Mainframe developer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a mainframe developer. Mainframe developers usually study computer science, electrical engineering, or engineering. 76% of mainframe developers hold a bachelor's degree, and 14% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,871 real mainframe developer resumes to see exactly what mainframe developer education sections show.

The most common colleges for mainframe developers are the University of the West and the University of the West.

There are also many online mainframe developer courses to help get the education required to be a mainframe developer.

What education do you need to become a mainframe developer?

What degree do you need to be a mainframe developer?

The most common degree for mainframe developers is bachelor's degree, with 76% of mainframe developers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 14% and master's degree degree at 6%.

Bachelor's, 76%

Master's, 14%

Associate, 6%

Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a mainframe developer?

You should major in computer science to become a mainframe developer. 24% of mainframe developers major in computer science. Other common majors for a mainframe developer include electrical engineering and engineering.

Computer Science, 24%

Electrical Engineering, 17%

Engineering, 8%

Business, 6%

Other Majors, 45%

Most common colleges for mainframe developers

Mainframe developers often get their degrees at University of the West, Northern Illinois University, and University of Maryland - College Park. Here are the most common colleges for mainframe developers in the US based on their resumes.

Mainframe developer common college	Percentages
University of the West	10.26%
Northern Illinois University	8.97%
University of Maryland - College Park	7.69%
Pennsylvania State University	6.41%
DeVry University	6.41%

Show more common mainframe developer colleges

Best majors for mainframe developers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Computer Science	24.0%
2	Electrical Engineering	16.8%
3	Engineering	7.9%
4	Business	6.5%
5	Information Technology	6.5%

Show more common mainframe developer majors

Best colleges for mainframe developers

The best colleges for mainframe developers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

A mainframe developer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for mainframe developers. 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 mainframe developers.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH • Private

In-state tuition

$55,453

Enrollment

4,312

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for mainframe developers

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4.5

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Master the DDL and DML operations on DB2. Code multiple COBOL DB2 Programs. Master the concept of Cursors on DB2...

4. Mainframe CICS Developer Training By Anil Polsani

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Simple Ways to Learn Best Concepts...

5. IBM z/OS Mainframe Practitioner

This Professional Certificate is intended to provide the foundational skills required to launch a career in the enterprise platform that powers over 68% of worldwide transactions. Companies around the world are searching for these skills to run their critical system workloads. In this series of courses, the learner will be introduced to various operating systems, mainframe applications, and get real-time hands-on experience on an IBM Z server. The skills acquired on completion of this...

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DB2- Pre-compilation - Cursor - Restart logic - sqlcode - Load & Unload...

7. Mainframe: The Complete COBOL Course From Beginner To Expert

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Become an Expert on COBOL Programs by coding it. Run COBOL Programs with JCL. Basic TSO/ISPF operations are also covered...

8. The Complete Mainframe Professional Course - 4 Courses in 1

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The first step in learning about Mainframes. Covers COBOL, JCL, VSAM, TSO/ISPF, Unix System Services and CICS...

9. Mainframe: The Complete JCL Course from Beginner to Expert

4.5

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Become an expert on JCL. Jcls are used for COBOL Programs. Procedures, Utilities, GDG and basics of TSO/ISPF are covered...

10. Mainframe - CICS - Beginner to Expert

4.3

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Comprehensive IBM Mainframe CICS Course: Bridging Theory and Real-World Practice in an Understandable Manner...

11. The Complete Job Control Language (JCL) Course.

4.5

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Mainframe JCL Procedures, SORT, GDGs, Libraries, Utilities such as IEBCOPY, IEBGENER etc are explained in detail...

12. Mainframe: The Complete TSO/ISPF from Beginner to Expert

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Best TSO/ISPF Course. TSO and ISPF commands are explained in detail. Simplified COBOL covered as bonus along with JCL...

13. DB2 For Beginners

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Execute SQL Queries on an IBM DB2 Database Server...

14. SQL Tutorial: Learn SQL with MySQL Database - Updated (2023)

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Learn SQL and Database Development to work effectively in DBMS like My SQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Postgre SQL, DB2 etc...

15. Become an SQL Developer: Learn (SSRS, SSIS, SSAS,T-SQL,DW)

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Learn SQL Developer Skills from Scratch(SSRS, SSIS, SSAS,T-SQL,Data Warehouse(DW))...

16. SQL From Scratch Using Oracle SQL Developer and TOAD

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Learn how to query databases using SQL...

17. Node, SQL, & PostgreSQL - Mastering Backend Web Development

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Boost your Node, Express, SQL, Postgre SQL and Backend Development Skills! Node JS, Databases, Express, JS, ES6, + more!...

18. Full Stack Web Development with C# OOP, MS SQL & ASP.NET MVC

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Web development with C#, ASP.NET MVC, MS SQL, C# OOP. All gathered for full stack web development in one course!...

19. Executive Coaching and Business Case Development

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The Guide to Executive Coaching and Business Case Development Success...

20. Oracle SQL - Step by Step SQL

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Discover essential SQL skills necessary to transform you into SQL developer which can earn you 70k+ in the IT Industry...

Top 10 most affordable universities for mainframe developers

The most affordable schools for mainframe developers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, brigham young university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for mainframe developers 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 mainframe developers.

1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

5. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

6. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

7. Brigham Young University - Hawaii

Laie, HI • Private

In-state tuition

$5,560

Cost of attendance

18,043

8. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Arecibo

Arecibo, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,872

Cost of attendance

13,476

9. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce

Mercedita, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,914

Cost of attendance

13,564

10. Trident University International

Cypress, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,240

Cost of attendance

17,912

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for mainframe developers

The hardest universities for mainframe developers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for mainframe developers 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 mainframe developers 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. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Amherst College

Amherst, MA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,449

5. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for mainframe developers

The easiest schools for mainframe developers to get into are Nyack College, saint martin's university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a mainframe developer 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 mainframe developers.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Linfield College

McMinnville, OR • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

1,117

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

8. Saint Xavier University

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

74%

SAT average

1,061

9. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Winona, MN • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,148

10. Longwood University

Farmville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,065

Average mainframe developer salary by education level

According to our data, mainframe developers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $98,464 annually. Mainframe developers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $96,500.

Mainframe developer education level	Mainframe developer salary
Master's Degree	$96,500
Bachelor's Degree	$93,369
Doctorate Degree	$98,464
Some College/ Associate Degree	$84,352

Mainframe developer education FAQs

What is the best college for Mainframe Developers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.

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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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