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Texas State CS > Graduate Program > Master of Science in Software Engineering

Master of Science in Software Engineering

Overview

Software engineering is the practical application of scientific knowledge in the analysis, design, construction and implementation of software systems and the associated documentation required to develop, operate, and maintain them. The Master of Science degree in Software Engineering has been designed to allow students to specialize in the complex and rapidly evolving field of software development. The degree will help students leverage their technical and managerial skills in new or existing careers.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the software-engineering curriculum are to:

  • Provide students with a broad knowledge of software engineering processes, methods and tools.
  • Provide leadership in advancing the state of the practice in software engineering research and education.
  • Provide students with the specific knowledge and skills required to analyze and design complex software systems.
  • Prepare students for careers and career advancement in software engineering, doctoral research, and teaching.

Implicit in the curriculum is the development of skills in engineering project planning and management group dynamics, and teams and real world problem analysis.

Serving the Professional Community

The Department of Computer Science has made special efforts to schedule evening classes to accommodate computing professionals. Most evening classes meet for three hours once per week. Courses at Texas State make extensive use of the Internet and the university offers dial-in facilities for network access. This allows many of the university's computing resources to be accessed off-site.

While on campus, students get to interact with computing professionals from the Austin and San Antonio areas. The broad background and experience of the graduate student body provides insight into practical software engineering issues that cannot be obtained from books alone.

By attending classes two or three nights per week, many students find it feasible to complete their degrees in two years under both the 36-hour non-thesis and the 30-hour thesis options.

Courses

The curriculum consists of classes that provide specific coverage of software engineering concepts as well as the necessary technical skills to develop software. The core software engineering courses include:

In addition, students can choose courses from other areas  in computer science to satisfy other core and elective requirements.  These areas include:

  •  Algorithm Design and Analysis
  •  Database Theory and Design
  •  Network and Communication Systems
  •  Operating Systems
  •  Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
  •  Design of Programming Languages
  •  Human Factors of Computer Science
  •  Data Structures
  •  Object-Oriented System Development
  •  Multimedia Computing
  •  Simulation and Modeling
  •  Computer Architecture and Design
  •  Concurrent Programming and Parallel processes
  •  Distributed systems
  •  Computer Vision and Neural Networks

All core courses will be offered at the San Marcos campus. Some of the core courses such as CS5394 & CS5396 may not be offered at RRHEC.

Admissions Policy

Applicants to the software-engineering program will be required to:

  • Meet the Graduate College's grade-point average requirement of "no less than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale on the last 60 hours leading up to the bachelor's degree".
  • Have a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 1000 (Verbal and Quantitative portion combined), including at least 300 on the Verbal portion and 600 on the Quantitative portion. The official result of the GRE must be on file in the Graduate College before an application for admission can be considered.
  • Meet any additional basic requirements for admission to the Graduate College. The basic Graduate College admissions requirements for a degree-seeking student can be found in the "Admission Policies" section of the Texas State Graduate Catalog. Individuals may apply for non-degree seeking "special student" admission from the Graduate College to enroll in computer science background courses before completing the GRE requirement.

International students have additional admission requirements and should reference the "Admission Policies" section of the Texas State graduate Catalog.

Background Requirements

Students may be required to take some undergraduate courses if they do not have a sufficient undergraduate computer science background. The minimum undergraduate background requirements are:

No less than a C and no more than two C's in:

No grade below a C in:

Texas State University-San Marcos

Texas State is located in San Marcos, Texas. San Marcos is situated at the edge of the Texas Hill Country and lies between Austin and San Antonio along Interstate 35. Austin is a fast-growing center of high tech industries and research consortia. Texas State's close proximity to both Austin and San Antonio provides graduate students with numerous opportunities in computer-oriented research, internships, and employment.

Contact Information

For more information about the graduate program in Computer Science, contact:

Texas State University
Department of Computer Science
Attn.: Graduate Advisor
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666-4616
Telephone: (512) 245-3409
FAX: (512) 245-8750
E-mail: i n f o at c s dot t x s t a t e dot e d u
http://www.cs.txstate.edu

To obtain more detailed information about master's programs, to apply for graduate admission, or to apply for non-degree special student admission, please write to:

Texas State University - San Marcos
The Graduate College
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666-4605
Telephone:(512) 245-2581
Fax: (512) 245-8365
E-mail: g r a d c o l l e g e at t x s t a t e dot e d u
http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu

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