The Software Engineering (SE) specialization concentrates on software engineering concepts such as process, specification, analysis, design, implementation, verification, validation, software project management for the development of high-quality software systems that meet client needs.

UPDATE - Next Executive SE Cohort Start Date Yet to be Determined

The start date for the next Executive SE Cohort is still to be determined. Students may apply for admission to the regular SE program and then possibly transition to the Executive Cohort when the next one starts. The content and structure of the cohort will be as was planned for the January 2011 start as described here. The schedule will be updated once a new start date is determined. Anyone interested in an upcoming cohort should send an email to the program director to be added to the list.

NEW - Doctoral Fellowships for Software Engineering at the University of Alabama

Overview

This graduate program consists of two core courses regarding Software Engineering process and Software Engineering practice and tools, six electives, and a two-semester capstone project course or a two-semester thesis.

This degree may be completed entirely online. All required courses (cores and projects) are offered online and many graduate electives are offered online. Students local to the UWF campus may also take graduate electives in traditional face-to-face classrooms.

• Course Flow for new students after July 2007 but before July 2011
• Course Flow for new students after July 2011
• Brief Descriptions of Online Courses
• Complete Descriptions of all Departmental Courses
• Current and Prior-Year Catalogs

Academic Learning Plan

View the Computer Science Department's Academic Learning Plan, a pdf reader is needed to view this document.

• Acrobat Reader
• Acrobat Reader for Mobile Devices

Admission Process

Navigate via the Graduate Admissions link below to access and submit an online application. Additionally, after submitting the online application, each applicant is required to:

1. Request transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended to be sent to the UWF Department of Computer Science (address below).

2. Take a graduate admissions test or use one previously taken - request scores be sent to UWF. Applicants may take either (a) the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)--the General Test only, (b) the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), or (c) the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

Although no one particular admission criteria will be used to disqualify an applicant, we would like our applicants to achieve minimum scores as follows on one of the graduate admissions tests.
GRE Verbal 450, Quantitative 500, and Analytical 3.0
GMAT 500
MAT 370
Practice tests and other resources are available online, for the MAT, and the GRE.

The GRE and the MAT may be taken at the UWF Testing Center.
The GRE Institution Code is 5833
The GRE Department Code is 0402
The MAT Institution Code is 1089 (no department code is needed)

Note: Applicants may be considered for admission without these scores, but will be at a disadvantage when compared to other applicants who have taken one of these exams--students admitted conditionally without test scores must take one of these exams during the first half of their first semester.

3. Submit a personal letter of intent, that at a minimum addresses your
(a) motivation for applying to this program,
(b) prior educational background including specific courses/experience in programming,
(c) work experience in this field if any, and
(d) objectives regarding future use of your education in the field.
Please send this as a hard-copy letter to the UWF Computer Science Department, Software Engineering Program (address below).

4. Request three personal letters of reference from employers/professors who can attest to your potential to succeed in this program. We do not have an online form or a standard format for these letters. Those writing references typically address an applications demonstrated ability to learn, maturity, self-discipline, etc. Hard-copy letters should be sent from the referrer directly to the UWF Computer Science Department, Software Engineering Program (address below).

Note regarding minimum GPA and minimum GRE/MAT test scores: Applicants are expected to have a minimum cumulative GPA from an undergraduate degree of 3.0. Applicants with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 may still be considered and conditionally admitted if the rest of the application package is of high caliber and the department review committee deems that the student has the potential to succeed. The admissions committee will evaluate all materials relevant to each applicant and rank students based on those materials. The applicants with the best total rankings will be selected for admission.

Important Dates

The university deadlines for submitting the online application for admission are intended to permit sufficient time for all admissions materials to be received in time for departmental review. The university deadline for submitting online applications are:

• June 1 for Fall semester admissions
• October 1 for Spring semester admissions
• March 1 for Summer semester admissions

The departmental deadline for receipt of all additional materials (e.g., transcripts, letter of intent, letters of reference, graduate admission test score/s) are:

• July 1 for Fall semester admissions
• November 1 for Spring semester admissions
• April 1 for Summer semester admissions

Please be advised that it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all admissions materials are received in time for review by the departmental admissions selection committee. Applicants may check the receipt/status of their materials in the UWF portal for prospective students at https://nautical.uwf.edu/lighthouse/ called Lighthouse.

Please send, or have sent, all transcripts, letters of reference, letter of intent, and official test scores to:

University of West Florida
Department of Computer Science
Attn: Sherry Newberry
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514

Getting Started

• Graduate Admissions
• International Student Office
• Registrar's Office

Contact

Software Engineering Program Director
Laura J. White, Ph.D.
Bldg 4 Rm 226
(850) 474-2542
lwhite@uwf.edu

First Steps After Admission

1. Contact the Graduate Software Engineering Program Director, Dr. Laura White (lwhite@uwf.edu), for initial advising.

2. Register for course/s through Lighthouse--the UWF Portal for prospective students at https://nautical.uwf.edu/lighthouse/ Notice that toward the end of the registration process a link to the UWF bookstore and books for registered courses will be provided.

3. Once registered for first courses through Lighthouse, activate your ArgoNet account which provides access to the UWF Portal for students and faculty--Argus--at argus.uwf.edu. Take the tour of Argus linked on argus.uwf.edu, and review the user guide also linked on the same page.

4. Go to the UWF online learning management system, elearning.uwf.edu, and watch the demo for ArgoNet users.

5. Apply for department scholarships and assistantships by submitting the appropriate application linked on our Scholarships, Internships, and Assistantships webpage.

Alumni Spotlight

Janusz Chudzynski – 2008-2009 Outstanding Graduate Assistant.

Steve Dwire – Class of 1999; Outstanding Graduate Student awardee.

Where can UWF graduate Software Engineering students be found? As of Sumer 2010.....

Interactive version of this map.