Department of Computer Science

Master of Engineering - Focus in Software Engineering

Computer Science

Master of Engineering - Focus in Software Engineering

Complex software intensive systems permeate every aspect of our lives. These systems are among the most complex products humankind has ever tackled. Software Engineering is the disciplined application of proven principles, techniques, and tools to the creation and maintenance of cost effective, user friendly software systems that solve real problems.

To accommodate the demand for well educated software engineers in almost all industries today, UCCS has established the Master of Engineering degree with a Focus in Software Engineering. UCCS offers a unique environment to study, learn, and share experiences surrounding this special engineering discipline. Our faculty comes from a broad spectrum of backgrounds. Many have had years of experience in industry prior to joining the faculty. The result is a diverse melting pot of ideas, technologies, and experiences.

 
Objectives & Outcomes

Objectives:

  • Graduates of the MESE program can manage a mid to large size software project.
  • Graduates of the MESE program contribute as a productive member in a software team for large software project.
  • Graduates of the MESE program practice lifelong learning and keep themselves up to date with emerging Software Engineering knowledge.
  • Graduates of the MESE program contribute to Software Engineering Journals and Conferences.

Outcomes:

  • Students should know the proven principles/techniques/tools, current standards, and best practices of Software Engineering.
  • Students can perform independent research in the area of Software Engineering.
  • Students can apply the Software Engineering process in the software system project.
  • Students have developed effective communication skills and professionalism.
Admissions Requirements

Requirements for Admission

  1. A Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics, computer science, engineering,  or information systems.
  2. An overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0; awarded within the past five years) or minimum 148 GRE (required only if GPA for the Bachelor's degree is below 3.0), quantitative portion. Applicants with a grade point average of less than 3.0 or awarded more than five years ago may be admitted on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with a grade point average between 2.75 and 3.0 awarded within the past five years may be admitted provisionally.  
  3. It is recommended that the applicant have two years experience with commercial, industrial or government software development or maintenance.
  4. A concise statement of experience and career goals.
  5. A completed online application, including all required supporting documentation.
  6. Resume.
  7. Three letters of recommendation.
  8. Applicants with any foreign post-secondary course work should submit a course-by-course evaluation by a NACES member.
  9. International Applicants:  All of the above items plus:
  • International students applying for the program should have all application materials into the Admissions Office at UCCS by March 1st for Fall Semester and by October 1st for Spring Semester. Applications received later than these dates or incomplete by these dates may be considered for the following semester. It is the student's responsibility to follow up to make sure all materials are received on time.  
  • All sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required, with at least 148 on the quantitative portion, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
    • The applicant has a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above from an ABET-accredited Computer Science or a closely related program from within the U.S.
  • A TOEFL score of 80 of higher, an ILETS of 6.5 or higher, or a Duolingo exam score of 115 will be required for proof of English Proficiency. If the student has completed a degree in the US, this requirement may be waived.  
  • Course by Course Evaluation: Upon the successful completion of your online application, you will receive a private link to upload each foreign post-secondary transcript from institutions you have attended. These transcripts must include all courses and grades, must be issued in the original language, and be accompanied by certified English translations when applicable. This service is provided at no cost for UCCS applicants. More details will be communicated to you via email after we received your completed application. Please make sure to check your email for the uploading instructions 

Course Prerequisites

  • Knowledge of a modern programming language, e.g., Pascal, Java, or C++
  • CS 1450 Data Structures and Algorithms
  • Math 2150 Discrete Mathematics
  • CS 3300 Software Engineering

Note: Some of these courses may have prerequisites, and any comparable course from another approved university will suffice.

Financial Aid Information

For financial aid consideration we encourage you to apply by March 1st. Most scholarships and fellowships are given to Fall applicants, not Spring applicants. If you are an international student who will need a visa, we recommend you complete the application process by March 1st to give enough time for application review and visa processing. If your application comes after the posted semester deadline, it will be considered for the following term.

Streamlined Application Process

A Streamlined Application is designed to offer outstanding UCCS students who have completed a BSCS, BICS, BI Security, or BI GDD degrees and alumni an expedited application to the graduate school in participating programs.

  • If you are interested in applying, please fill out the regular application. Once you select that you have previously attended UCCS, it will ask you if you will be submitting the streamlined application.  The GRE and English Proficiency requirements are waived for Streamlined Applicants.
  • Submit the application, a $60 non-refundable application fee
  • Minimum GPA of 3.0
  • Must be about to graduate or graduated in the last 1 year
  • Letter of Recommendation from the Chair

For application information: How To Apply

Application Deadlines:

Fall Start: April 1st 

Spring Start: November 1st



Our Fall application deadline is April 1st. For scholarship consideration we encourage you to apply by March 1st. If you are an international student who will need a visa, we recommend you complete the application process as early as possible to give enough time for application review and visa processing.

Program Information

Click here for Program Guidelines

Degree Requirements

  • CS-5300 Advanced Software Engineering
  • CS-5310 Software Requirements
  • CS-5320 Software Design
  • CS-5340 Software Maintenance
  • CS-5350 Software Project Management

One of the following options:

  • CS 7000 Thesis (6 credit hours), plus three elective graduate courses
  • CS 7010 Project (3 credit hours), plus four elective graduate courses
  • Project Portfolio (see description below) plus five elective graduate courses

Unlimited cross-listed courses can be applied to the requirements of the degree program. The electives may be any computer science course numbered 5020 or above. Up to two of the elective courses could be taken outside computer science if they are pre-approved by the student's advisor.

