ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Software Engineering Schools in Illinois

2 Colleges in the United States
224 Software Engineering Degrees Awarded
$81,479 Avg Early-Career Salary

Software Engineering programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 7 schools to find the best for software engineering students.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 11
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 14.09), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering Boot Camp (All Degree Levels)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering Boot Camp (All Degree Levels)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Computer Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Computer Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Computer Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Computer Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Computer Science (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Computer Science (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Computer Science - Software Engineering" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Computer Science - Software Engineering" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Electrical Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Electrical Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Electrical Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Electrical Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 9
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 8 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 8
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 5 offers with relevance >= 1.0

Best Schools for Software Engineering in Illinois

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the software engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Software Engineering

1
Depaul University crest
Depaul University
Chicago, IL

Leading the list is Depaul University, our #1 school for software engineering. This very large private not-for-profit university is located in the city of Chicago. Roughly 68% of students complete a degree within six years here. Depaul University awarded about 26 software engineering degrees in the most recent data year. Software Engineering graduates of Depaul University earn a median of $121,173 early in their careers. Depaul University graduates carry a median of $25,310 in student loans. More information about a degree in software engineering from Depaul University

2

Students looking for a strong software engineering program will find one at Illinois Institute Of Technology, which ranked #2. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Institute Of Technology is a large private not-for-profit university. The six-year graduation rate is 75%. About 42 software engineering degrees were awarded at Illinois Institute Of Technology in the most recent year. Graduates of the software engineering program make about $81,252 in their early career. Illinois Institute Of Technology graduates carry a median of $26,500 in student loans. More information about a degree in software engineering from Illinois Institute Of Technology

3

Students looking for a strong software engineering program will find one at Loyola University Chicago, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university. Roughly 75% of students complete a degree within six years here. Loyola University Chicago awarded about 21 software engineering degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, software engineering degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago generally make around $68,020. Loyola University Chicago graduates carry a median of $25,000 in student loans. Read more about the software engineering program at Loyola University Chicago

4

A rank of #4 makes Devry University Illinois one of the top schools for software engineering. This very large private for-profit university is located in the suburb of Lisle. Devry University Illinois graduates 18% of students within six years. There were roughly 135 software engineering students who graduated with this degree at Devry University Illinois in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, software engineering degree recipients from Devry University Illinois generally make around $55,470. Students borrow a median of $43,684 to complete this degree. Read more about the software engineering program at Devry University Illinois

ADBLOCK #173
View All Software Engineering Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 7 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options