Software Engineering MSc/PG Dip/PG Cert

About the course

Taught by acknowledged experts from our Software Technology Research Laboratory| (STRL), this course draws on more than 25 years’ experience in the field of software engineering. It offers a combination of theory and practice, equipping you with high standards of learning and scholarship in advanced technology.

Study in an innovative department with an international reputation for research, training and education in software engineering, with access to facilities and expertise from the STRL.

Accredited by the European-wide accreditation system for Informatics curricula, the MSc is committed to excellence in European-wide software education and training of engineers to deliver high quality and trustworthy software systems that meet industrial needs. The MSc is also accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS) to Chartered Engineering (CEng) level for the maximum 5 year period beginning 2012.

The taught element of the course lasts for the first two semesters, while the Third semester is devoted to the project. The total length of study depends on the mode of delivery.

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Key facts

UKPASS course code: G60071

Duration: One year full-time (with optional one year placement available), three years part-time or by distance learning

Institution code: D26

September or January (please contact the Admissions Team for further information)

Entry and admission criteria

You should have the equivalent of a British Honours degree (2:2 minimum) in a relevant subject.

We are happy to consider equivalent qualifications from anywhere in the world.

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning|, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

If you have no formal academic qualifications but do have extensive industry experience we will consider your application on an individual basis.

If you feel you would like to talk to us about your qualifications before submitting an application please do not hesitate to call or email using the contact details below.

Teaching and assessment

There are provisions for a traditional classroom-based delivery, either part-time or full-time, as well as distance learning. Teaching will include formal lectures, tutorials and labs. You will also be expected to undertake independent study and research to support your assignments and dissertation. Assessment will be 100 per cent coursework. It will be by various group and individual methods including oral exams, projects, presentations, written essays and reports.

Course modules

First semester

• Research Methods
• Advanced Requirements Engineering
• Software Project Management and Testing
• Pervasive Systems

Second semester

• Software Evolution
• Formal Methods Engineering
• Software Engineering for Dependable Systems
• Advanced Topics in Software Engineering

Project

Your project will be chosen to explore an issue from a wide range of applications such as:

• Electronic Purse
• Electronic Patient Records
• Personal Insulin Pump Systems
• London Ambulance System
• Intelligent Parking Systems
• E-Voting System
• Arion 5 Launcher
• Flight Control System

Academic expertise

The Software Technology Research Laboratory is one of the largest software engineering research groups in the UK and its research activities are acknowledged as being at the highest level of international excellence. In the last UK HEFCE Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), 85 per cent of the research produced by the group was considered to be world-leading, internationally excellent or international. The major themes within the lab include computer security and trust, software evolution, theory and computational paradigms and semantic web and service oriented computing. The staff working in these areas bring to the course their academic excellence and their experience of applying their work to various industrial sectors.

Graduate careers

Graduates are prepared for positions in consultancies, software houses or project management and can also undertake further study towards a doctoral or PhD degree.

Fees and funding

Annual Tuition Fees for Higher Education Courses from 1st September 2013 to 31st August 2014

Full-time UK/EU Postgraduate Courses Standard Fees £4,200 Postgraduate Placement Year Fee £650 Students Equivalent or Lower Qualification Status* £5,000 Overseas
Postgraduate Courses Standard Fees £12,200 Postgraduate Placement Year Fee £750 Part-time Part-time fees are charged on a credit basis, you will need to complete 180 credits over the course of an MSc programme. 15 Credits £350 Students Equivalent or Lower Qualification Status* 15 Credits
£420 Continuation Fee** £150 Distance Learning
UK/EU Per 15 credits
£350
Overseas Per 15 credits for International students
£565

For more information please take a look at our Funding| section.

* ELQ Student definition - If you are a Home or EU status student and you already have a qualification at or above the level of the programme you wish to study from any country you will be considered as an Equivalent or Lower Qualification (ELQ) student. In 2008 the UK Government decided to stop funding universities for student in this situation and therefore the following fees will apply £5,000. Students from outside the EU are not affected by the policy.

** A fee that is charged on a periodic basis where PG or Research students need to extend their registration to complete the course.

Scholarships

Are you a DMU Alumni? Receive up to £2000 off your Tuition Fees*

As part of the University’s on-going commitment to enhance the personal and career development of graduates, we are pleased to announce that from this September the University will be introducing The Faculty of Technology Alumni Scholarship| which will allow graduates to receive up to £2000 off tuition fees* for Postgraduate study.

Facilities

The newly refurbished computer science laboratories in Gateway House provide 80 computer workstations for students to use. The space is divided into four interconnected laboratories each with 20 machines (20 HP PCs running Windows/Linux and 60 Apple iMac computers running OS X and Windows).

All labs have printing facilities, Internet, internal network access and digital projectors to aid in teaching. All the machines are connected via the faculty network to a dedicated, high-performance file server for storage and backup of students' work.

The computer science laboratories include a study space area, equivalent in size to one of the individual laboratories, in which you can work individually or in groups – this study space is not timetabled so is available for you to use on a casual basis throughout the year.