2026 Best Value Software Engineering Schools in Virginia
[Software Engineering](/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value software engineering schools.
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2026 Best Value Software Engineering Schools in Virginia
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in software engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Software Engineering Schools
George Mason University tops our 2026 list of the best value software engineering schools in Virginia. George Mason University is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax. In-state tuition and fees average $14,220, with out-of-state students paying around $38,688. Software Engineering graduates carry a median of $26,697 in student loans. Software Engineering graduates of George Mason University earn a median of $109,917 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $26,697 median debt. Roughly 88% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
