Minor in Software Engineering

Masters Programs

MS-SWE

Accelerated BS-MS programs

SWE for GMU CS students

SWE for IT CS students

Graduate Certificate Programs

SWE

21st century engineers, mathematicians, and scientists will spend much of their career writing software.

Modeling physical processes
Programs to solve complex numerical problems
Visualization of complex phenomena
Solving mathematical systems

Traditional computer science focuses on efficiency, both in terms of process and product. The minor in software engineering will teach students how to engineer large, high quality software programs that are: Reliable, scalable, efficient, secure, saffe, usable, maintainable, and available

The minor in software engineering is designed to teach students to design and build high quality software. This minor is open to all majors, and especially appropriate for students in:

Biology
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Computational Science and Informatics
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Earth Science
Economics
Electrical Engineering
Finance
Information Technology
Mathematics
Physics
Systems Engineering

Minor Requirements

Candidates for the minor in software engineering must complete 16 credits (5 courses) in software engineering with a minimum GPA of 2.00. The minor is comprised of:

Two mandatory CS courses:

CS 112 Computer Science I
CS 211 Computer Science II

Three from the following list of courses:

CS / SWE 332 Object-Oriented Software Design and Implementation
CS / SWE 421 Software Requirements and Design Modeling ^†
SWE 432 Design and Implementation of Software for the Web
SWE 437 Software Testing and Maintenance
SWE 443 Software Architectures

The general university requirements for a minor can be found in the Academic Policies section of the GMU catalog.

^† GMU regulations require that "at least 8 credits must be applied only to that minor, and may not be used to fulfill requirements of the student's major." Thus CS majors can only apply two courses from CS 112, CS 211 and CS / SWE 421 toward the minor in software engineering.

Declaring the Minor

To declare for the minor in Software Engineering, you will need to submit a Change/Declaration of Academic Program form. The form (in PDF) can be downloaded from the registrar's website. Take the form to the ISE department office, room 330 S&T II, to get an advisor's signature.

Software Engineering Course Descriptions

SWE course descriptions are also in the University Catalog Course listing at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/courses/swe.html

CS course descriptions (for CS 112 and CS 211) are in the University Catalog Course listing at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/courses/cs.html

For Further Information

Additional information on the program is available from the MSIS Student Advisor (iseadvsr@gmu.edu)