Program Overview

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M.S. in Software Engineering

The Master of Science program in Software Engineering (MS.SWE) aims to provide well-trained software engineers to cope with the increasing complexity in software development for both critical and non-critical systems.

Program Features

The program requires thirty (30) credit hours, including twenty-four (24) credit hours of coursework and six (6) credit hours of thesis work. Nine (9) credit hours are core courses, and the program has another fifteen (15) credit hours of elective courses.

Course and Admission Requirements

Program Course Requirements

• The Master of Science in Software Engineering (MS.SWE) is offered with a thesis.
• The program requires thirty (30) credit hours, including:
  • Twenty-four (24) credit hours of coursework (i.e., 8 courses)
  • Six (6) credit hours of thesis work
• Nine (9) credit hours are core courses.
• The program has another fifteen (15) credit hours of elective courses, including:
  • Six (6) credit hours of software engineering elective courses
  • Three (3) credit hours of elective from computer science courses
  • Six (6) credit hours of elective courses from graduate courses approved by the ICS department

Software Engineering Core Courses

• SWE 515: Software Requirements Engineering
• SWE 516: Software Design
• SWE 526: Software Testing and Quality Assurance
• SWE 599: Graduate Seminars
• SWE 610: Master Thesis

Software Engineering Elective Courses

• SWE 531: Secure Software
• SWE 532: Web Applications Security
• SWE 536: Software Architecture
• SWE 539: Software Metrics
• SWE 566: Software Agents
• SWE 585: Empirical Software Engineering
• SWE 587: Software Project Management
• SWE 595: Special Topics in Software Engineering
• SWE 606: Independent Research
• SWE 634: Real-Time and Distributed Software with Reusable Components
• SWE 638: Software Maintenance and Re-Engineering

Free Elective Courses

• MS.SWE students are expected to take three (3) credit hours of elective from Computer Science (ICS) courses.
• Six (6) credit hours of elective courses from graduate courses (e.g., Computer Science (ICS), Computer Engineering (COE), Systems Engineering (SE), Electrical Engineering (EE), or Mathematics (MATH) courses) approved by the ICS department.

Admission Requirements

• The applicant should have the equivalent degree of an undergraduate software engineering degree from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
• Applicants with a four-year degree in related fields in science and engineering may be considered for admission.
• An applicant lacking adequate undergraduate training may be admitted if recommended by the department's graduate committee and the chairman, with the understanding that the coursework taken to remove the deficiency in the undergraduate training may not be credited towards the degree.

General University Admission Requirements for MS Degree

• A four-year Bachelor's (B.S.) Degree in engineering or science from a recognized institution with a major in the proposed field or evidence of suitable background for entering the proposed field.
• A Grade-Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher on a scale of 4.00 or equivalent, and a GPA of 3.00 in the subject of the major field.
• Completion of TOEFL with a minimum score of 520 (PBT), 190 (CBT), or 68 (IBT).
• Acceptable General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) which should also be reported directly.
• At least three letters of recommendation from the faculty who taught the applicant undergraduate courses.

Program Objectives and Student Outcomes

Program Educational Objectives

• The graduates of the MS.SWE will have the necessary core skills based on the core body of knowledge in software engineering.
• Exhibit leadership in the Software Engineering.
• Have a strong foundation for further research and discovery leading to a Ph.D. degree.

Program Outcomes

• Graduates of the MS.SWE program will be able to apply proper theoretical and practical knowledge of software requirements engineering and software systems design.
• Self-learn new models, techniques, and technologies as they emerge.
• Analyze the current significant software technology; articulate its strengths and weaknesses, and improvements.
• Recognize the relationships between the core body of knowledge in software engineering and other related engineering disciplines.
• Reconcile conflicts in software project objectives, finding acceptable compromises within limitations of cost, time, and organization's core business.
• Carry out literature review, develop research proposal, and conduct research in specific topics related to software engineering core areas.

Degree Plan

Course No.	Title	LT	LB	CR
First Semester
SWE 515	Software Requirements Engineering	3	0	3
SWE 516	Software Design	3	0	3
SWE 5XX	Software Engineering Elective Course I	3	0	3
Second Semester
SWE 526	Software Testing and Quality Assurance	3	0	3
ICS 5XX	Computer Science Elective	3	0	3
YYY 5XX	Elective Course	3	0	3
Third Semester
YYY 5XX	Elective Course	3	0	3
SWE 5XX	Software Engineering Elective Course II	3	0	3
SWE 599	Graduate Seminar	1	0	0
Fourth Semester
SWE 610	MS Thesis			6