Science Masters Program: Student Support to Enhance Graduate Programs in Systems and Software Engineering

University Of Texas At El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is developing a Science Masters Program (SMP) in Systems and Software Engineering to meet the regional workforce needs for employees who can build advanced, complex, robust, and reliable computer software systems for government and industry. Software is a part of nearly every new product including systems designed for the transportation, consumer products, the military, homeland security, the government, and business and commercial sectors. Large software systems are some of the most complex products ever produced, and it is extremely difficult to ensure that software works appropriately in all situations. The graduates of this program will be trained in engineering management and in techniques to ensure software behaves correctly. This SMP is one of the first programs in the nation to use the internationally developed 2009 "Curriculum Guidelines for Graduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering." The support provided by NSF will help increase the number of software engineers in the region who are U.S. citizens. Building on UTEP's history of working with minority students, the program is emphasizing recruitment of Hispanics and women. The successful completion of the project will lead to a better-trained and more diverse software engineering workforce for government and industry.