A white PowerPoint slide with navy text says, "Welcome! Chat with the Chair of Software Engineering" with a picture of people pointing at a desktop computer screen below. Associate Director of Admissions Thomas Screnci is in the top right corner of the screen.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Alright! Hello! And welcome to this recorded session of our chat with the chair of software engineering. My name is Tom Screen. We are, of course, of course, joined by the chair. I'm gonna get started right now. So let me jump into our presentation first. And we will skip our little housekeeping step since this is a recorded session. I am Thomas Screnci. I'm the Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment here at Brandeis Online. So as you're considering Brandeis Online, applying, I am your your primary contact for anything related to program requirements, admissions, processes, things like that. Aline is the chair of the department. I will let her introduce herself and talk a little bit about her background.
The slide switches to a screen highlighting Aline's experiences: Lead Product Owner, Commonwealth Care Alliance; PhD, Brandeis University; MA and MS, Brandeis University; BA, Brandeis University. Past roles include: Director of Engineering, Software Development Manager and Software Architect.
Aline Yurik speaks: Thank you, Tom. Hi, everyone. So I'm Aline Yurik. I'm the program chair for software engineering program at Brandeis, also a Brandeis alum did both my PhD, Masters, and my bachelor's at Brandeis in computer science area. I work in addition to being a program chair at Brandeis, I'm also working in the software industry as a lead product owner for Commonwealth care alliance, a health insurance organization. And in my past industry roles, I have been a director of engineering as well as a software development manager and a software architect. So I bring a lot of insights into various roles within the software industry, and, like most of our faculty, most of our faculty are practicing software practitioners. They work in the industry as well as teach at in the Brandeis software engineering program. And we bring a lot of our experiences, current practices and technologies that are currently used in the industry, together with the best ways to use them. We bring them to the classroom, and we love to share that information with the students. So thank you, Tom.
Slide switches to an agenda: Program facts, marketplace information, admissions info, and next steps.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Thank you. All right. So I was gonna cover what this session is going to go over, and then we'll proceed forward. So we know that picking a graduate school is a big choice, and we hope to provide the information to make an informed decision on your part about joining Brandeis Online. To do this, we're going to cover the program. Facts. Marketplace insights, admissions, information as well. And the next step is usually Q&A session. At the end we will put up our email addresses as well. So if you do have questions, you can always email us, give us a call or an email using the information at the bottom of the screen right now. But with that let me jump ahead and we will jump into about software engineering. And I'm gonna pass it over to Aline to tell us a little more about the software engineering curriculum.
Slide switches to a white background with navy text that says "About Software Engineering." Then, it switches to a navy chart outlining the four defining features of the Software Engineering program: 1) Focus on industry-standard knowledge and skills to create software systems, 2) Emerging and foundational technologies, 3) Covering all phases of software development life cycle, and 4) Taught by experienced industry professionals.
Aline Yurik: Thank you, Tom. So master of software engineering is a very practical software industry focused graduate degree. It's focused on the industry standards, the latest technologies that are being used and on very practical approaches of using these technologies with the best practices to create software systems.
We are looking at all phases of the software development lifecycle. Our required courses are actually lined up to cover all phases of the software development lifecycle. And we're also making sure to cover both emerging and foundational technologies that are currently used in the software industry.
Another very important component of the program, as I already mentioned, is that our courses are taught by software professionals. These are folks that have experience in the industry. They currently work in the industry. They hold various positions, both, you know, hands-on software engineers, solution architects, software architects as as well as folks in the various technical management roles, and they bring the insights and experiences they have acquired through industry practices into the classroom, which is an extremely valuable part of the program. Can you go to the next slide?
The slide changes to two navy charts. One chart lists required courses: RSEG 105: Expert Software Development in Java, RSEG 109: Object-Oriented Design with UML, RSEG 120: Software Development Methodologies, RSEG 126: Release Control and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (DevOps), RSEG 127: Software Engineering Studio, RSEG 131: Software Testing Techniques. The other chart lists a sample of elective courses: RSEG 102: Software Development in Java, RSEG 103: Software Development in C++, RSEG 128: User Interface Design, RSEG 165: Design Patterns, RSEG 176: Cloud Computing, RSEG 181: Agile Software Development."
Aline Yurik speaks: So the program consists of 10 courses that you need to complete out of which 6 are required. Courses and 4 are electives required. Courses, as I mentioned, are really lined up to correspond to the software development lifecycle phases.
We have courses that look at all of the software development lifecycle, which is the software development methodologies. Course, RSEG 120. We have a course that is very in-depth programming in Java with all of the various frameworks that Java has. That's expert software development in Java, RSEG 105. If you're somewhat new to Java or have not used it before, we have another course you can take prior to this course, which is called Software Development in Java RSEG 102, and that will provide you with sufficient background to then dive into this deeper Expert Software Development in Java course.
