Software Engineering

College of Science, Engineering and Mathematics
Department of Mathematical Sciences
(907) 474-7332
www.cs.uaf.edu

M.S.E. Degree

Minimum Requirements for Degree: 30 credits

Downloadable PDF (55K)

Software engineering is defined as "the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation and maintenance of software” (IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology).

Graduates of the UAF M.S.E. program will be prepared to develop high-quality software products which meet required deadlines within budget constraints, understand complex software-intensive systems and to participate in their development and application while adopting different process roles. Those roles include software architecture, software design, software construction, software test and software project management.

The UAF software engineering program is based on recommendations from Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute and standardization efforts such as the international SWEBOK (Software Engineering Body of Knowledge). Local, national and international employment opportunities for software engineers continue to be numerous.

Graduate Program—M.S.E. Degree

  1. Complete the UAF admission process including the following:
    1. Submit GRE general scores.
    2. Complete at least a bachelor’s degree at an accredited institution with a GPA of at least 3.0. Complete course work or possess practical knowledge at the advanced undergraduate level in each of the following areas: computer organization, discrete mathematics, algorithms and data structures, object-oriented programming (e.g., C++, FORTRAN95, or Java), and an in-depth knowledge of at least two of the following topics; compiler techniques, comparative programming languages, operating systems, or database systems.
    3. Have at least two years of relevant software development experience or equivalent.
  2. Complete the general university requirements.
  3. Complete the master’s degree requirements.
  4. Complete the following:

    CS 602—Software Project Management 3 credits

    SWE 671—Advanced Software Engineering 3 credits

    SWE 673—Software Requirements Engineering 3 credits

    SWE 674—Software Architecture 3 credits

    SWE 690—Graduate Seminar and Project 3 credits

    SWE 691—Graduate Seminar and Project 3 credits

    Approved electives 12 credits
  5. Minimum credits required 30

Note: Each student must take and pass a comprehensive examination covering material from all of the required courses listed in item 4 above. CS 670/SWE 670—Computer Science for Software Engineers is required as a deficiency course for students without B.S. in computer science.