Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Computer Software and Media Applications

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

39

Schools Ranked

$40,132

Avg. Earnings

1.2 yrs

Best Payback

4,688

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private	$22,826	$108,649	1.2 yrs
2	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID · Private	$5,422	$52,107	1.3 yrs
3	Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL · Public	$11,133	$63,005	1.6 yrs
4	Park University Parkville, MO · Private	$14,769	$62,887	2.1 yrs
5	Baker College Owosso, MI · Private	$12,281	$54,035	2.6 yrs
6	Neumont College of Computer Science Salt Lake City, UT · For-Profit	$27,081	$72,274	2.9 yrs
7	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY · Private	$31,935	$65,387	4.2 yrs
8	Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO · Public	$12,127	$45,715	4.5 yrs
9	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI · Public	$13,560	$44,170	5.9 yrs
10	Champlain College Burlington, VT · Private	$32,288	$55,512	6.3 yrs
11	New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI · Private	$33,946	$48,432	10.1 yrs
12	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI · Public	$15,247	$40,647	10.8 yrs
13	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT · Private	$37,175	$48,432	11.1 yrs
14	Davenport University Grand Rapids, MI · Private	$21,874	$42,532	11.6 yrs
15	Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	$17,525	$40,512	12.7 yrs
16	Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA · Private	$27,431	$43,426	13 yrs
17	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	$8,450	$37,424	13.9 yrs
18	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private	$28,577	$39,009	28.5 yrs
19	University of Houston Houston, TX · Public	$13,382	$36,275	42 yrs
20	School of Visual Arts New York, NY · For-Profit	$47,965	$37,568	74.7 yrs
21	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	$8,393	$29,685	N/A
22	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA · Public	$9,439	$29,685	N/A
23	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	$13,644	$33,446	N/A
24	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private	$41,757	$33,993	N/A
25	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI · Private	$28,090	$33,281	N/A
26	DeVry University-Arizona Phoenix, AZ · For-Profit	$27,568	$29,887	N/A
27	DeVry University-California Ontario, CA · For-Profit	$30,632	$29,887	N/A
28	DeVry University-Florida Orlando, FL · For-Profit	$26,399	$29,887	N/A
29	DeVry University-Georgia Decatur, GA · For-Profit	$31,720	$29,887	N/A
30	DeVry University-Illinois Lisle, IL · For-Profit	$29,796	$29,887	N/A
31	DeVry University-New Jersey Iselin, NJ · For-Profit	$20,355	$29,887	N/A
32	DeVry University-Ohio Columbus, OH · For-Profit	$29,404	$29,887	N/A
33	University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA · Private	$26,807	$30,554	N/A
34	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	$12,224	$31,236	N/A
35	Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO · Private	$15,749	$29,487	N/A
36	Dakota State University Madison, SD · Public	$18,429	$28,598	N/A
37	Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion Marion, IN · Private	$19,205	$28,212	N/A
38	University of Advancing Technology Tempe, AZ · For-Profit	$18,587	$25,580	N/A
39	Herzing University-Madison Madison, WI · Private	$24,555	$24,035	N/A

Top Earners in Computer Software and Media Applications

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.