GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK

  1. The Program
  2. The Curriculum
  3. Registration for Courses
  4. Computing Facilities
  5. Academic Code of Honesty
  6. Faculty
  7. Important Dates
  8. Important Phone Numbers

The Program

The Master of Science in Software Engineering program offered by the Department of Computing Sciences provides the rigorous foundations needed by practitioners in the field to produce reliable, modifiable and understandable software. The program emphasizes the application of the state of the art in software analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance, and the critical interactions between the phases. Students gain experience with CASE tools, formal methods, object-oriented analysis and design, software reuse techniques, software maintenance, and project management. The required capstone courses, the Thesis Projects, provide an opportunity to put together all of the student's knowledge into a major individual project. Some projects are performed in conjunction with local firms.

The program was first started in 1990 and the first group of students graduated in 1993. The student body is comprised of full-time students who come from the tri-state area, part-time students who work for local companies, and international students from different countries. Students in the program learn in small classes taught by full-time faculty and enjoy a close contact with their instructors. We currently have eight full-time faculty, five with doctorates. The University is well known for the quality of its teaching. Quality teaching requires staying abreast of current developments in the field and our faculty has a strong commitment to scholarship and is involved in development and research in the field.

The Curriculum

The program requires 36 graduate credits distributed in three areas. The first area is Fundamentals and comprises four courses totaling 12 credits. The courses are:

  • Mathematics for Software Engineering
  • Introduction to Software Development
  • Formal Methods and Models
  • Requirements Analysis and Software Specification

The second area consists of two required and four elective advanced courses totaling 18 credits. It is expected that, with the consultation of the faculty advisor, the student will choose a combination of electives that best fit his/her goals. The required courses are:

  • Principles & Applications of Software Design
  • Software Project Management

and the elective courses include

  • Software Generation and Maintenance
  • Engineering of Software Systems
  • Database Systems
  • Cost Collection & Analysis Metrics
  • Interactive and Time Critical Systems Design
  • CASE Tools

The last area is a thesis project (six credits). The student will register for two courses for the thesis project in the last year of the program. The thesis project involves the design and implementation of a project under the supervision of a faculty member. The project can be related to the student's job in which case the faculty member will work with the student's supervisor at work. For detailed information on thesis projects, please refer to the Guidelines for MSSE Thesis Projects.

Registration for Courses

Prior to each semester, a two-week advance registration will be held. All continuing students are expected to register during this period of time. Students are required to contact the Program Director about their schedule and obtain their registration PIN for online registration.

To drop or withdraw from a course, students must complete a Schedule Change form (which is available in the Graduate Office) and submit it to the Graduate Office. No Program Director's approval is needed for dropping and/or withdrawing from a course. See the academic calendar for deadlines and refund policies.

To add a course, students must complete a Schedule Change form and must obtain approval from the Program Director. The completed form with Program Director's approval must be submitted to the Graduate Office by the "add deadline" which may vary from year to year.

Computing Facilities

Normally a SE student has access to two different computer systems, the university’s computer system and the computer system in the Computer Sciences Department. A student also has two separate email addresses for the two systems. The user ID for the university system generally consists of the last name followed by the first name initial and a number. For example, for John D. Smith, the user ID and the email address may look like:

smithj2@scranton.edu

The use ID for the Department system is the same as your university's ID. The department email address may look like:

jsmith2@cs.scranton.edu

Your instructors, the department, and the university may contact you by email through any of the two email systems. It is your responsibility to maintain your two accounts and read messages.

For the university email account you may contact the University Help Desk in AMH building in person, or call (570) 941-HELP for details.

Your university account is normally set up when you apply for your Royal Card. Your department account is generally set up when you first time take class. Talk to your instructor(s) for your department account.

Academic Code of Honesty

Review the Academic Code of Honesty available on the University of Scranton website.

https://www.scranton.edu/academics/wml/acad-integ/acad-code-honesty.shtml

Faculty Information

Feel free to express your concerns to and ask questions of all members of the Department of Computing Sciences faculty. You may contact any of the faculty members in person, by phone, via email, and by postal mail. During regular semesters, every faculty member has his/her schedule posted on the office door. If you cannot meet the professor during his/her scheduled office hours, you may make an appointment via email or through the department secretary in LSC 235 (phone 570-941-7774). The following lists information about the faculty members and the graduate courses they normally teach.

Important Dates

Thesis Projects -- Written Reports:
1: Draft ProposalLast Monday of April
2: Advisor-Approved ProposalSecond Monday of May
3: Requirements Spec.First Monday of October
4: Design DescriptionFirst Monday of December
5: Testing DesignLast Monday of February
6: User's ManualLast Monday of March
7: Source CodeLast Friday of March
8: Thesis - Draft to AdvisorFirst Monday of April
9: Thesis - Final Copy to Graduate SchoolLast Friday of April *
Thesis Projects -- Oral Reports/Presentations:
1: First ReportLast Two Weeks of Fall Semester
2: Second ReportFirst Two Full Weeks of April
Application for Degree
Completed Application FormThird Monday of November

* The deadline for theses varies from year to year and it is normally around the last Friday of April. You must adhere to the Graduate School deadline in order to graduate in time.

Important Phone Numbers

MSSE Program Director(570) 941-6108
Department of Computing Sciences(570) 941-7774
CS Dept -- FAX(570) 941-4250
Graduate School(570) 941-7600
International Student Affairs(570) 941-7575
Career Services(570) 941-7457
Computer Center Help Desk(570) 941-HELP