Best institutions to study Computer Software and Media Applications
Compare 549 U.S. colleges offering Computer Software and Media Applications by graduate earnings, cost, and outcomes. Federal data across 50 states.
Computer Software and Media Applications programs report a median of $36,272 one year after graduation (College Scorecard, 2024), and map to CIP 11.08 and the Software Developers occupation (BLS SOC).
About Computer Software and Media Applications programs
The Computer Software and Media Applications program focuses on the design, development, and implementation of software systems and media applications. It is ideal for individuals interested in combining creativity with technical skills to create innovative software solutions and multimedia content. Students will engage with various aspects of software architecture and media design, preparing them for a dynamic career in technology.
In this program, students will develop core skills in critical thinking, mathematics, and effective communication. Coursework covers essential knowledge in computers and electronics, software testing, and user needs analysis, equipping graduates with the tools needed to succeed in the tech industry.
Top 50 institutions, ranked by graduate earnings
Earnings = median 1 year after graduation (College Scorecard, predominant credential).
| # | Institution | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Completions | Grad rate | Net price | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $103,071 | 149 | 92% | $26,873 | $23,500 |
| 2 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · Bachelor's degree | $98,117 | 6 | 93% | — | $19,769 |
| 3 | Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $95,292 | 692 | 46% | $11,580 | $23,287 |
| 4 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $86,193 | 26 | 90% | $32,926 | $24,656 |
| 5 | DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $81,885 | 88 | 61% | $39,863 | $27,000 |
| 6 | Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $69,052 | 261 | 70% | $28,133 | $27,000 |
| 7 | Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI Public · Associate degree | $65,191 | 37 | 29% | — | $16,640 |
| 8 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · Bachelor's degree | $62,018 | 15 | 47% | — | $26,500 |
| 9 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $54,859 | 80 | 68% | $28,141 | $23,249 |
| 10 | University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI Public · Bachelor's degree | $54,639 | 63 | 55% | — | $27,000 |
| 11 | Dunwoody College of Technology Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · Associate degree | $52,264 | 9 | 66% | $25,132 | $20,000 |
| 12 | Champlain College Burlington, VT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $52,260 | 38 | 65% | $32,531 | $27,000 |
| 13 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · Bachelor's degree | $51,790 | 15 | 54% | — | $23,250 |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI Public · Bachelor's degree | $50,796 | 1 | 51% | — | $24,940 |
| 15 | Brigham Young University - Idaho Rexburg, ID Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $49,581 | 317 | 55% | $6,760 | $9,532 |
| 16 | University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA Public · Bachelor's degree | $47,112 | 6 | 65% | — | $14,500 |
| 17 | Wilmington University New Castle, DE Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $46,211 | 46 | 20% | $16,588 | $22,000 |
| 18 | Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $45,387 | 248 | 34% | $40,294 | $39,715 |
| 19 | Hunter Business School Levittown, NY Private for-profit · Certificate degree | $45,301 | 13 | 85% | $27,954 | $9,500 |
| 20 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ Public · Bachelor's degree | $44,645 | 61 | 68% | — | $22,715 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA Public · Bachelor's degree | $43,144 | 9 | 53% | — | $28,360 |
| 22 | New York University New York, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $42,891 | 304 | 88% | $29,023 | $22,750 |
| 23 | Dallas College Dallas, TX Public · Certificate degree | $41,477 | 120 | 32% | — | $11,211 |
| 24 | Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $41,394 | 22 | 77% | $32,060 | $27,000 |
| 25 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $40,882 | 446 | 43% | $34,565 | $28,252 |
| 26 | Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN Public · Associate degree | $38,262 | 52 | 20% | — | — |
| 27 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · Bachelor's degree | $38,234 | 244 | 83% | — | $21,250 |
| 28 | University of Silicon Valley San Jose, CA Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $37,693 | 25 | 29% | $30,599 | $31,000 |
| 29 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Lakewood, CO Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $37,268 | 29 | 32% | $28,500 | $44,806 |
| 30 | School of Visual Arts New York, NY Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $36,272 | 341 | 76% | $58,518 | $27,000 |
| 31 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $35,991 | 116 | 84% | — | $20,937 |
| 32 | Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg, PA Public · Associate degree | $35,284 | 27 | 21% | — | $17,500 |
| 33 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $34,433 | 59 | 49% | $17,436 | $25,717 |
| 34 | College of Charleston Charleston, SC Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,166 | 21 | 66% | — | $22,750 |
| 35 | University of Houston Houston, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $33,997 | 122 | 65% | — | $23,959 |
| 36 | University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Public · Bachelor's degree | $33,508 | 221 | 65% | — | $23,250 |
| 37 | DeVry University - Illinois Lisle, IL Private for-profit · Certificate degree | $33,504 | 61 | 37% | $32,381 | $48,849 |
| 38 | College of Western Idaho Nampa, ID Public · Associate degree | $33,165 | 23 | 31% | — | $9,631 |
| 39 | Utah Valley University Orem, UT Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,743 | 7 | 45% | — | — |
