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

Download the Minor in Software Engineering Brochure (PDF)

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 Introduction to Computer Programming
CS 211 or CS 222 Object-oriented Programming or Computer Programming for Engineers

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 CS department office, room 4300, Engineering Building to get an advisor's signature.

Software Engineering Course Descriptions

SWE course descriptions and CS course descriptions (for CS 112 and CS 211) are listed in the University Catalog.