year and take on real-time graphics in a third-year capstone game project. Each year you join an interdisciplinary team to create a fully playable game from start to finish, so your technical role supports the whole project.
In your fourth year you tailor electives toward optimization, physics, animation, and other topics. You can also pick one of seven optional specializations: Artificial Intelligence, Physically-based Simulation, Image Processing, Databases and Networks, Machine Learning, Sound Synthesis, or Digital Signal Processing. Languages and tools include C, C++, C#, Git, Visual Studio, Python, SQL, Unity, and Unreal. A BS/MS accelerated schedule lets you complete both degrees in five years.
Master’s in software engineering
1 program, none ranked
Not ranked 1 program, each missing something the score needs
Not rankedNo graduates yet to measure
Seattle University
Seattle, WA · about 2 mi from central Seattle
MSCampus
Tuition
$15,012
Out-of-state
$15,012
Grads/yr
New
Newer program
Seattle University offers software engineering as a specialization inside its Master of Science in Computer Science. The specialization plan is 33 credits and covers the software development life cycle, from requirements analysis and architecture to development and testing. The sample plan includes Fundamentals of Software Engineering, Software Architecture and Design, Software Testing and Debugging, Ethics and Industry Trends, and a two-course capstone project focused on real-world challenges. The general option without the specialization is 30 credits.
The degree is delivered in person at the First Hill campus, with evening courses and full-time or part-time enrollment. It runs about two years and starts in August or January. The school estimates total program tuition at $48,285 to $52,577 using 2026-2027 rates, and mandatory fees are not included. The application fee is waived for all graduate applicants. If you're new to the field, the Computer Science Fundamentals Certificate is a bridge into the program and needs no prior programming experience. The program is approved as a STEM program, which makes F-1 students eligible for a 24-month OPT extension.
Compare
Programs side by side
Seattle 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 Seattle’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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area whose campus is outside Seattle’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
5 schools, 6 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 University of Washington.
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. 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
Private
$39,492
median of 3 schools
Prices near Seattle were 111.1 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 151.3, 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 metro area, 2024, all items and housing services.
Job market
The software job market
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area employed 92,770 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, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area.
Industry
Businesses
Employees
Payroll per employee
Computer systems design and related services
2,621
44,474
$137,900
Software publishers
645
93,968
$292,700
Data processing, hosting and related services
319
12,974
$212,500
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
196
12,301
$173,700
The first three of those industries employ 8.0% of the metro area’s private-sector workers, against 2.6% nationally, 3.0 times the national share.
Of these industries, software publishers employs the most people in the metro area, 93,968, at $292,700 in payroll per employee.
Businesses, employees (mid-March) and annual payroll: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metropolitan areas and United States (cbp23msa, cbp23us), private sector, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area; payroll per employee covers every job in the industry, not only developers.
Pay
What software developers earn
$99,19010th
$132,80025th
$167,280median
$211,86075th
$257,96090th
Software developers, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The metro area’s median is $167,280, $31,300 above the national $135,980. Half of the metro area’s software developers earn between $132,800 and $211,860.
BEA puts prices in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area at 111.1 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $150,570 would nationally, $14,590 more 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 Seattle 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 Seattle’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 Seattle you’ve got one bachelor’s program titled software engineering, at DigiPen Institute of Technology, plus eight 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 Seattle, that’s two software engineering programs and 13 computer science programs across the metro, so you really can choose. An easy way to decide: put DigiPen Institute of Technology’s course list next to North Seattle College’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 DigiPen Institute of Technology and Seattle University, 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 2,621 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 Seattle is Washington State’s bachelor’s in Pullman, about 251 miles away. Check any program’s accreditation before you apply.
5
Look for your first job nearby
The Seattle area had 92,770 software developers in May 2025, earning a median of $167,280. The biggest software industries here are software publishing (93,968 jobs) and computer systems design (44,474 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 Seattle fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living near Seattle.
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 Seattle?
2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 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 Seattle?
DigiPen Institute of Technology ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs near Seattle, with a score of 25.0 out of 100 (#71 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
How much do software engineers make near Seattle?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $167,280 near Seattle in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $99,190 and the 90th $257,960.
Is Seattle pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Seattle’s prices at 111.1 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $167,280 is worth about $150,570 at national prices.
Who hires software engineers near Seattle?
No source counts software hiring by company the same way in every metro, so we don’t name employers. The Census Bureau counted 2,621 computer systems design businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area in 2023, employing 44,474 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 Seattle 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 Seattle.
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 Seattle to the nearest ABET-accredited software engineering program (straight line).
