Design verification engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a design verification engineer. Design verification engineers usually study electrical engineering, computer engineering, or electrical engineering technology. 67% of design verification engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 666 real design verification engineer resumes to see exactly what design verification engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for design verification engineers are the San Jose State University and the San Jose State University.

There are also many online design verification engineer courses to help get the education required to be a design verification engineer.

What education do you need to become a design verification engineer?

What degree do you need to be a design verification engineer?

The most common degree for design verification engineers is bachelor's degree, with 67% of design verification engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 25% and master's degree degree at 5%.

Bachelor's, 67%

Master's, 25%

Associate, 5%

Doctorate, 2%

Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a design verification engineer?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a design verification engineer. 57% of design verification engineers major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a design verification engineer include computer engineering and electrical engineering technology.

Electrical Engineering, 57%

Computer Engineering, 14%

Electrical Engineering Technology, 6%

Computer Science, 5%

Other Majors, 18%

Most common colleges for design verification engineers

Design verification engineers often get their degrees at San Jose State University, University of Southern California, and University of Texas at Austin. Here are the most common colleges for design verification engineers in the US based on their resumes.

Design verification engineer common college	Percentages
San Jose State University	12.70%
University of Southern California	9.52%
University of Texas at Austin	9.52%
Arizona State University	7.94%
Purdue University	5.56%

Show more common design verification engineer colleges

Best majors for design verification engineers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Electrical Engineering	56.6%
2	Computer Engineering	14.5%
3	Electrical Engineering Technology	6.1%
4	Computer Science	5.3%
5	Mechanical Engineering	2.9%

Show more common design verification engineer majors

Best colleges for design verification engineers

The best colleges for design verification engineers are Northwestern University, Northeastern University, and Vanderbilt University.

A design verification engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for design verification engineers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become design verification engineers.

1. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

3. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

5. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

6. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

7. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,785

Enrollment

7,711

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$8,184

Enrollment

11,675

10. Texas A&M University

College Station, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$11,870

Enrollment

53,194

20 best online courses for design verification engineers

Advertising disclosure

1. FPGA Design for Embedded Systems

The objective of this course is to acquire proficiency with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)s for the purpose of creating prototypes or products for a variety of applications. Although FPGA design can be a complex topic, we will introduce it so that, with a little bit of effort, the basic concepts will be easily learned, while also providing a challenge for the more experienced designer. We will explore complexities, capabilities and trends of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) and...

2. Introduction to FPGA Design for Embedded Systems

This course can also be taken for academic credit as ECEA 5360, part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. Programmable Logic has become more and more common as a core technology used to build electronic systems. By integrating soft-core or hardcore processors, these devices have become complete systems on a chip, steadily displacing general purpose processors and ASICs. In particular, high performance systems are now almost always implemented with FPGAs. This...

3. UVM for Verification Part 1: Fundamentals

4.5

(537)

Step by Step Guide for building Verification Environment from Scratch...

4. UPF Power Aware Design & Verification

4.4

(592)

Unified Power Format (IEEE1801 standard) Design and Verification Techniques...

5. Introduction to Software Testing

After completing this course, you will have an understanding of the fundamental principles and processes of software testing. You will have actively created test cases and run them using an automated testing tool. You will being writing and recognizing good test cases, including input data and expected outcomes. After completing this course, you will be able to… - Describe the difference between verification and validation. - Explain the goal of testing. - Use appropriate test terminology in...

6. VLSI CAD Part I: Logic

A modern VLSI chip has a zillion parts -- logic, control, memory, interconnect, etc. How do we design these complex chips? Answer: CAD software tools. Learn how to build thesA modern VLSI chip is a remarkably complex beast: billions of transistors, millions of logic gates deployed for computation and control, big blocks of memory, embedded blocks of pre-designed functions designed by third parties (called “intellectual property” or IP blocks). How do people manage to design these complicated...

7. SystemVerilog for Verification Part 2: Projects

4.6

(424)

Verification of Common Peripherals, Memories, and Bus Protocol...

8. Verilog for an FPGA Engineer with Xilinx Vivado Design Suite

4.5

(937)

Using Xilinx FPGA's...

9. Verilog HDL Fundamentals for Digital Design and Verification

4.5

(479)

Build a strong Verilog language foundation by implementing combinational / sequential digital circuits and testbenches...

10. SystemVerilog for Verification Part 1: Fundamentals

4.5

(1,379)

Fundamentals of System Verilog Language Constructs...

11. UVM Testbenches for Newbie

4.6

(419)

Step by Step Guide from Scratch...

12. Software Architecture & System Design Practical Case Studies

4.7

(250)

Design Real-life Large Scale Systems, Practice Modern Software Architecture & Prepare for a System Design Interview...

13. SystemVerilog Assertions & Functional Coverage FROM SCRATCH

4.5

(648)

System Verilog Assertions and Functional Coverage Languages/Applications FROM SCRATCH. Includes 2005/2009/2012 LRM...

14. System Design using Verilog

4.5

(413)

FPGA Based Design...

15. Digital Timing Basics for VLSI Interview & SoC Design

4.5

(295)

A VLSI Course on Timing Concepts frequently used in Physical Design (Static Timing Analysis - STA), RTL & Circuit Design...

16. High-Level Synthesis for FPGA, Part 1-Combinational Circuits

4.7

(335)

Logic Design with Vitis-HLS...

17. Practical - ISTQB - Test Automation Engineer Course 2023

4.1

(261)

Learn the concepts, methods and tools to pass the ISTQB - Advanced Level - Test Automation Engineer Certification Exam...

18. System Design Interview Guide for Software Architecture

4.6

(2,010)

Mastering High Level System Design Interview Software Architecture case studies Design patterns Microservices...

19. Design Failure Mode Effect Analysis - Concepts & Practice

4.3

(578)

Learn about the fundamentals of preparing DFMEA for Mechanical design engineers...

20. Low Level System Design [An interview perspective]

4.4

(389)

Ace the Low Level Design interview by solving problems asked in the System Design round of programming interviews...

Top 10 most affordable universities for design verification engineers

The most affordable schools for design verification engineers are California State University - Long Beach, brigham young university, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for design verification engineers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for design verification engineers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

5. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

6. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. West Virginia University Institute of Technology

Beckley, WV • Private

In-state tuition

$7,464

Cost of attendance

17,166

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for design verification engineers

The hardest universities for design verification engineers to get into are Northwestern University, Northeastern University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for design verification engineers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for design verification engineers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

6. Princeton University

Princeton, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,503

7. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

8. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

9. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,516

10. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for design verification engineers

The easiest schools for design verification engineers to get into are Capitol Technology University, oregon institute of technology, and south dakota state university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a design verification engineer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for design verification engineers.

1. Capitol Technology University

Laurel, MD • Private

Admissions rate

69%

SAT average

1,070

2. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

3. South Dakota State University

Brookings, SD • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,149

4. Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Altoona, PA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,094

5. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

6. Purdue University Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,080

7. Suffolk University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,131

8. Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,093

9. Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

1,086

10. Portland State University

Portland, OR • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,111

Average design verification engineer salary by education level

According to our data, design verification engineers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $124,378 annually. Design verification engineers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $114,928.

Design verification engineer education level	Design verification engineer salary
Master's Degree	$124,378
Bachelor's Degree	$114,928

Design verification engineer education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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