Syllabus - Master's Programme in Software Engineering

Outcomes

Software affects us to an ever-increasing extent, both within industry and in our daily lives. Software Engineering deals with the design and development of high-quality software systems and is thus an increasingly important area of computer science. On completion of the programme the students are very attractive on the labour market nationally as well as internationally, both as experts in industry and in academia as researchers or future doctoral students. After their studies the students will be able to make careers as, for example, engineers, project managers, system architects, programmers or researchers within the area.

Knowledge and Understanding

Within the framework of the Master’s programme in Software Engineering the students acquire knowledge, competence and experience in the development of software and software-intensive systems in a global perspective, and thereby develop the ability to understand, design and implement such systems in the global market.

The students are educated to be able to work with software development within different industrial sectors (e.g. home electronics, the automotive industry, telemedicine, telecommunications), information and service sectors (financial institutes, transport services), consultancy, the public sector, the education sector and within academic research.

The students accumulate knowledge of the analysis, design and management of large and complex software systems. The students have the opportunity to specialise within two areas: a) software architecture, which comprises knowledge of modern trends which will dominate future software development, which includes dynamic architectures, component-based software development, service-oriented architectures and global system development; b) software engineering of embedded real-time systems, which include knowledge of the analysis, design and management of embedded and software-intensive systems. The students focus on solutions related to reliability, security, use of resources, predictability and similar qualities within real-time and embedded systems.

The students are aware of, and trained in working in, cultural, social and financial environments; they know how to communicate in a global network, within a global team, and also how to interpret and make use of diversity in their professional (and private) lives.

Aptitudes and Accomplishments

On completion of the degree programme the student shall:

• analytically apply general principles of software development in the development of complex software and software-intensive systems,
• demonstrate the necessary understanding of methods and techniques for software management, and also to be able to use these in various development situations,
• master general principles and techniques for dealing with quality attributes for various types of software systems (e.g. security and reliability),
• understand, plan and carry out independent work within various application domains,
• transcend cultural, social and financial differences and work in international teams,
• proactively plan and manage his/her future career, as well as personal development,
• select suitable tools for analysing and interpreting research findings , with regard to both quantity and quality, and
• reflect oneself and critically evaluate one’s own ability to deal with complex problems,
• search for, read, understand and evaluate research articles and thus be aware of the research front in software development, and also
• apply typical research methodologies to produce a research proposal, analyse research findings supported by the examination of existing research literature, and participate in research projects.

Ability to Evaluate and Assess

On completion of the degree programme the student shall:

• demonstrate the ability, in Computer Science, to make assessments with regard to relevant scientific, societal and ethical aspects, and also demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work,
• demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society and the responsibility of human beings for how this is used, and also
• demonstrate the ability to identify his/her need of further knowledge and be able to take responsibility for his/her own knowledge development.

Language of instruction

The language of instruction is English, which includes all teaching, examination and literature, etc.

Contents

The programme consists of 90 credits of theoretical courses along with an independent project (degree project) in Computer Science at second-cycle level, comprising 30 credits.

Year 1
Computer Science
Software Engineering, 15 credits
Software Verification and Validation, 7.5 credits
Component-based Technologies, 7.5 credits
Advanced Software Engineering, 7.5 credits
Project in Software Engineering, 15 credits

Elective 7.5 credits:
Computer Science
Intercultural Competence in Global Engineering, 7.5 credits
Advanced Software Verification and Validation,7.5 credits
Design of Reliable Systems, 7.5 credits
Advanced Component-based Software Engineering, 7.5 credits

Mathematics/Applied Mathematics
Numerical Methods with MATLAB, 7.5 credits

Elective in addition:
English
English for Academic Purposes, 7.5 credits

Computer Science
Development of Industrial Systems, 7.5 credits
Research Methods in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, 7.5 credits

Year 2
Computer Science
Research Methods in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, 7.5 credits
Distributed Software Development, 7.5 credits
Model-driven Software Development, 7.5 credits
Second-cycle Degree Project, Computer Science, 30 credits

Elective 7.5 credits:
Computer Science
Development of Industrial Systems, 7.5 credits

Mathematics/Applied Mathematics
Calculus II, 7.5 credits

Elective in addition:
Computer Science
Advanced Software Verification and Validation, 7.5 credits
Design of Reliable Systems, 7.5 credits
Advanced Component-based Software Engineering, 7.5 credits

Choices within the program

The programme consists of compulsory, elective and optional courses (optional in addition to the compulsory ones). The student will select at least 90 credits of courses at second-cycle level and a degree project in Computer Science at second-cycle level corresponding to 30 credits. The student also has the opportunity to choose between various projects, and also the specialisation of the degree project. All courses are selected in consultation with the programme coordinator to ensure the fulfilment of requirements for a degree.

University degree

The degree programme is so designed that the studies will lead towards fulfilment of the requirements for the following degree(s):

• Master of Science (120 credits) in Computer Science with Specialization in Software Engineering