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Key Takeaways
Best software engineering degree programs: Virginia Polytechnic Inst..., William & Mary, U of Virginia
Ranked by graduation rates, program outcomes, and institutional quality
Tuition ranges from $4,788 to $63,315/year
Northern Virginia Communi... offers the most affordable option at $5,550/yr
Software Engineering degree programs available: 6 associate's, 4 master's, 2 doctoral in Virginia
From community college pathways to advanced research degrees
11 online software engineering degree programs in Virginia
Flexible scheduling for working professionals
Virginia community college transfer can save 40-60% on total degree costs
6 associate's programs provide transfer pathways to bachelor's degrees
Education Commission of the States
Major employers: Amazon AWS, Microsoft, Booz Allen, Capital One
Tech hubs in Arlington and Reston
Hakia Research 2026
Software Engineering degree programs near 73+ cities across Virginia
Search by city to find programs within 200 miles of your location
Updated July 13, 2026
How we ranked Virginia Software Engineering programs
We rank 34 accredited software engineering programs in Virginia using IPEDS 2024 institutional data, BLS OEWS 2024 state salary data, and College Scorecard outcomes. A 4-factor weighted composite is normalized to a 0–100 score. Schools cannot pay for placement; rankings are produced algorithmically.
Are Software Engineering Degree Programs in Virginia Worth It?
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Software Engineering Degree Rankings in Virginia
Compare the top-ranked Software Engineering programs in Virginia by degree level. Tuition, graduation rate, and Hakia Score for every accredited program.
Best Associate's Software Engineering Programs in Virginia
Program Landscape
Virginia offers 6 accredited associate's degree programs in software engineering, providing an affordable entry point into the technology field. The top-ranked programs include Northern Virginia Communi..., Tidewater Community College, Brightpoint Community Col..., which combine rigorous technical curriculum with practical skills training.
Costs & Value
Community colleges in Virginia offer these two-year programs at an average cost of $7,474/yr, significantly less than four-year university tuition. Students completing associate's degrees can pursue entry-level technical positions and transfer opportunities, with entry-level salaries averaging $69,355 in Virginia.
Career Pathways
Many programs feature guaranteed transfer agreements with Virginia's public universities, allowing students to complete their first two years at reduced cost before transferring to complete a bachelor's degree. The Arlington, Reston, Richmond areas offer particularly strong job markets for associate's degree holders, with employers like Amazon AWS, Microsoft, Booz Allen hiring for technical support, junior development, and IT specialist positions.
Curriculum & Specializations
Programs typically include coursework in programming fundamentals, database management, networking basics, and software development. Among software engineering schools in Virginia, these associate's programs offer the best value for students beginning their software engineering degrees in Virginia.
Show all 6 ranked programs
| Rank | School | Location | Type | Tuition | Grad Rate | Hakia Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Columbia College | Vienna, VA | For-Profit | — | — | 45.7 |
Best Bachelor's Software Engineering Programs in Virginia
Program Landscape
Virginia ranks among the nation's top destinations for software engineering education, with 22 accredited bachelor's degree programs across 12 public and 9 private institutions. The highest-ranked programs are Virginia Polytechnic Inst..., William & Mary, U of Virginia, recognized for academic excellence, research opportunities, and strong industry connections.
Career Outcomes
Graduates from Virginia software engineering programs earn a median salary of $107,185, 9% above the national average. The state's robust technology sector, anchored by the Arlington, Reston, Richmond metropolitan areas, provides abundant internship and employment opportunities with companies including Amazon AWS, Microsoft, Booz Allen.
Costs & Value
Tuition ranges from $5,540 to $63,315 annually, with an average of $21,029/yr. Top programs maintain graduation rates above 89%, with the highest reaching 99%. Many programs hold ABET accreditation, the gold standard for computing education, ensuring curriculum meets rigorous industry standards.
