M.S. in Software Engineering

Program Features

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

Course And Admission Requirements

Program Course Requirements

The Master of Science in Software Engineering (MS.SWE) is offered with thesis and requires thirty (30) credit hours that include twenty four (24) credit hours of course work (i.e. 8 courses) and six (6) credit hours of thesis work. Nine (9) credit hours are core courses. The program has another fifteen (15) credit hours out of which six (6) credit hours are to be taken from software engineering elective courses, three (3) credit hours of elective from computer science courses, and 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.

Course Requirements

Software Engineering Core Courses

Nine (9) credit hours (i.e. 3 courses) of core Software Engineering course:

SWE 515 Software Requirements Engineering

SWE 516 Software Design

SWE 526 Software Testing and Quality Assurance

In addition to the core courses above, the students pursuing MS.SWE program are required to attend the graduate seminar and do their thesis research work in software engineering core area.

SWE 599 Graduate Seminars

SWE 610 Master Thesis

Software Engineering Elective Courses

Six (6) credit hours (i.e. 2 courses) from any of the 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, and 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 of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. In general, applicants with a four year degree in related fields in science and engineering (e.g. computer science, computer engineering, systems engineering, electrical engineering, information technology, etc.) may be considered for admission. However, an applicant lacking an adequate undergraduate training may be admitted if recommended by the department’s graduate committee and the chairman, with the understanding that the course work taken to remove the deficiency in the undergraduate training may not be credited towards the degree.”

General University Admission Requirements For MS Degree

The minimum requirements for possible admission as a regular graduate student to pursue a Master program in engineering or science are as follows:

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. Official transcripts and degree certificates are required for final admission.
Completion of TOEFL with a minimum score of 520 (PBT), 190 (CBT) or 68 (IBT). The TOEFL score must be sent directly to the Deanship of Graduate Studies. The KFUPM code is 0868. IELTS is also acceptable [min 5.5]
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. [Sealed and signed]
Satisfactorily meeting any additional departmental or university admission requirements.

Admission Requirements For MS SWE Degree

The priority for the enrollment in MS.SWE program is for applicants who hold BS in software engineering. Applicants who hold BS in other related IT disciplines should have a satisfactory background in the following core areas of software engineering and computer science such as: software requirements engineering, software design and architecture, software testing, project management, database systems, operating systems, and design and analysis of algorithms.

Unsatisfactory background in any of these areas is considered a deficiency. Provisional admission may be granted to qualified students such students must take the appropriate deficiency course(s) at KFUPM with a grade of B or better before a change of status to regular graduate student.

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 so that the individual can formulate research models, select the best solution to solve real world problem,
Exhibit leadership in the Software Engineering.
Have 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 practical knowledge of software requirements engineering and software systems design. This includes feasibility analysis, negotiation, and good communication with stakeholders.
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 core body of knowledge in software engineering and other related engineering disciplines (e.g. systems and computer engineering) and to be able to apply software engineering techniques to solve problems in 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/develop an approach to analyze and solve specific software engineering problem.

Degree Plan

Course No.	Title	LT	LB	CR
First Semester
SWE 515	Software Requirements Engineering	3	0	3	9
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	9
ICS 5XX	Computer science elective	3	0	3
YYY 5XX	Elective Course	3	0	3

Third Semester
YYY 5XX	Elective Course	3	0	3	6
SWE 5XX	Software Engineering Elective Course II	3	0	3
SWE 599	Graduate Seminar	1	0	0

Fourth Semester
SWE 610	MS Thesis				6

Note:

Each student is expected to submit his detailed degree plan according to the above generic degree plan for approval by Department and Deanship of Graduate Studies within the 4th week of the second semester of enrollment.
Courses taken in conflict of the degree plan will not be counted towards the degree.
The order of taking the courses can be different from above but the students is expected to take core courses before electives.
The SWE elective courses should be taken exclusively from provided list of electives.
Free elective courses should be taken from graduate courses of departments like: Computer Science (ICS), Computer Engineering (COE), Systems Engineering (SE), Electrical Engineering (EE), or Mathematics (MATH) and should be approved by the ICS department.
Under certain conditions courses carrying identification codes in the 400-level may be taken for graduate credit (towards a Master’s program only). No more than two (2) courses of 400-level may be counted for credit towards the requirements of an advanced degree provided that they are permitted in the approved graduate program. Also, these two courses must be approved by the student’s graduate advisor, the department chairman, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.