About

Software engineering is a discipline that brings the rigor of traditional engineering disciplines to the design, production and maintenance of software systems. Software engineers plan, design and build complex software-intensive systems using a range of mathematical, computing and engineering principles and practices. Software engineers are in high demand, as computer software is pervasive in all walks of life.

The East Carolina University Department of Computer Science offers a Bachelor of Science in software engineering, which provides boundless career opportunities. The program provides an emphasis on developing large-scale, high-quality and secure software systems. This requires an approach that is rooted in the rigorous and systematic application of engineering principles and proven industry practices. The curriculum provides ample opportunities for students to design and build complex software-intensive systems using a range of computing and engineering technologies.

ECU Advantage

The ECU software engineering program prepares leaders and innovators who will drive the software industry and bring advances in software engineering to fuel innovation and enable economic development. Not only will our graduates learn technical skills, but the curriculum is also designed to impart professional skills including oral and written communication, teamwork, project management, professional development and lifelong learning. As government, businesses and industry critically depend on software, there is a high demand for ECU software engineering graduates.

As an ECU student, you can research your future career in Steppingblocks. Explore real-world stats about your major, your interests, and your dream job title with data-powered career exploration tools designed for doers like you.

What You Will Study

Program Coordinator: Qin Ding (C-118 Science and Technology Building; 252-328-9680; dingq@ecu.edu) The Software Engineering, BS is designed to provide students with practical knowledge, skills, and professional practices needed to succeed as a software engineer. The program also prepares students to pursue further graduate work in software engineering leading to a master's or doctoral degree.

Majors must earn a C- (1.7) or better in all SENG and CSCI common core, concentration, and elective courses to be awarded the degree.

The degree requires a minimum of 120 s.h. as follows:

1. General education requirements including those listed below - 40 s.h.

(For information about courses that carry general education credit view the General Education Program section.)

  • COMM 2020 - Fundamentals of Speech Communication OR
  • COMM 2410 - Public Speaking

  • PHIL 2274 - Business Ethics OR
  • PHIL 2275 - Professional Ethics
  • Note: Seven (7) s.h. of cognates in the natural science competency count towards the general educati
  • Note: Seven (7) s.h. of cognates in the natural science competency count towards the general educati
2. Core - 39 s.h.
  • ITEC 3290 - Technical Writing
  • SENG 1000 - Software Engineering Foundations and Practice
  • SENG 1005 - Introduction to Programming
  • SENG 1010 - Discrete Structures for Software Engineers
  • SENG 1020 - Data Structures for Software Engineers
  • SENG 2000 - Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms
  • SENG 2010 - Requirements Engineering
  • SENG 3000 - Software Architecture and Design
  • SENG 3010 - Software Construction
  • SENG 3020 - Software Verification and Validation
  • SENG 3700 - Database Design and Development
  • SENG 4500 - Software Engineering Capstone Project I
  • SENG 4510 - Software Engineering Capstone Project II
3. Cognates - 18 s.h.*
    a. Math (6 s.h.)
    • MATH 2119 - Elements of Calculus

    • MATH 2228 - Elementary Statistical Methods I OR
    • MATH 2283 - Statistics for Business
    b. Natural Sciences (12 s.h.)

    Choose from the following:

    • BIOL 1100 - Principles of Biology I AND
    • BIOL 1101 - Principles of Biology Laboratory I

    • BIOL 1200 - Principles of Biology II AND
    • BIOL 1201 - Principles of Biology Laboratory II

    • CHEM 1150 - General Chemistry I AND
    • CHEM 1151 - General Chemistry Laboratory I

    • CHEM 1160 - General Chemistry II AND
    • CHEM 1161 - General Chemistry Laboratory II

    • PHYS 2350 - University Physics I AND
    • PHYS 1251 - General Physics Laboratory I

    • PHYS 2360 - University Physics II AND
    • PHYS 1261 - General Physics Laboratory II
      • Note:

      * Seven (7) s.h. of cognates in the natural science competency area from one of the above options may count towards the general education requirement for this degree. At least one of the courses must require laboratory work.

    4. Concentrations - 9 s.h.

    Choose one of the following areas of concentration:

      a. Data Science Concentration
      • CSCI 4120 - Machine Learning
      • CSCI 4140 - Natural Language Processing
      • CSCI 4180 - Big Data Analytics
      b. Mobile and Web Development Concentration
      • CSCI 4170 - Cloud Computing
      • CSCI 4540 - Mobile Computing
      • CSCI 4710 - Web Applications
    5. SENG or CSCI electives above 2999 - 21 s.h.

    Note: CSCI 3030, CSCI 4230, and CSCI 4231 are excluded.

      For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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