Curriculum & Specializations
Students can choose from specializations including software engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, and systems architecture. Strong industry partnerships provide access to co-op programs, capstone projects with real companies, and direct recruiting pipelines to Virginia's leading technology employers. For students seeking software engineering degrees in Virginia, these top-ranked software engineering schools offer the strongest combination of academic rigor and career preparation.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Show all 22 ranked programs
| Rank | School | Location | Type | Tuition | Grad Rate | Hakia Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Averett University | Danville, VA | Private | $38,400 | 99% | 56.9 |
| #7 | Christopher Newport University | Newport News, VA | Public | $10,001 | — | 51.5 |
| #8 | Virginia Military Institute | Lexington, VA | Public | $10,076 | 95% | 52.8 |
| #9 | Virginia State University | Petersburg, VA | Public | $5,540 | 75% | 52.2 |
| #10 | Regent University | Virginia Beach, VA | Private | $18,986 | 64% | 51.0 |
| #11 | Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond, VA | Public | $12,850 | 92% | 50.4 |
| #12 | Shenandoah University | Winchester, VA | Private | $34,614 | 91% | 47.8 |
| #13 | Marymount University | Arlington, VA | Private | $37,400 | 99% | 47.7 |
| #14 | University of Virginia's College at Wise | Wise, VA | Public | $6,040 | 91% | 46.7 |
| #15 | Radford University | Radford, VA | Public | $8,401 | — | 42.5 |
| #16 | Old Dominion University | Norfolk, VA | Public | $7,590 | — | 41.7 |
| #17 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA | Private | $15,015 | 78% | 42.2 |
| #18 | Roanoke College | Salem, VA | Private | $34,820 | — | 41.1 |
| #19 | University of Management and Technology | Arlington, VA | For-Profit | $9,360 | — | 41.8 |
| #20 | Longwood University | Farmville, VA | Public | $8,660 | — | 40.6 |
| #21 | Bridgewater College | Bridgewater, VA | Private | $40,300 | — | 38.6 |
| #22 | Eastern Mennonite University | Harrisonburg, VA | Private | $41,410 | — | 35.0 |
Best Master's Software Engineering Programs in Virginia
Program Landscape
Virginia offers 4 master's degree programs in software engineering, designed for professionals seeking to advance into senior engineering, technical leadership, and specialized roles. The top programs, Virginia Polytechnic Inst..., George Mason, U of Virginia, combine advanced technical training with research opportunities and leadership development.
Career Outcomes
Master's graduates in Virginia earn a median salary of $126,100, approximately 20-30% higher than bachelor's degree holders. The concentration of technology companies in Arlington, Reston, Richmond creates strong demand for graduate-level talent, with Amazon AWS, Microsoft, Booz Allen actively recruiting from these programs.
Costs & Value
Program formats include traditional full-time study (typically 2 years), part-time options for working professionals (2-3 years), and accelerated tracks. Tuition averages $11,789/yr, with many employers offering tuition reimbursement for graduate education. Some programs offer thesis and non-thesis tracks, allowing students to focus on research or professional development based on their career goals.
Curriculum & Specializations
Curriculum covers advanced topics including machine learning, distributed systems, software architecture, and technical management. Many programs include practicum experiences, industry capstone projects, or consulting engagements that provide real-world application of advanced concepts. Among Virginia's software engineering schools at the graduate level, these programs stand out for both academic quality and career outcomes.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Best Doctoral Software Engineering Programs in Virginia
Program Landscape
Virginia is home to 2 doctoral programs in software engineering, preparing students for research positions, faculty appointments, and executive technical roles. Leading programs at Virginia Polytechnic Inst..., U of Virginia are recognized for cutting-edge research, strong faculty publications, and competitive funding packages.
Career Outcomes
Doctoral graduates command premium salaries, with Virginia PhD holders earning a median of $157,625, reflecting the advanced expertise required for research and executive positions. The Arlington, Reston, Richmond region's research universities and corporate R&D centers provide extensive collaboration opportunities with industry leaders like Amazon AWS, Microsoft, Booz Allen.
