Admissions
PLEASE NOTE: The M.S.S.E. program is inherently a part-time program and does not satisfy visa requirements for full-time study. International students will be considered for this program to attend class in their own country using our online platform within the Western Hemisphere. Due to time-zone concerns, Eastern Hemisphere countries will be addressed in the near future.
Students seeking admission to the M.S.S.E. program must meet requirements under one of the following two ways to be considered.
Regular Graduate Student
Students who have recently completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, with little or no experience in the high-tech industry, are eligible for regular admission under the following criteria:
- Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, computer science, computer engineering or a closely related major.
- Minimum grade point average of 3.0 with at least a 3.0 grade point average in the major.
- A satisfactory score in the quantitative component of the Graduate Record Examination.
Provisional Graduate Student
Students with a bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited university, with a minimum GPA of 3.0, and at least one year of work experience in the software industry, may be accepted as provisional graduate students and begin taking core courses.
These students may then apply for transfer as a regular graduate student in the M.S.S.E. program by meeting the following criteria:
- Earn at least a grade of B in each of the first four approved courses in the certificate in Software Engineering program while enrolled as a provisional graduate student.
- Submit a resume documenting at least two years of software-development-related experience.
- Provide three letters of reference from persons who are familiar with the applicant’s software development work.
NOTE 1: The GRE is required for all students choosing Regular Admission. Official scores must be submitted prior to acceptance. The GRE is not required for provisional admission.
NOTE 2: Official transcripts showing completion of a bachelor’s degree must be provided in all cases.
NOTE 3: The three-year experience requirement for provisional admission needs to be met by the time the core courses are completed. However, you should submit a resume showing at least one year of relevant work experience at the time of initial application.
Application Requirements
- Apply with the online Graduate Application
- Pay graduate application fee
- Submit a resume
- GRE scores (regular graduate students only)
- Request official transcripts from all institutions attended (other than WVU) and send to:
WVU Office of Graduate Admissions
One Waterfront Place
PO Box 6510
Morgantown, WV 26506-6510orelectronically sent to GraduateAdmissions@mail.wvu.edu
All applicants whose first language is not English must provide proof of English language proficiency. WVU accepts either the TOEFL or the IELTS for this purpose.
Curriculum
The Master of Science in Software Engineering degree requires completion of a total of 33 graduate credit hours, except for the thesis option, which requires 30 hours. This coursework is comprised of five required courses that form the core of the program, plus additional electives.
Program Preparatory Courses
The current catalog policy for this program states: “Students who do not hold a baccalaureate degree in software engineering, computer science, or computer engineering may be required to take a set of undergraduate courses above and beyond the minimum coursework requirements.” We have developed the following course that will be required to be taken with no credit earned toward the 33 required credit hours when the student is accepted as provisional under the condition specified above.
- SENG 591A (SENG 500) Programming Fundamentals with Java (Odd FALL)
- PREPARATORY PROGRAM COURSE—three hours earned will not apply to the required 33 hours for the M.S.S.E.
- This course serves as an introduction to developing application software. It covers solving problems using the Java programming language. Topics include problem solving, fundamentals of programming, basic algorithms and data structures, data organization, defensive programming, relational databases, and creating database applications.
The curriculum consists of the following courses:
Students will work with their advisor to select six additional courses that meet their career goals. The advanced courses currently available can be found on the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering website.
