Best Software Developer programs in Arkansas, ranked by enrollment
Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs.
27 schools in Arkansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 906 people a year. The job pays a median of $104,490 in Arkansas across about 6,050 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Arkansas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Arkansas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Arkansas (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arkansas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 11.0701In Arkansas → | 300 | 33.1% | 13 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0103In Arkansas → | 259 | 28.6% | 8 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | CIP 11.0201In Arkansas → | 162 | 17.9% | 7 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 4 | CIP 11.0401In Arkansas → | 125 | 13.8% | 9 | $57,313 | $25,833 |
| 5 | CIP 14.0901In Arkansas → | 48 | 5.3% | 4 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
| 6 | CIP 30.7001In Arkansas → | 10 | 1.1% | 3 | — | — |
| 7 | CIP 11.0202In Arkansas → | 2 | 0.2% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
Top 25 schools in Arkansas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 27 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR Public · 5 feeder programs | 337 | Information Technology | $45,904 | 49% | — | 96% |
| 2 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 192 | Computer Science | $75,169 | 71% | — | 74% |
| 3 | Harding University Searcy, AR Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 84 | Information Science/Studies | — | 69% | $19,423 | 71% |
| 4 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 64 | Information Science/Studies | $48,964 | 42% | — | 59% |
| 5 | University of Arkansas Community College - Batesville Batesville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 30 | Information Technology | — | 66% | — | — |
| 6 | University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Computer Science | — | 38% | — | 80% |
| 7 | Hendrix College Conway, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Computer Science | — | 72% | $22,415 | 56% |
| 8 | John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Computer Science | — | 72% | $20,325 | 76% |
| 9 | Arkansas State University - Mountain Home Mountain Home, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Information Science/Studies | — | 44% | — | — |
| 10 | National Park College Hot Springs, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Computer Science | — | 35% | — | — |
| 11 | University of Arkansas Grantham LIttle Rock, AR Public · 3 feeder programs | 14 | Computer Science | $47,904 | 43% | — | — |
| 12 | Ozarka College Melbourne, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Information Science/Studies | — | 47% | — | — |
| 13 | Strayer University - Arkansas Little Rock, AR Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Information Technology | $67,315 | — | — | — |
| 14 | North Arkansas College Harrison, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Information Technology | — | 42% | — | — |
| 15 | Arkansas Northeastern College Blytheville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Information Technology | — | 49% | — | — |
| 16 | Arkansas State University - Beebe Beebe, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | — | 42% | — | — |
| 17 | University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Computer Science | — | 54% | — | 89% |
| 18 | Arkansas State University Three Rivers Malvern, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | — | 26% | — | — |
| 19 | Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Computer Science | — | 61% | $21,322 | 68% |
| 20 | University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain Mena, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Computer Science | — | 55% | — | — |
| 21 | Lyon College Batesville, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Computer Science | — | 47% | $22,199 | 63% |
| 22 | Philander Smith University Little Rock, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Computer Science | — | 30% | $16,387 | — |
| 23 | Southeast Arkansas College Pine Bluff, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | — | 28% | — | — |
| 24 | Henderson State University Arkadelphia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Computer Engineering, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 25 | Shorter College N Little Rock, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Computer Science | — | 13% | $13,523 | — |
All 27 schools in Arkansas
Every school in Arkansas with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville | Public | 337 | 5 |
| University of Arkansas | Fayetteville | Public | 192 | 2 |
| Harding University | Searcy | Private not-for-profit | 84 | 5 |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock | Public | 64 | 2 |
| University of Arkansas Community College - Batesville | Batesville | Public | 30 | 2 |
| University of Arkansas - Fort Smith | Fort Smith | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Hendrix College | Conway | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 1 |
| John Brown University | Siloam Springs | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Arkansas State University - Mountain Home | Mountain Home | Public | 15 | 2 |
| National Park College | Hot Springs | Public | 15 | 1 |
| University of Arkansas Grantham | LIttle Rock | Public | 14 | 3 |
| Ozarka College | Melbourne | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Strayer University - Arkansas | Little Rock | Private for-profit | 11 | 2 |
| North Arkansas College | Harrison | Public | 10 | 2 |
| Arkansas Northeastern College | Blytheville | Public | 9 | 2 |
What software developers earn in Arkansas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $135,980. Arkansas pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Arkansas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Software Developers page.
How to become a Software Developer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Arkansas
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 20 majors mapped to Software Developers20 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
- 11.0103Information Technology
- 11.0104Informatics
- 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
- 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
- 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
- 11.0204Computer Game Programming
- 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
- 11.0401Information Science/Studies
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
- 14.0903Computer Software Engineering
- 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
- 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
- 30.4801Linguistics and Computer Science
- 30.7001Data Science, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing software developers programs in Arkansas.
What degree do you need to become a Software Developer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 300 degrees in Arkansas in 2024-25, 33.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Software Developer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Programming, Information Science/Studies, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 906 people a year in Arkansas.
How much do software developers earn in Arkansas?+
The median is $104,490 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.2% below the U.S. median of $135,980. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for software developers growing?+
BLS projects a +15.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 115,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Arkansas?+
27 institutions in Arkansas reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do software developers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Developer, Software Engineer, Software Architect, Software Developer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1252.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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