Costs & Value
PhD programs typically require 4-6 years of full-time study, including coursework, qualifying examinations, and original dissertation research. Many programs offer full funding through teaching or research assistantships, covering tuition and providing stipends of $25,000–$40,000 annually.
Curriculum & Specializations
Research strengths across Virginia programs include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, human-computer interaction, systems, and theoretical computer science. For aspiring researchers pursuing software engineering degrees in Virginia, graduates go on to careers as university faculty, industry research scientists, or technical executives, contributing to advances in technology that impact millions of users worldwide.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Software Engineering Degree Costs & Tuition in Virginia
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Average in-state tuition | $18,519/year |
| Average out-of-state tuition | $46,298/year |
| Community college tuition | $4,630/year |
| 4-year savings for residents | $111,116 |
| 2+2 transfer pathway savings | $27,778 |
Source: IPEDS 2024
Financial Aid for Virginia Software Engineering Students
Verdict: Virginia software engineering students benefit from the state's distinctive G3 Tuition Assistance program (covers tuition + books + fees at VCCS for low-to-middle-income students in qualifying high-demand programs) plus George Mason University's ABET-EAC accredited software engineering program, one of the strongest US ABET-EAC SE options with accessible admission and substantial NoVA federal SE employer pipelines. Combined with the dense NoVA federal contractor base, Virginia SE education-to-employment pathway is unusually well-integrated.
G3 (Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back) Tuition Assistance covers full tuition + books + fees at VCCS schools for low-to-middle-income Virginia residents pursuing high-demand programs, IT and data analytics specifically qualify, and SE-track preparation through these programs feeds Virginia's federal contractor SE workforce.
George Mason University (GMU) offers ABET-EAC accredited software engineering through its Volgenau School of Engineering, one of the strongest US ABET-EAC SE programs by industry placement (substantial Capital One McLean and federal contractor pipelines), with accessible transfer admission and reasonable in-state tuition. For students specifically targeting NoVA federal SE careers (where ABET-EAC matters more than in industry), GMU is among the strongest US destinations.
Virginia Tech offers software engineering as a CS-track emphasis (ABET-CAC). University of Virginia (UVA) offers SE within CS. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has growing SE programs. William & Mary offers SE within CS at affordable in-state tuition. Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP), Commonwealth Award, TAG for private institutions, and federal Pell stack on top. Industry-track scholarships from Virginia-based SE employers (Capital One McLean, Amazon HQ2 Arlington, Booz Allen Hamilton, MITRE, Leidos, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin) provide additional industry-track funding most students don't pursue.
Software Engineering Degree ROI Calculator, Virginia
Use our interactive ROI calculator to estimate your return on investment for a software engineering degree in Virginia. Enter your expected tuition costs, financial aid, and career goals to see projected payback periods and lifetime earnings. The calculator uses current salary data from BLS and tuition data from IPEDS to provide accurate estimates.
Software Engineering Degree ROI Calculator
Estimate your return on investment for a software engineering degree
Leave blank to use average cost for selected program type
+959%
Net gain divided by total investment. ROI above 200% is considered excellent for education investments.
$1,774,135
Your additional lifetime earnings with this degree vs. working without one, minus the total investment.
5 years
Years until your cumulative earnings exceed total investment. Shorter programs often break even faster due to lower opportunity cost.
$100,000
Your starting salary adjusted for local cost of living. This shows real purchasing power compared to a $100K national baseline.
Why does break-even change with program type? Your "total investment" includes both tuition AND opportunity cost (foregone earnings while in school). A 4-year full-time public university (in-state) means 4 years of not earning a salary ($140,000 in opportunity cost). Shorter full-time programs may have higher tuition but lower total investment because you return to the workforce sooner.
