Does the faculty have real world experience?
What courses can I take to start out? How are these courses scheduled?
How long does it take to complete a degree program?
What does the program emphasize?
How do I learn in this program?
How many semester hours are required for a degree? For a certificate? How about theses and minors?
What is applied computational intelligence?
This radar image show some of the terrain of the planet Venus. The terrain and geology of Venus influence the irregularities (anomalies) of Venus' gravitational field. These irregularities must be known in order to navigate spacecraft around Venus. I worked on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) mission, including research software for mapping Venus gravitational field.
Courses are available anywhere, anytime via asynchronoud Online Learning (Online Education).
Does the faculty have real world experience?Classes are taught by full time faculty with industrial software development experience "in the trenches".
What courses can I take to start out? How are these courses scheduled?
Students who are sufficiently prepared in C#, Java, or C++ can start any semester. Courses are scheduled so that students can begin in any fall semester (beginning in late August). Courses are scheduled such that continuing students will find at least one appropriate course to take.
How long does it take to complete a degree program?
Taking two courses each fall and spring semester, and one course each summer semester enables a student to complete the masters degree in two calendar years.
Taking one course each semester (fall, summer, spring), a student can finish the masters degree program in three years plus one term.
What does the program emphasize?
We emphasize software design, software construction, requirements engineering, and software processes. In design, we make use of design patterns and good practices for Java, C#, and C++ design. In requirements engineering, we emphasize use cases. We address a number of process approaches, but emphasize agile processes and supporting techniques such as refactoring.
How do I learn in this program? How does online learning compare with face-to-face class meetings?
Our approach to learning is based on Asynchronous Learning Nets (ALNs) in most courses; see http://www.aln.org. ALN's are networks of learners who do some self study, and collaborate with other learners. Every student is a node in the net. We use the Internet (email, ftp, and http) to support the links in this net. We may occasionally experiment with other approaches.
Since the summer session of 2001, software engineering (SSE) courses have been available via online learning . This enables online learners to earn the MSE or MS degree and the certificates.
How many semester hours are required for a degree? For a certificate? How about theses and minors?
The number of semester hours required for the masters degree is 30. The certificates require 6 semester hours. Students may qualify for the degree with a thesis, a minor, or neither.