The Master of Science in Software Engineering program offered by the Department of Computing Sciences provides the rigorous foundations needed by practitioners in the field to produce reliable, modifiable and understandable software. The program emphasizes the application of the state of the art in software analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance, and the critical interactions between the phases. Students gain experience with CASE tools, formal methods, object-oriented analysis and design, software reuse techniques, software maintenance, and project management. The required capstone courses, the Thesis Projects, provide an opportunity to put together all of the student's knowledge into a major individual project. Some projects are performed in conjunction with local firms.

The program was first started in 1990 and the first group of students graduated in 1993. The student body is comprised of full-time students who come from the tri-state area, part-time students who work for local companies, and international students from different countries. Students in the program learn in small classes taught by full-time faculty and enjoy a close contact with their instructors. We currently have eight full-time faculty, five with doctorates. The University is well known for the quality of its teaching. Quality teaching requires staying abreast of current developments in the field and our faculty has a strong commitment to scholarship and is involved in development and research in the field.

The program requires 36 graduate credits distributed in three areas. The first area is Fundamentals and comprises four courses totaling 12 credits. The courses are:

The following table lists the course schedule for the next four years. Please note that some of courses are cycled, i.e., SE516, SE510, SE524, and SE532 are offered every other year. When planning your study schedule, please make sure to take this course cycling into consideration so you do not miss any course you must take before your planned graduation date.

The course titles for the course numbers in the table are listed here for your convenient reference. For the detailed description of each course, please refer to the Graduate School Catalog.

For full-time students, find the current academic year in the table. The courses marked with F1 (F: full-time, 1: first year) are for first year students and the courses marked with F2 (F: full-time, 2: second year) are for second year students in the program. When a course is marked with F12, it should be taken by all full-time students (both first and second year). For example, in the spring semester of 2003, the first year full-time students should register in SE504, SE507, and SE532 which are marked with F1, and the second year full-time students should register in SE521, SE532, and SE599 which are marked with F2.

Part-time students should take courses marked with P1 (P: part-time, 1: first year) for your first year in the program; take courses marked with P2 (2: second year) for your second year; take courses marked with P3 (3: third year) for your third year. Both second year and third year part-time students should take the courses marked with P23. For example, in the spring semester of 2003, first year part-time students should register in SE504 and SE507, second year students in SE521 and SE532, and third year students in SE532 and SE599.

Prior to each semester, a two-week advance registration will be held. All continuing students are expected to register during this period of time. Please be warned that if you fail to register during the advance registration period, you may pay a higher registration fee. (This is not applicable to newly admitted students.) Registration forms, the course schedule, and registration instructions will be available in the secretary office of the Department of Computing Sciences and the Graduate Office.

If you follow the schedule as recommended in the previous section, you may complete the form and send it to the Program Director or the secretary of the Department. The Program Director will sign the form and forward it to the Graduate Office. If you do not follow the recommended schedule, you must consult with the Program Director. Make sure that you provide on the form a daytime phone number.

To drop or withdraw from a course, students must complete a Schedule Change form (which is available in the Graduate Office) and submit it to the Graduate Office. No Program Director's approval is needed for dropping and/or withdrawing from a course. See the academic calendar for deadlines and refund policies.

To add a course, students must complete a Schedule Change form and must obtain approval from the Program Director. The completed form with Program Director's approval must be submitted to the Graduate Office by the "add deadline" which may vary from year to year.

The primary computing resource within the Department of Computing Sciences is a network of Intel-based computers running the UNIX operating system and Microsoft Windows 2000. All departmental computers are networked, providing full access to the Internet and, in particular, the World Wide Web. Other computing resources available to students include a large DEC timesharing system and several IBM-compatible PC labs. The DEC system, as well as the department's computers, are accessible 24 hours a day via the campus network.

Normally a SE student may access two different computer systems, the university’s computer system and the computer system in the Computer Sciences Department with two different user ID’s. A student also has two separate email addresses for the two systems. The user ID for the university system generally consists of the last name followed by the first name initial and a number. For example, for John D. Smith, the user ID and the email address may look like

For your department email account you can “telnet” to server1.cs.uofs.edu or server2.cs.uofs.edu and then use “pine” to read your email.

For the university email account you may contact the University Help Desk in AMH building in person, or call 941-HELP for details.

Your university account is normally set up when you apply for your Royal Card. Your department account is generally set up when you first time take class. Talk to your instructor(s) for your department account.

Read the section on Policy Changes, Academic Integrity and Student Conduct in the Graduate School Catalog.

Feel free to express your concerns to and ask questions of all members of the Department of Computing Sciences faculty. You may contact any of the faculty members in person, by phone, via email, and by postal mail. During regular semesters, every faculty member has his/her schedule posted on the office door. If you cannot meet the professor during his/her scheduled office hours, you may make an appointment via email or through the department secretary in room T483 of St. Thomas Hall (phone 941-7774). The following lists information about the faculty members and the graduate courses they normally teach.

    * The deadline for theses varies from year to year and it is normally around the last Friday of April. You must adhere to the Graduate School deadline in order to graduate in time.