Detailed Breakdown
How we calculate your degree ROI using real salary data
Tuition plus opportunity cost (earnings you miss while in school)
Direct cost of the degree program
4 years × $35K/year foregone salary while studying full-time
Projected career earnings starting after graduation, with salary growth
What you'd earn working at $35K/year with 2% annual growth
Median salary for this role in your selected location (BLS 2024)
Your investment's compound annual growth rate (similar to stock market returns)
Data sources: BLS OEWS May 2024, IPEDS 2024. Calculations use median salaries, 3% discount rate, and assume salary growth declines from 6% to 2% over career. Individual results will vary. | Powered by Hakia.com
Software Engineering Salaries by Metro Area
Median annual salary in Virginia metro areas
View data table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Arlington | $139K |
| Reston | $132K |
| Richmond | $126K |
| Norfolk | $120K |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Hakia.com
Top Employers Hiring Software Engineering Graduates in Virginia
Find software engineering jobs in Virginia. These major employers across Virginia metro areas are actively hiring software engineering degree holders. Click employer names to view current job openings.
Software Engineering Jobs in Northern Virginia
VANorthern Virginia is home to Amazon HQ2, major data center infrastructure, and the largest concentration of defense contractors.
Nearby cities: Arlington, Tysons, Reston, Herndon, Ashburn, McLean
Software Engineering Jobs in Richmond
VARichmond hosts Capital One's main campus and a growing fintech ecosystem.
Nearby cities: Glen Allen, Midlothian, Short Pump
Virginia Tech Industry & Infrastructure
Virginia's tech economy is uniquely defined by Northern Virginia — the highest concentration of federal cybersecurity, defense, and cloud-infrastructure employers in the country. Loudoun and Prince William counties host the world's largest cluster of data centers (carrying an estimated 70%+ of global internet traffic), Amazon's HQ2 is in Arlington, and the federal contracting market employs tens of thousands of cleared engineers.
Northern Virginia
Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William
Amazon HQ2 (Arlington), Capital One HQ (McLean), AOL/Yahoo legacy footprint, and the world's largest cluster of federal-contractor engineering employers — Booz Allen Hamilton, MITRE, Leidos, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin's NoVA operations, CACI, ManTech. Loudoun County's data-center alley hosts AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, and dozens of colocation providers.
Richmond
Richmond metro
State government IT, CarMax HQ, Markel Insurance, Genworth, Altria. Smaller but stable enterprise-tech market; lower cost of living than NoVA.
Hampton Roads / Norfolk
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News
Navy and military-adjacent tech employment (Naval Information Warfare Center, Joint Forces Staff College), Newport News Shipbuilding tech, and a growing regional cybersecurity cluster.
Virginia has a graduated state income tax (top rate 5.75%). The Virginia Investment Performance Grant and Virginia Talent Accelerator Program are the principal tech-employer incentives — both used in attracting Amazon HQ2.
Virginia Regulation Affecting Software Engineering Graduates
Virginia was the second US state (after California) to pass a comprehensive consumer privacy law. The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) is now one of the foundational state privacy frameworks copied by other states. For NoVA's massive federal-contractor base, however, the more daily-relevant compliance regime is FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-171, and CMMC — federal cybersecurity standards that shape engineering practice across the contractor ecosystem.
Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA)
Effective January 2023. Grants VA residents rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of sale of personal data. Applies to businesses processing data of 100,000+ VA consumers, or 25,000+ deriving 50%+ revenue from data sales.
Engineers building consumer-facing products for VA users must implement VCDPA-compliant data flows. The law's thresholds make it less broadly applicable than CCPA, but the model has influenced subsequent state laws.
Read moreFederal cybersecurity frameworks (FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-171, CMMC)
Not Virginia laws, but the practical compliance regime for the NoVA federal-contractor base. Engineers at Booz Allen, MITRE, SAIC, and similar employers operate under these standards daily.
For most cybersecurity, cloud, and defense-tech roles in Northern Virginia, federal cybersecurity framework knowledge is more valuable than state privacy law expertise. CISSP, CCSP, and clearance-eligible profiles dominate hiring requirements.
