Software Engineering, MS

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An interdisciplinary program with the Department of Computer and Information Science administered by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Stilwell Hall 332
(216) 687-2589
http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/academics/gradprograms.html

Fuqin Xiong, Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Yongjian Fu, Graduate Program Co-Director
Nigamanth Sridhar, Graduate Program Co-Director

Department of Computer and Information Science

Ahuja Hall 344
(216) 687-4760
http://cis.csuohio.edu

Santosh Misra, Chair, Computer and Information Sciences

Introduction

The Master of Science in Software Engineering (MSSE) program is the first of its kind in Ohio. It is a joint, interdisciplinary program between the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the College of Business Administration’s Department of Computer and Information Science (CIS). The program is the successor to the Graduate Certificate Program in Software Engineering and is intended for both practicing professionals, as well as full-time students in the areas of software engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or information management.

The program introduces students to current and best practices in the engineering of software systems. A distinguishing feature is its emphasis on the architecture, design, quality, management, and economics aspects of software engineering. Students take a project from start to completion, learning the requirements of specific deliverables and the development life cycle. Critical management issues, such as risk assessment, project planning, and market analysis, are also covered. The program exposes students to new technological developments in an advancing field and how to apply their knowledge in the workplace. Graduates meet the demands of industry and address the needs of information technology professionals, in general, and software
engineers, in particular.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department recently commissioned a new state-of-theart Software Engineering instructional laboratory, fully equipped with hardware and software required to meet the needs of all courses in the curriculum. The department also maintains the Software Engineering Research Laboratory to support research. The lab is equipped with desktop computers and servers connected via a LAN. Students have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge research in Software Engineering.

Two major computer facilities are used by the Department of Computer and Information Science to support teaching and research: a networked laboratory of basic and advanced personal computers; and clusters of UNIX workstations, including HP Itanium, Sun Sparc/Ultra, SGI Indy/O2, IBM RS/6000, and Dell Linux workstations. These machines are connected to Fast Ethernet, ATM, and/or FDDI LANs. All laboratories are available to students for both course work and research. The networks are connected to the University fiber backbone which, in turn, is linked to national networks.

Faculty Research

The members of the Software Engineering faculty are engaged in research in several areas suitable for student theses and dissertations. These include software design, component-based software engineering, middle-ware systems, embedded software, data mining, mobile computing, fault-tolerant computing, computer and network security, peer-to-peer and grid computing, distributed computing, operating systems, languages, algorithm design and analysis, computer graphics and computational geometry, performance evaluation, object-oriented programming, software metrics, program analysis, multimedia computing, and bioinformatics. Results of research in these areas are published regularly in referred journals, such as transactions of IEEE, and are presented at scholarly conferences and symposia.

Faculty members from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer and Information Science participate in the program. Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page:

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Financial Assistance

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers a number of research and teaching assistantships and graduate tuition grants. In addition, internships in local industry are available.

Admission Information

Admission to the program requires a minimum undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of 3.0. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are required for all international students.

The GRE is also required if one or more of the following conditions is true:

The undergraduate degree was awarded by a college or university outside of the United States or Canada, or by a Canadian institution not accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers.
An unaccredited college or university awarded the undergraduate degree.
The undergraduate degree was in a discipline unrelated to software engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or information management.
The student’s undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is below 3.0.
The year of the baccalaureate degree precedes the date of application to the College of Graduate Studies by more than six years.

Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and computer engineering are encouraged to apply. All applicants must demonstrate prerequisite knowledge in the following areas:

Data structures and algorithms
Programming languages
Databases
Discrete mathematics
Probability and statistics
Computer organization
Computer networks
Operating systems

Applicants in related fields will also be considered for admission, but they may be required to take additional prerequisite courses. Credits earned for prerequisite courses cannot be used to meet the MSSE requirements.

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/gradcollege/admissions/apply.html

Degree Requirements

Students in the MSSE program may elect a thesis option or a non-thesis option. All students, and particularly those intending to pursue a doctoral degree, are encouraged to select the thesis option.

All students
The MSSE program is planned around a core of required topics and a number of technical electives. All students must complete the core courses listed below.
Thesis option students
Students are required to take 28 credit hours of course work and 6 hours of thesis, for a total of 34 credit hours.
Non-thesis option students
Students are required to take 32 credit hours of course work and 4 credit hours of Software Engineering Project (EEC 626 ), for a total of 36 credit hours.

Core Courses

Elective Courses

Only one of the following courses is permitted to count towards degree requirements for the MSSE program:

Exit Requirements

For thesis option students, acceptance of the thesis by the thesis committee and passing an oral defense of the thesis are required. Students must follow the Thesis and Dissertation Format Guidelines, available from the College of Graduate Studies.

For non-thesis option students, successful completion of EEC 626 - Software Engineering Project is required.

For further information about the MS in Software Engineering program, please contact the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at (216) 687-2589.