Project Portfolio

Portfolio Specification

This is a 5-10 page paper that describes at least one, and at most four, projects in which the student has been engaged. For each project it will describe the overall project objectives, the team, the students’ role on the team, the formal software engineering/development methodology used, and the lifecycle stages in which the student was engaged. It should explicitly relate the project(s) to at least 2 of the MESE courses that the student has completed. It should also include examples - at least one example work artifact from the software engineering process, with the artifact(s) not counting toward the 5 page minimum length. The document should be a formal technical paper. It is recommended that students include appropriate references to relevant software engineering sources, such as books, papers and blogs. 

Portfolio Timing 

Students may submit their portfolio at any time after having completed 6 credits, and for work-related experience, it is strongly recommended it be submitted after completing 15-18 credits to allow the opportunity for taking one or more project intensive courses if the work experience is not deemed sufficient. In any case, the portfolio must be completed before the student can apply for graduation. If the proposal/experience is deemed insufficient experience, the student will be required to take a software engineering project intensive course and then resubmit. The program will ensure that a course designated as a software engineering project intensive course will be offered once per year, however a project intensive course may not be available every semester. 

Portfolio Approval Process 

The portfolio will be submitted to the MESE program adviser, in electronic form, with a copy to the department administrator. Review/analysis may take 2-4 weeks. If confidential information is included as part of the project, this can be presented in a full/revised state in a review meeting. Prepare a 15 minute presentation to discuss your portfolio. In your presentation, explain your project, your specific work in the project, and how your MESE education has or has not supported the process you’ve conducted, and explain all artifacts. The MESE program adviser can either approve it directly, or may call for a committee of relevant faculty. If minor revisions are requested, they may be resubmitted that term. If the portfolio is rejected or requires major revisions, the student will have to complete a project intensive course before resubmission and hence the portfolio may not be resubmitted until completion of said course.

For application information: How To Apply

For more information please contact the Computer Science Department.

Procedures & Requirements for Graduation

The Computer Science Department adheres to all minimum requirements of the UCCS Graduate School in addition to its own policies and procedures. To learn more about Graduate School policies, please visit https://graduateschool.uccs.edu/current-students/policies-and-procedures.

The Program Guideline requirements are outlined on the Program Information page.

Graduation Requirements

The following is needed in order to graduate:

  • An overall 3.0 grade point average in all graduate work
  • 30 credit hours is required
  • All work applied to the degree must be accomplished within a six year time limit
  • Up to 9 credit hours of relevant graduate work may be transferred from an accredited graduate program at another institution or taken as a non-degree seeking student at UCCS, provided course work has not been used for any other degree, grade earned for the course(s) is B or better, the course work has been taken within past six years, and the course coverage is equal in level, content, and depth to the course for which is it being substituted.
  • All courses included to count for this degree must be part of an approved plan of study. This plan must be developed by the student and approved by his/her advisor prior to completing 12 credit hours of course work.

Advisory Committee

Each new student will initially interact with a computer science graduate advisor. This will usually be the Chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC). As early as possible in the MESE program, the student must select a computer science graduate faculty member to serve as academic advisory, research director, and chairman of the student's Advisory Committee. In conjunction with this advisory, the student must invite at least two other graduate faculty members to serve as Advisory Committee members. The Advisory Committee will provide any necessary direction to the student as well as be responsible for approving the Plan of Study and administering the final oral examination.

Plan of Study

The student, in consultation with his/her major advisor, must complete a Plan of Study consisting of at least 30 credit hours. The Plan of Study must be submitted prior to the completion of 12 credit hours of graduate work. This document specifies the courses and options chosen by the student and must be approved by the student's Advisory Committee and the Chairman of the GSC. With Advisory Committee approval, the Plan of Study may be changed during the course of the student's graduate program.

Final Oral Examination (Defense)

With either the thesis or project options, the student is required to pass an oral examination on work presented for the degree. The final oral examination should be scheduled according to the deadlines established by the UCCS Graduate School Office. If the student wrote a thesis (CS 7000), the examination will consist of a defense to the thesis and its foundations. If the student chooses to do a project (CS 7010), the examination will consist of a defense of the project and its foundations. It is the responsibility of the Advisory Committee to administer the examination and to report the results to the Graduate School. It is the responsibility of the student to upload a copy of the thesis or project report to the GSC repository following the instructions given at the time the defense is scheduled, at least one week (preferably two weeks) in advance of the scheduled examination and to schedule the examination in concurrence with the Advisory Committee. This examination is open to the public.

If the student fails the final oral examination, the student may not attempt the examination again until at least three months have elapsed and until the student has covered such work as may be prescribed by the Advisory Committee. The student may retake the examination only once. If this examination is failed twice, the student will be terminated from the program.

A master's degree student must be registered either for course work or as "Candidate for Degree" (CS 9990, 0 credit hours) the semester in which the final oral examination is scheduled.

For more information please contact the Computer Science Department.

 

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