Master of Science in
Software Engineering
Whether a student is a recent college graduate or seeking a career change, Embry-Riddle’s Master of Science in Software Engineering is designed to help graduates excel in the endless field of software development. The keystone of the Master of Science in Software Engineering program is developing software systems for some of the world’s most sophisticated and demanding applications, like those found in aircraft, spacecraft, and medical systems.
The Department faculty have active collaborative research projects with major corporations, government agencies, and internationally recognized research organizations, so Software Engineering graduate students can be assured their education will allow them to meet industry demands. Program graduates excel in careers with aerospace, aviation, defense, and medical companies, among others.
From small classes and high-tech labs, to internationally renowned faculty with experience in the fields of high-dependability software, quality assurance, and embedded real-time systems, ERAU has much to offer.
The Master of Science in Software Engineering program has achieved 100 percent placement of its graduates within one year of program completion. And since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics foresees software engineering as one of the fastest-growing occupations in coming years, those with advanced degrees will be in high demand.
Group projects, that replicate the work environments found in industry, and hands-on learning opportunities, combine with coursework in core areas of software engineering to provide every necessary element for success. Students will work with embedded, real-time, high-dependability systems that are in high demand across broad industries.
In addition to the technical knowledge, students will gain mastery in communication, management, and planning skills, all of which will be of immeasurable value.
To ensure that the program curriculum remains current and sensitive to industry trends, input is solicited directly from representatives in a variety of industries. The curriculum incorporates the key practices of the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) capability maturity model (CMM).
DETAILS
About Software Engineering at the Daytona Beach, FL Campus
Housed in the Department of Electrical, Computer, Software, and Systems Engineering in the College of Engineering, the M.S. in Software Engineering degree program is designed to give college graduates an opportunity to enhance their careers and work on the cutting edge of modern software development, and thus move into positions of responsibility in software development organizations. The process-centered quantitative approach to the course work in the degree program not only gives students the technical tools and techniques they need but also skills in communication, group interaction, and management.
- The program emphasizes the engineering of real-time embedded software systems encountered in such applications as FAA air traffic control computer systems, aircraft avionics, and similar systems.
- A typical first year will include core courses such as Software Engineering Discipline, Software Project Management, and Object-Oriented Software Construction.
- Students have access to a number of highly specialized labs and facilities.
Introduction
The Master of Science in Software Engineering (MSSE) degree program is designed to give recent college graduates, or college graduates who have had several years of professional life, an opportunity to enhance their careers and work on the leading-edge of modern software development. Software engineers who complete this program can rapidly assume positions of substantial responsibility in a software development organization.
The degree program achieves its purpose by providing students not only with the technical tools and techniques of the field but also with skills in communication, group interaction, management, and planning. The program emphasizes a process-centered quantitative approach to the engineering of software systems. The goal of the program is to give graduates an in-depth understanding of the tools, techniques, and appropriate processes for the management of software development, elicitation and analysis of requirements, architecture and design, implementation, and verification and validation of software systems. In addition, the program pays special attention to the issues related to communication and teamwork.
The program emphasizes real-time embedded software systems such as encountered in the FAA’s air traffic control computer systems, aircraft avionics, spacecraft electronics, and other safety-critical systems such as medical devices and automotive control. The MSSE curriculum incorporates key practices from the Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM) throughout the program.
The curriculum for the program is structured into three groups of courses: core courses (15 credits), specified electives (6 to 12 credits) and a capstone experience (3 to 9 credits). The capstone experience is obtained by one of the two following options: a) the student must complete a 9 credit Graduate Thesis, SE 700 or b) the student must complete a 3 credit capstone experience which entails a major project that involves applications of the theory, practices, and technology studied in the other core courses. Students choosing the second option may take a project development practicum, SE 697, to satisfy the capstone experience or, in special cases, the capstone experience can be satisfied by completing a graduate research project (GRP), SE 690. If the GRP is chosen, prior to registering for SE 690 a faculty member must agree to be a GRP advisor and the student must obtain approval of a GRP research area.
Courses available as specified electives include metrics and statistical methods for software engineering, performance analysis of software systems, concurrent and distributed systems, software safety, and formal methods for software engineering.
An accelerated combined undergraduate and graduate program leading to a MSSE is available and is described elsewhere in this catalog.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete 18 credit hours of core courses.
| CS 532 | Software Security Assessment | 3 |
| SE 510 | Software Project Management | 3 |
| SE 530 | Software Requirements Engineering | 3 |
| SE 550 | Current Trends in Software Engineering | 3 |
| SE 610 | Software Systems Architecture and Design | 3 |
| SE 625 | Software Quality Engineering and Assurance | 3 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Non-Thesis Option
| SE 690 | Graduate Research Project | 3 |
| or SE 697 | Software Engineering Practicum | |
| Specified Software Engineering Electives | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 12 | |
Thesis Option
| SE 700 | Graduate Thesis | 6 |
| Specified Software EngineeringElectives | 6 | |
Specified Software Engineering Electives:
| Select from the following list of specified electives: | 6-9 | |
| SE 500 | Software Engineering Discipline | 3 |
| SE 505 | Model-Based Verification of Software | 3 |
| SE 520 | Formal Methods for Software Engineering | 3 |
| SE 535 | User Interface Design and Evaluation | 3 |
| SE 545 | Specification and Design of Real-Time Systems | 3 |
| SE 555 | Object-Oriented Software Construction | 3 |
| SE 590 | Graduate Seminar | 3 |
| SE 599 | Special Topics in Software Engineering | 1-6 |
| SE 696 | Graduate Internship in Software Engineering | 1-3 |
| SE 699 | Special Topics in Software Engineering | 3 |
| CS 527 | System Exploitation and Penetration Testing | 3 |
| CS 528 | Multi-Agent Systems | 3 |
| CS 529 | Computer Security | 3 |
| CS 538 | Applied Cryptography | 3 |
| CS 540 | Database and Data Retrieval | 3 |
| CS 602 | Big Data Analytics for Cybersecurity | 3 |
| MA 544 | Data Visualization | 3 |
| MA 615 | Data Driven Modeling | 3 |
| MA 625 | Computing for Data Compression, Image and Signal Processing | 3 |
| SYS 505 | System Safety and Certification | 3 |
Note: Other electives may be authorized based on the student’s background, program of study, performance during the MSSE, and approval of the MSSE program coordinator.
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