MSU adds software engineering degree program
December 31, 2000
A new Mississippi State academic program in engineering will be offered when fall classes begin Aug. 21.
College of Engineering majors now will have the option of seeking a bachelor of science degree in computer software engineering, said Julia Hodges, computer science department head.
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology’s Engineering Accrediting Commission recently recognized software engineering as an independent discipline.
Hodges said the MSU program will be one of only seven in the nation and the first in Mississippi. It recently was approved by the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
“We have developed a strong foundation in software engineering during the past decade,” she said. “We already have four faculty members with direct involvement with software engineering and a fifth is about to come on board.”
Drawing faculty from the college’s departments of computer science and industrial engineering, the new program is designed to complement MSU’s existing computer-related bachelor degree programs in computer science and computer engineering, as well as the College of Business and Industry’s business information systems department.
Hodges said Jackson State University’s new School of Engineering expects to have a similar computer software degree program and MSU is making plans to collaborate on its development.
The MSU program will help fill the “tremendous demand” for engineers who can design and build large-scale computer software systems, said Brad Carter, a senior computer science professor currently serving as the program’s acting coordinator.
“There is an expanding job market for computing professionals in Mississippi and the Southeast,” Carter explained. “Industries need individuals who have the strong knowledge of software and the engineering skills necessary to design high-quality, reliable systems.”
With the addition of computer software engineering, the MSU College of Engineering will have 11 departments and related centers.
Along with computer science, the departments include aerospace, agricultural and biological, chemical, civil, electrical and computer, industrial, and mechanical engineering. The Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory and the MSU/National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center make up the interdisciplinary operations.