UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
School of Computing Informatics and Media
Department of Computing
Programme/course title: Software Engineering
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University of Bradford
MSc [Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
Level M]
Software Engineering
British Computer Society
1 year full time - September (semester 1) and January
(Semester 2) starts, 2 years part-time
Software Engineering
April 2003
July 2011
Programme Aims
The MSc Software Engineering is an advanced postgraduate course which enables students to
reach a level where they can undertake a leading role in software engineering projects. We provide
coherently designed courses of recognised quality that offer students appropriate flexibility of
choice. In furtherance of the University’s mission “Making knowledge work”, this course aims to
enable you to develop computing related knowledge and understanding, practical discipline skills
and a range of transferable skills that will enhance your personal and professional development.
This course provides students who already possess a thorough grounding in the fundamental
principles of computer science with the knowledge of leading-edge principles and methods for
software engineering. You will develop an understanding of how to succeed with the most difficult
software challenges, delivering code to the highest levels of reliability and maintainability at the
lowest cost.
Academically, Computing is concerned with the understanding, design and exploitation of
computation and computer technology. The Department of Computing, which is part of the School
of Computing, Informatics and Media (SCIM) in the University, offers a number of undergraduate
and postgraduate courses covering this hugely diverse subject area. The Department places great
emphasis on both teaching and research and there are opportunities for students to join one of the
research teams and progress to MPhil and PhD qualifications on successful completion of an MSc.
Employment prospects for students having a postgraduate qualification in any computing related
discipline are excellent, especially for MSc in Software Engineering.
The objective of the Software Engineering course is to provide you with the education and
training required to enable you to take up a leading role in the complex software engineering
projects that are currently challenging industry and commerce. This is achieved by providing
students who already possess a thorough grounding in the principles of computing with knowledge
of current best practice in the principles and methods of software engineering, and the opportunity
to exercise that knowledge in the context of a project of significant size. In addition, your
awareness of the concerns of software reliability, correctness, safety, usability, and cost will be
developed by the course. The course is designed to:
 provide you with a core of information engineering, and software project management modules
in the first semester, followed by specialization in the second semester building on advanced
software development and group work. An individual project of three months duration in the
third semester allows you to apply the techniques and disciplines that you have learned within
a more practical context. You then submit a Dissertation based on this work.
 provide the support in the form of lectures, labs and tutorials that will enable you to develop
your personal portfolio of skills. The School of Computing, Informatics and Media is committed
to providing a very high standard of up-to-date computing facilities to support the software
design and programming requirements of the courses.
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

develop discipline skills and personal transferable skills so that on graduation you may move
directly into responsible positions in industry or commerce, or may pursue further programmes
of study.
promote educational opportunities for ethnic minorities, women, mature and alternatively
qualified students, as well as for school-leavers and traditionally qualified students.
Learning outcomes
You will gain mastery of Software Engineering fundamentals and principles, learn how to apply
them to the analysis of problems and how to plan, implement and evaluate the solutions by
demonstrating:
 Knowledge and understanding at advanced level of the concepts and theories of software
engineering including information engineering, software development, software project
management, human-computer interaction and formal methods. You will develop a firm grasp
of the mathematical foundations of software engineering and how they underpin the formal
specification and modelling of computer systems.
 Discipline Specific Skills; Creative and systematic problem solving. Ability to analyse
problems and develop creative solutions; ability to develop an object oriented approach to their
solution; to develop computer programs using object oriented programming languages; to
develop applications for the World Wide Web and to choose which programming languages to
use for specific applications; an ability to manage and/or contribute to a team approach to
software engineering projects.
 Personal and Transferable Skills in information management, interpretation and
presentation; IT and communications skills; report writing and presentation skills: creative and
systematic problem solving; teamwork and leadership; project management; and personal
management.
The Curriculum
Typically for a taught Masters programme, the course lasts for 12 months of full-time study (two
semesters of instruction through a series of modules all of which are integrated to form a complete
and coherent course of study, followed by completion of a major dissertation project in the
summer) or 24 months of part-time study following a similar pattern.