Read moreVirginia Identity Theft Passport Program
State program providing identity-theft victims with a verification document; backed by data-handling rules for credit-reporting and consumer-data businesses.
Standard compliance for consumer-data businesses operating in Virginia.
Read moreProfessional Engineer Licensure in Virginia
Virginia does not administer a separate Software Engineering PE license. ABET-EAC accreditation supports traditional engineering PE tracks. For the NoVA market, federal security clearances (Secret, Top Secret, TS/SCI with poly) are dramatically more relevant than PE licensure — most tech roles at major federal contractors require clearance-eligibility at minimum.
Virginia licensing boardVirginia Financial Aid Programs
Up to $5,000/yr (undergraduate)
VA residents attending eligible private nonprofit VA colleges/universities
Commonwealth Award
State grantVaries by institution; awarded by individual schools from state allocation
VA residents with financial need at public VA colleges/universities
Tuition, fees, and book allowance
VA residents from low-income households attending VA public 4-year institutions with academic merit
G3 (Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back) Tuition Assistance
Workforce grant (community college)Covers tuition, books, and fees
Low- to middle-income VA residents enrolling in qualifying high-demand VA community college programs (incl. IT, cybersecurity, healthcare)
Transfer Pathways for Virginia Software Engineering Students
Verdict: Virginia's Virginia Community College System (VCCS) has guaranteed transfer agreements with all Virginia public 4-year institutions for AS-degree graduates with appropriate grades. The SE-specific consideration is that George Mason University's ABET-EAC software engineering program has accessible transfer admission, for Virginia community college students who specifically want ABET-EAC SE accreditation, GMU is among the strongest US options.
Best Virginia community college SE-feeder schools: Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA, by far the largest VCCS school, dominant SE-track feeder to George Mason and Virginia Tech), Tidewater Community College (Norfolk/Virginia Beach area), J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Richmond), Piedmont Virginia Community College (Charlottesville, geographically adjacent to UVA), Germanna Community College (Fredericksburg area), and Lord Fairfax Community College. Each has refined CS/SE prerequisite sequences aligned to VCCS articulation.
The NOVA → George Mason University Software Engineering pathway is the most reliable Virginia ABET-EAC SE transfer progression, NOVA has dedicated transfer counseling for GMU engineering admissions, and GMU's SE transfer admission is accessible (35-50% for qualified applicants). For NoVA-area students with G3 funding at NOVA + accessible GMU SE admission + Capital One McLean / NoVA federal contractor proximity post-graduation, this pathway produces well-integrated SE careers at low total cost.
Beyond GMU: Virginia Tech offers strong software engineering as a CS-track emphasis with accessible transfer admission. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has growing SE programs at affordable in-state cost. William & Mary has SE within CS at the elite-but-accessible public-university level. UVA's School of Engineering and Applied Science offers SE within CS but transfer admission is competitive (under 20%). For Virginia SE-track students, the GMU pathway is the ABET-EAC optimization for affordable accessible federal SE; Virginia Tech is the strong research-and-industry CS-with-SE-emphasis; VCU and William & Mary are the affordable accessible alternatives; UVA is the elite optimization for the most competitive applicants.
Software Engineering Job Growth in Virginia
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook
Virginia Software Engineering Job Market & Salary
Verdict: Northern Virginia has the largest US federal software engineering job market anchored by an unusual combination: Capital One McLean's massive engineering organization (one of the largest US enterprise SE operations outside Big Tech), Amazon HQ2 Arlington engineering (growing rapidly since 2019), and the dense federal contractor SE cluster (Booz Allen Hamilton, MITRE, Leidos, SAIC, CACI, ManTech, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, collectively employing tens of thousands of federal-aligned software engineers). Plus Loudoun County's data center alley (carrying ~70%+ of global internet traffic) creates substantial cloud infrastructure SE demand.