| 40 | Johnson & Wales University - Providence Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $32,735 | 20 | 55% | $31,634 | $27,000 |
| 41 | Johnson & Wales University - Online Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $32,735 | 11 | 0% | $21,981 | $27,000 |
| 42 | DeVry University - Georgia Decatur, GA Private for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $32,159 | 3 | 13% | $30,244 | $48,849 |
| 43 | Valencia College Orlando, FL Public · Associate degree | $32,099 | 287 | 48% | — | $16,751 |
| 44 | Southern Careers Institute - Austin Austin, TX Private for-profit · Certificate degree | $31,841 | 2 | 53% | $23,976 | $10,110 |
| 45 | Ogden - Weber Technical College Ogden, UT Public · Certificate degree | $30,535 | 35 | 53% | — | — |
| 46 | The New School New York, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $29,550 | 272 | 69% | $54,185 | $25,489 |
| 47 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · Bachelor's degree | $29,046 | 59 | 43% | — | $23,250 |
| 48 | St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL Public · Associate degree | $27,889 | 13 | 38% | — | $21,799 |
| 49 | Dakota State University Madison, SD Public · Bachelor's degree | $26,379 | 36 | 51% | — | $27,000 |
| 50 | Academy of Interactive Entertainment Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · Certificate degree | $24,750 | 16 | 84% | $37,335 | $12,000 |
Offered across 50 states & territories
The same program, compared state by state. Pick a state for in-state earnings and institutions.
Careers & outlook
The payoff after graduation: occupation 15-1252, Software Developers, and its national outlook.
Graduates of the Computer Software and Media Applications program can expect a promising career outlook, with a projected growth rate of 15.8% and approximately 115,200 annual job openings. The median wage for professionals in this field is $133,080, typically requiring a Bachelor's degree for entry-level positions.
Top-paying metros
Related careers
CIP-to-SOC crosswalk for Computer Software and Media Applications
The SOC occupations NCES officially maps to CIP 11.08.
Under the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, CIP 11.08 (Computer Software and Media Applications) maps to 13 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations, the jobs the U.S. Department of Labor links to this field of study.
| SOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 11-3021 | Computer and Information Systems Managers |
| 15-1221 | Computer and Information Research Scientists |
| 15-1242 | Database Administrators |
| 15-1243 | Database Architects |
| 15-1251 | Computer Programmers |
| 15-1252 | Software Developersprimary |
| 15-1254 | Web Developers |
| 15-1255 | Web and Digital Interface Designers |
| 15-2051 | Data Scientists |
| 25-1021 | Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary |
| 25-1194 | Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary |
| 27-1014 | Special Effects Artists and Animators |
| 27-1024 | Graphic Designers |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk.
Skills & knowledge in Computer Software and Media Applications programs
From the U.S. Dept. of Labor for the occupation this program most leads to.
Skills you'll build
Knowledge areas
What graduates do on the job
- Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
- Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
- Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
- Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status.
- Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
Concentrations within Computer Software and Media Applications
Specializations under this field (NCES CIP 2020).
- Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignCIP 11.0801
A program that prepares individuals to apply HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, graphics applications, and other authoring tools to the design, editing, and publishing (launching) of documents, images, graph
- Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database AdministrationCIP 11.0802
A program that prepares individuals to design and manage the construction of databases and related software programs and applications, including the linking of individual data sets to create complex s
- Computer GraphicsCIP 11.0803
A program that focuses on the software, hardware, and mathematical tools used to represent, display, and manipulate topological, two-, and three-dimensional objects on a computer screen and that prepa
- Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationCIP 11.0804
A program focusing on the principles of applied visual simulation technology and the application of quantitative analyses to human-computer interaction
- Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherCIP 11.0899
Any instructional program in computer software and media applications not listed above.
Common questions
What careers can I pursue with this degree?+
Graduates can work in software development, multimedia design, database administration, and more.
What skills will I develop in this program?+
You'll develop skills in critical thinking, mathematics, software testing, and effective communication.
What is the job outlook for this field?+
The job outlook is much faster than average, with a growth rate of 15.8%.
What level of education is typically required?+
A Bachelor's degree is usually required for entry-level positions in this field.
How much do Computer Software and Media Applications graduates earn?+
Computer Software and Media Applications graduates report median earnings of $36,272 one year after graduation, per College Scorecard (2024); the Software Developers occupation pays about $148,100 on average nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025).
What is the CIP code for Computer Software and Media Applications?+
Computer Software and Media Applications maps to CIP 11.08 in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the U.S. Department of Education taxonomy used for College Scorecard Field of Study earnings and IPEDS completions.
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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