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Programming specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a programming specialist. Programming specialists usually study business, psychology, or criminal justice. 61% of programming specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 23,082 real programming specialist resumes to see exactly what programming specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for programming specialists are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online programming specialist courses to help get the education required to be a programming specialist.
There are certain programming specialist certifications that you should consider. These programming specialist certifications include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Medical Assistant.
What education do you need to become a programming specialist?
What degree do you need to be a programming specialist?
- Bachelor's, 61%
- Master's, 15%
- Associate, 14%
- High School Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a programming specialist?
- Business, 19%
- Psychology, 15%
- Criminal Justice, 7%
- Social Work, 7%
- Other Majors, 52%
Most common colleges for programming specialists
| Programming specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 19.25% |
| Florida State University | 7.82% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 6.75% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 6.19% |
| California State University - San Bernardino | 5.06% |
Best majors for programming specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 19.1% |
| 2 | Psychology | 15.3% |
| 3 | Criminal Justice | 7.0% |
| 4 | Social Work | 6.8% |
| 5 | Sociology | 5.6% |
Best colleges for programming specialists
The best colleges for programming specialists are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A programming specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for programming specialists. 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 programming specialists.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
4. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
9. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
10. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
20 best online courses for programming specialists
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In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...
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This is a course designed for individuals looking to learn about the Technical Program Management (TPM) discipline...
4. Learning Path: Haskell: Functional Programming and Haskell
Gain expertise of programming in Haskell — an advanced, purely functional programming language...
5. Community Awareness Course: Sexuality and Disability
This community awareness course from the University of Minnesota Program on Human Sexuality will provide you with a solid introduction to human sexuality for those living with disabilities. Often there are assumptions that the disabled or differently abled people are not sexual, do not have sexual needs, or cannot be involved sexually. In this professionally produced one-hour course, you'll learn about the basics of disabilities and human sexuality. We'll then learn about three different...
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Master programming with Golang by learning how to write idiomatic, effective code...
8. Python Network Programming - TCP/IP Socket Programming
Python Networking Programming is simple for beginners, powerful for the pros. Use it to create tools, sockets and more...
9. Mastering Programming with MATLAB
The course builds on the foundation laid by the first course of the Specialization called “Introduction to Programming with MATLAB.” It covers more advanced programming concepts such as recursion, vectorization, function handles, algorithm efficiency and others. At the same time, it presents many features that make MATLAB a powerful programming environment for engineering and scientific computing, such as its support for object oriented programming, the new user interface design environment and...
10. The Rust Programming Language
Learn a modern, powerful yet safe systems programming language!...
11. Reactive Programming with Spring Framework 5
Learn Reactive Programming with Spring Framework 5!...
12. Learn Socket Programming in C from Scratch
Master the socket programming concepts and start building networked applications in C programming language...
13. SQL Programming and MySQL
Learn SQL Programming with My SQL Database from scratch. SQL Commands, Functions, Expressions, Joins, Procedures, Views...
14. Concurrent and Parallel Programming in Python
Speed up your programs with concurrency...
15. Advanced C++ Programming Training Course
Take your C++ Programming Training Course Will Take Your Skills To The Next Level...
16. C Programming For Beginners - with 60 BONUS Simple Programs!
Learn the C Programming language FAST - onscreen step by step, then IDE, then debugger. Designed for TECHNICAL INTERVIEW...
17. Advanced Foundations of Python Programming
Digging Into The Advanced Foundations of Python Programming - Become An Advanced Python Developer - Hands-On Training...
18. R Programming Hands-on Specialization for Data Science (Lv1)
An in-depth course on R language with real-world Data Science examples to supercharge your R data analysis skills...
19. Programming with Julia
Learn the best and most modern programming language for data science, machine learning, deep learning and AI...
20. Linux System Programming Techniques & Concepts
For Developers - Build Linux Programmable Libraries, Makefiles, Memory Management, Compilation & Linking, C Programming...
Top 10 most affordable universities for programming specialists
The most affordable schools for programming specialists are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and brigham young university.
If the best universities for programming specialists 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 programming specialists.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
3. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
4. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
5. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
6. University of Houston - Victoria
Victoria, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$6,491
Cost of attendance
19,075
7. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
8. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
9. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
10. Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,338
Cost of attendance
14,281
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for programming specialists
The hardest universities for programming specialists to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for programming specialists 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 programming specialists 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
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
7. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
10. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for programming specialists
The easiest schools for programming specialists to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and kean university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a programming specialist 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 programming specialists.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
3. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
4. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
5. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
6. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
9. Holy Family University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,017
10. William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
994
Average programming specialist salary by education level
| Programming specialist education level | Programming specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $65,919 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $49,331 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $59,988 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $53,431 |
Programming specialist education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025