By metro: Northern Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William) averages ~$165,000-$220,000 for software engineer roles per Levels.fyi and industry compensation surveys, with substantial premiums for cleared SE roles ($180,000-$280,000+ for Secret-cleared engineers, $200,000-$320,000+ for TS/SCI with polygraph). Major NoVA SE employers: Capital One McLean (one of the largest US enterprise SE organizations, credit platforms, fraud detection systems, customer experience engineering, ML platform infrastructure), Amazon HQ2 Arlington (substantial and growing engineering operation supporting Amazon retail, AWS, Prime Video), Booz Allen Hamilton, MITRE Corporation, Leidos, SAIC, CACI, ManTech, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Lockheed Martin Information Systems, AWS Federal Cloud, Microsoft Federal.
Federal agency SE is the distinctive NoVA career path: Census Bureau, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), Treasury, IRS modernization SE, NIH National Library of Medicine bioinformatics SE, USDA, FDA, NASA Goddard adjacent operations. Federal SE compensation runs 10-25% below private sector but offers exceptional job security, substantial intellectual freedom on long-cycle projects, and federal benefits (TSP retirement, pension eligibility, FEHB health). Richmond averages ~$115,000-$150,000 with state-government SE, CarMax HQ SE, Markel Insurance SE, Altria SE. Hampton Roads has Navy SE at NIWC Atlantic and substantial defense SE at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Three distinctive Virginia SE dynamics: (1) Capital One McLean's engineering organization is one of the most-underrated elite US SE destinations, comparable to Big Tech in compensation, technical depth, and engineering practice, but materially less competitive than Bay Area FAANG SE for new graduate hiring. (2) The Virginia federal SE pipeline is genuinely distinctive, for SE graduates interested in regulated software, federal cloud, defense/intelligence SE, or government modernization work, Virginia is the strongest US destination by orders of magnitude. (3) ABET-EAC accredited SE matters more in Virginia than in most states, federal OPM 0854 software engineering positions, certain defense contractor classifications, and regulated software roles all explicitly reference ABET-EAC accreditation. GMU's SE program produces graduates well-positioned for these regulated SE career paths. See Software Engineer Career Guide and Cybersecurity Career Guide.
Entry-Level (0-2 yrs)
New graduates and career changers
Senior (8+ yrs)
Technical leads and architects
Online vs On-Campus Software Engineering Programs in Virginia
Online Programs
11 available in Virginia
On-Campus Programs
Traditional classroom experience
Compare Software Engineering Programs in Other States
- Total Programs
- 27
- Median Tuition
- $9,200
- Total Programs
- 13
- Median Tuition
- $9,100
- Total Programs
- 11
- Median Tuition
- $12,600
- Total Programs
- 38
- Median Tuition
- $13,900
- Total Programs
- 37
- Median Tuition
- $6,500
- Total Programs
- 200
- Median Tuition
- $5,700
- Total Programs
- 52
- Median Tuition
- $5,100
- Total Programs
- 90
- Median Tuition
- $7,600
Software Engineering Degree Programs in Virginia: FAQ
What are the best software engineering degree programs in Virginia?
How much do software engineering degree programs cost in Virginia?
What salary can software engineering degree graduates earn in Virginia?
Are there online software engineering degree programs in Virginia?
What companies hire software engineering degree graduates in Virginia?
Is a software engineering degree program worth it in Virginia?
How long do software engineering degree programs take in Virginia?
What financial aid is available for software engineering degree students in Virginia?
Data Sources
Institutional characteristics, completions, graduation rates
Virginia salary and employment data
Program details and admissions information
Last Updated: June 26, 2026. Rankings based on IPEDS 2024 data. Salary data from BLS OEWS May 2024.
Taylor Rupe
Co-founder & Editor (B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State • B.A. Psychology, University of Washington)
Taylor combines technical expertise in computer science with a deep understanding of human behavior and learning. His dual background drives Hakia's mission: leveraging technology to build authoritative educational resources that help people make better decisions about their academic and career paths.