Master of Software Engineering

The MSE program at Seattle University is designed for working professionals. Our classes are typically offered in the evenings. The program builds on the computing experience of its students by providing course work in a variety of software engineering and computer science topics, with an emphasis on teamwork and a disciplined approach to software development. We offer a balanced curriculum of technical and managerial courses, with a choice of elective streams to address areas of personal interest. The principles and techniques learned throughout the course work are integrated into a year-long software project as the capstone experience.

Seattle University has long been a leader in software engineering education. It established its pioneering MSE program in 1979, and awarded the world’s first MSE degree in 1982.

Our graduate faculty has extensive industrial experience as well as strong academic credentials. Our curriculum has been shaped by close contacts with local industry, ensuring that courses are relevant to the workplace and that projects are tailored to the professional needs of our students.

Degree Requirements:

Minimum requirements for the degree are 45 graduate credits. These include 27 credits of required courses, 9 credits of elective courses, and 9 credits of software engineering project. Core courses in computing (CSSE 501 and CSSE 503 ) may be waived for students passing a placement exam, and replaced by additional electives. A maximum of 3 credits of 59x courses may be taken toward the MSE degree without department approval. A maximum of 12 credits taken in non-matriculated status may be applied to this program. Transfer credit regulations are described earlier in this Bulletin. All degree requirements must be completed within six years after course work has begun.

I. Computing Concepts

6 CSSE credits (required unless waived):

II. Software Design and Development

15 CSSE credits required:

III. Project Management

6 CSSE credits required:

IV. Required Project Courses

9 CSSE credits, including:

V. Program Electives

9 Elective credits

Can be chosen from the following categories or from any other graduate courses in software engineering. Students may take up to 6 credits of graduate courses from other programs with department approval.

Computing Concepts

Software Design and Development

Project Management

Minimum credits required for degree: (45)

Elective Courses

Unless otherwise indicated at the time of offering, any regularly scheduled graduate course in software engineering other than the core courses and the project courses may be used to satisfy the elective course requirement. Students may also take a maximum of three credits of Special Topics (CSSE 591 , CSSE 592 , CSSE 593 ), Software Engineering Seminar (CSSE 594 ), Independent Study (CSSE 596 , CSSE 597 , CSSE 598 ), or Internship (CSSE 595 ) for elective credit, without department approval. With departmental approval, up to six credits of graduate-level courses from other departments, especially selected graduate courses from the Albers School of Business at Seattle University are acceptable for elective credit.

Software Engineering Project

Satisfactory performance in the three-quarter software engineering project sequence (CSSE 585 , CSSE 586 , and CSSE 587 ) is required of all MSE students. Students are grouped into teams that complete a significant software project. Students who are not full-time are expected to take only the project sequence in their final year. Students are encouraged not to begin the software engineering project sequence unless CSSE 587 will be their final course in the program. All participants in the project sequence will be required to sign a Seattle University intellectual property (IP) and computer project room agreement, and may be required to sign an IP agreement with the project sponsor.