Best Software Quality Assurance Analyst programs in District of Columbia, ranked by enrollment
Develop and execute software tests to identify software problems and their causes. Test system modifications to prepare for implementation.
9 schools in District of Columbia run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,049 people a year. The job pays a median of $103,340 in District of Columbia across about 760 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in District of Columbia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in District of Columbia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in District of Columbia (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 District of Columbia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 11.0701In District of Columbia → | 546 | 52.0% | 6 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0103In District of Columbia → | 448 | 42.7% | 5 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | CIP 14.0901In District of Columbia → | 33 | 3.1% | 4 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
| 4 | CIP 11.0101In District of Columbia → | 11 | 1.0% | 2 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 5 | CIP 15.1204In District of Columbia → | 11 | 1.0% | 1 | $48,829 | $21,696 |
Top 9 schools in District of Columbia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 9 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strayer University - Global Region Washington, DC Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 403 | Information Technology | $67,315 | 14% | $18,144 | — |
| 2 | George Washington University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 303 | Computer Science | $104,200 | 84% | $29,789 | 47% |
| 3 | Howard University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 114 | Computer Science | — | 70% | $48,194 | 41% |
| 4 | Georgetown University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 89 | Computer Science | $92,974 | 95% | $22,242 | 13% |
| 5 | University of the District of Columbia Washington, DC Public · 4 feeder programs | 57 | Computer Science | $65,524 | 33% | — | — |
| 6 | American University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Computer Science | — | 75% | $30,225 | 62% |
| 7 | The Catholic University of America Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Computer Science | — | 79% | $27,724 | 83% |
| 8 | Strayer University - District of Columbia Washington, DC Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Information Technology | $67,315 | 0% | — | — |
| 9 | Gallaudet University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Information Technology | — | 47% | $14,382 | 58% |
All 9 schools in District of Columbia
Every school in District of Columbia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strayer University - Global Region | Washington | Private for-profit | 403 | 1 |
| George Washington University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 303 | 4 |
| Howard University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 114 | 2 |
| Georgetown University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 89 | 1 |
| University of the District of Columbia | Washington | Public | 57 | 4 |
| American University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 39 | 1 |
| The Catholic University of America | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 2 |
| Strayer University - District of Columbia | Washington | Private for-profit | 17 | 2 |
| Gallaudet University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
What software quality assurance analysts and testers earn in District of Columbia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $104,300. District of Columbia pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in District of Columbia
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 Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers page.
How to become a Software Quality Assurance Analyst
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 District of Columbia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 15 majors mapped to Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
- 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
- 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
- 14.0903Computer Software Engineering
- 15.1201Computer Engineering Technology/Technician
- 15.1202Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician
- 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing software quality assurance analysts and testers programs in District of Columbia.
What degree do you need to become a Software Quality Assurance Analyst?+
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 546 degrees in District of Columbia in 2024-25, 52.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Software Quality Assurance Analyst?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Engineering, Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 1,049 people a year in District of Columbia.
How much do software quality assurance analysts and testers earn in District of Columbia?+
The median is $103,340 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.9% below the U.S. median of $104,300. 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 quality assurance analysts and testers growing?+
BLS projects a +10.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 14,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in District of Columbia?+
9 institutions in District of Columbia reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 quality assurance analysts and testers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Software Test Engineer, Software Quality Engineer, Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst), Software Quality Assurance Engineer (SQA Engineer) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1253.
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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