The MSc Software Engineering covers a range of specialist topics, leading to the qualification of a
Master's degree. Typically, a taught full-time Master's course lasts for twelve months of full-time
study. The course has two stages: the taught courses stage which takes place during the first two
semesters (or four semesters for the part-time route), and the project/dissertation stage. The
taught courses stage is organised on a modular basis. Students who successfully complete the
taught modules are eligible for the PGDip Software Engineering. Students proceeding onto the
Masters level undertake a project which the student has to agree with the Department during the
first taught semesters.
The map of your studies is detailed below. For the full time path, in each of the first two semesters,
modules accounting for 60 credits are studied. For each module, all of the teaching and
assessment is undertaken in the same semester. Dissertation project work lasting for three
months is undertaken in the final semester. This accounts for a further 60 credits in the
assessment. Due to the advanced nature of this MSc, you are allocated a supervisor for your
project whose research interests best match the project area. The project is assessed by means
of a viva voce examination and a dissertation report.
Note that, for September (semester 1) start students, the full-time programme periods are
September to January, January to May, and May to September. For January (semester 2) start
students, the full-time programme periods are January to May, September to January, and January
to May.
The full-time programme is structured to normally take one academic year as shown in the table(s)
below. There are taught modules for 60 credits during semesters 1 and 2. From these, optional
modules across semesters 1 & 2 may be chosen as detailed below. These should normally be
level M modules, but students may select up to 20 credits of level 3 modules if appropriate.
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Course Structure for September (semester 1) start only:
Unit Code
CM1032D
CM1019D
CM1013D
CM0602D
Credit
20
20
20
20
Sem
1
1
1
1
Level
M
M
M
M
CM0518D
CM1033D
CM1020D
CM1044D
CM0328D
CM1034D
20
20
20
20
20
20
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
M
M
M
3
M
CM1009D
CM0422D
CM0423D
CM0424Z
20
20
20
60
2
2
2
DISS
M
M
M
M
Module Title
Information Engineering (PG)
C*
Formal Methods (PG)
C*
Software Project Management
C
Network Performance Modelling and
Alt
Analysis
Concurrent and Distributed Systems
O
Advanced Software Development
C*
Group Project (SE)
C
Artificial Intelligence with Applications
O
AI for Games
O*
Human Computer Interaction (Design & O*
Development)
Real Time Systems (PG)
O*
Web Engineering
O
Advanced Database Techniques
O
Dissertation
C
Course Structure for January (semester 2) start only:
Unit Code
CM1033D
CM1020D
CM1044D
CM0328D
CM1034D
Credit
20
20
20
20
20
Sem
2
2
2
2
2
Level
M
M
M
3
M
Module Title
Advanced Software Development
C*
Group Project (SE)
C
Artificial Intelligence with Applications
O
AI for Games
O*
Human-Computer Interaction (Design O*
& Development)
CM1009D
20
2
M
Real Time Systems (PG)
O*
CM0422D
20
2
M
Web Engineering
O
CM0423D
20
2
M
Advanced Database Techniques
O
CM1032D
20
1
M
Information Engineering (PG)
C*
CM1019D
20
1
M
Formal Methods (PG)
C*
CM1013D
20
1
M
Software Project Management
C
CM0602D
20
1
M
Network Performance Modelling and
Alt
Analysis
CM0518D
20
2
3
Concurrent and Distributed Systems
O
CM0424Z
60
2
M
Dissertation
C
C* Core module which is compulsory unless studied previously. In the case of ‘Advanced
Software Development’ students should not previously have studied ‘Programming Language
Theory and Semantics’ (CM0516D)
O* - Optional unless previously studied.
Note that students may only study either ‘Concurrent and Distributed Systems’ or ‘AI for Games’
but not both as these are level 3 modules. ‘AI for Games’ and ‘AI with Applications’ are also
mutually exclusive. The curriculum may change, subject to the University's course approval,
monitoring and review procedures.
Assessment regulations: a summary
To be eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma award you must achieve at least 40% in 100 credits and
at least 35% in the other 20 credits relating to the modules taken in semesters 1 and 2. Students
who attain an overall average of at least 60% in the initial attempt will be eligible for the award of
Postgraduate Diploma with Merit. Additionally, students who attain an overall average of at least
70% in the initial attempt will be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction.
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To be eligible for an MSc Degree you must achieve at least 40% in 100 credits and at least 35% in
the other 20 credits taken in semesters 1 and 2 and achieve at least 40% in the project
(Dissertation). Students who attain an overall weighted average of at least 60% at the initial
attempt, including at least 60% at the initial attempt in the project shall be eligible for the award of
the Degree of MSc with Merit. Students who attain an overall average of 70% in the units
concerned at the initial attempt, including at least 70% in the project, will be eligible for the award
of MSc with Distinction.
Comprehensive information about the University of Bradford’s Regulation Governing Postgraduate
Taught Courses is available on the web at
http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QA_Hbk/Postgrad_Taught_Regs.html
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies
You will experience a wide range of teaching and learning environments. Concepts, principles and
theories are generally explored in formal lectures, practiced in associated tutorials and seminars,
and demonstrated in laboratory classes. Practical skills are developed in laboratory sessions and
professional and personal skills are implicitly developed throughout the course in both group work
and presentations. The individual project, consisting of a design phase (Project part 1) and an
implementation phase (Dissertation) brings various aspects of your course together in a major
software engineering exercise. The course is supported by laboratories with up-to-date hardware
and software with regular update and replacement cycles;
Each 20-credit module on the course requires you to commit 200 hours of study. Some of these
hours will be formally timetabled – lectures, laboratories, seminars and tutorials – and others will
involve you in private study. In keeping with the level of the course it is expected that you will
develop a capacity for independent study as the course progresses.
Admission Requirements
The procedures, criteria and regulations for admission to these programmes of study operate
within the parameters defined by the University’s Ordinance for Postgraduate Courses. However,
with respect to the proposed programmes, we specifically require that all applicants:
 have a good (normally 2:2 or above) Honours Degree or equivalent qualification in Software
Engineering or containing a significant component in Software Engineering of an approved
degree-awarding body; or
 have a good (normally 2:2 or above) Honours Degree in a subject slightly related to Computing
or Software Engineering subject and can demonstrate sufficient relevant industrial experience
in Software Engineering.
Candidates applying to the course with non-standard qualifications will be judged on an individual
basis using the University's APEL procedures. In addition, a test of written and spoken English
normally needs to have been passed at grade 6.0 for IELTS or 550 for TOEFL (or 250 for the
computer-based test).
Student Support and Guidance
All students admitted to the School of Computing, Informatics and Media go through a process of
induction that includes detailed talks by the Dean and Head of Department. Afterwards, ongoing
support for students is provided in the form of one-stop facilities located at the School of
Computing, Informatics and Media Student Support Office (SSO), open throughout the day during
term, and in the mornings and afternoons outside term. Support for registered students also is
provided 24/7 via the intranets of the School of Computing, Informatics and Media, Department of
Computing and the School’s Technical Support. The School also uses the University’s Virtual
Learning Environment (VLE) known as Blackboard to support students via their individual modules.
All students on our Postgraduate Programmes will be allocated a personal tutor who provides
support and guidance on matters relating to learning, teaching, and academic progress. There are
tutors in the School who deal with issues where other social factors (relating to gender or disability
for example) may impact on a student’s academic performance. The Student Staff Liaison
Committee gives the opportunity for students to give formal feedback to the Course Tutor and/or
department about curricular and/or general issues in the running of the programme.
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Further Information
More details about our MSc Software Engineering may be obtained from the School of Computing,
Informatics and Media Admissions Office via telephone on +44 (0)1274 234286, email
pgadmissions@bradford.ac.uk, or our website at http://www.scim.brad.ac.uk/courses/pg/ If you
require further information about the University of Bradford, please refer to its Postgraduate
Prospectus. The university web site can be accessed at http://www.brad.ac.uk
Further information on degree opportunities available at the School of Computing, Informatics and
Media can be found on http://www.scim.brad.ac.uk/ and, similarly, further information on courses
available at the Department of Computing can be found at http://www.comp.brad.ac.uk/
Disclaimer
The details of this Programme Specification and information contained therein are subject to
change in accordance with the University of Bradford’s course approval, monitoring and review
procedures.
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