For the design and architecture part, we have object oriented design with UML for testing, we have Software Testing Techniques course. And then, when the code is tested, we usually release it and take it through various phases of software environment. And that course is release control and continuous integration, continuous delivery also known as DevOps in the software industry, a very important set of techniques that are very popular with software companies today.
Finally, we have a course software engineering studio, which is a course our students usually take towards the end of the program, and that's an opportunity to do a semester long project either solo or in teams where you can apply everything you've learned in the program to creating a large software project. And this is also something that you can then showcase as your portfolio project to your future employers as well.
For electives, we have a wide variety of elective topics on various technologies, including various programming languages. In addition to the more basic Java course, we have a course in C plus plus and a course in Python, course on web development technologies, which is various both front end and back end technologies that you can use to create websites and web apps, courses on cloud computing, agile software development user interface design databases and variety of other topics. Next slide, please.
The slide changes to display a navy chart about the Cybersecurity Concentration. It says "Choose 4 electives" and lists all electives to the right: RIAS 102: Information Security Management, RIAS 110: Identity Management and Access Control, RIAS 120: Secure Development Technologies, RIAS 140: Cloud Security, RIAS 172: Network Security." Below, navy text says: Cybersecurity is a strategically important area of knowledge for software engineers. Software systems need to be designed and implemented defensively based on cybersecurity principles and techniques. Students in the Cybersecurity concentration will gain additional technical expertise in securing software systems against cyber risks and attacks.
Aline Yurik speaks: We also have an exciting concentration in cyber security which you would complete by taking your elective courses within the cyber security topic area. And we currently have 5 cybersecurity courses to complete cybersecurity concentration. You would choose 4 courses out of these 5, and they would count as your electives as well as they would count towards completing the cybersecurity, concentration. And the courses are really focused on the various security measures, including overall course on information security management as well as managing identity and access control techniques. You can use to develop secure applications and security for cloud and security for networks. So all of these areas give you a very good background to create secure applications as you're proceeding on your software engineering career. Next slide, please.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Yes, thank you. So now we jump into just breaking down a required course one of the earlier courses that Aline mentioned, so I'll hand it right back to Aline to break down a little bit more about this course.
The slide changes to display the course description for one required course, RSEG 105: Expert Software Development in Java. The description says, "This course examines Java technologies a software engineer can use to meet the challenges of software development for large-scale development projects. Large scale systems typically support a complex system architecture, incorporate a significant amount of business logic, interoperate with a variety of back-end and partner systems, and access various data stores. This course will focus on the following major technologies that meet these challenges: Spring Framework and RESTful Web Services.
Aline Yurik speaks: Thank you, Tom. So expert software development in Java is a really important course. One of our required courses, something that you may take relatively early on on your path for masters of software engineering. And this course looks at the Java technologies that are used on software projects in the industry with focus on larger scale development projects so that may include frameworks that are used to connect to databases to do large scale applications support various data stores, backend systems, and so on to create systems that are enterprise level and can do a variety of different capabilities. So that's 1 of the courses.
But for the coming semester, Spring 2, we're offering a required course called Object Oriented Design with UML, which is focused specifically on design and architecture approach. That's another great required course. And that's actually something you can take, even, you know, while getting your prerequisite background in Java. If you're not that strong in Java, and you still need to do your Software Development in Java course, you can still proceed with the design course, because it provides you with a non-programming step that you need to do to create your large programs. Next slide, please.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Excellent. So I believe now we're shifting a little bit more into industry insights. Aline's really given great background on the curriculum so far. So I'm gonna jump into industry insights, marketplace information, you could say. So, Aline, right back to you.
The slide changes to a list of job titles of anticipated graduates: Director of Software Engineering, Principal Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Computer and Information Systems Manager, Technical Architect, Computer Programmer, and Software Quality Assurance Analyst & Tester.
Aline Yurik speaks: Thank you so much. So software industry is never boring. There's always innovation. There's always new technologies, new approaches that are coming up in the software industry. The industry is all about continuously innovating.
So our graduates go on to various roles in the software industry. Some folks prefer to be more hands-on software engineers and the path there, starting with a software engineer proceeding to a senior software engineer, and then with experience becoming perhaps a principal or a lead software engineer overall.
As you get more and more experienced in creating programs, you may want to transition into the architecture field and the architecture field looks at ways how you can apply current technologies to structure a large project and to address all the requirements that are there, using the latest and greatest technologies in the most efficient way. So some roles in the architecture area include technical architect, solution architect, enterprise architect, right? So technical would be probably kind of the lower level going on to solution architect, that provides an overall approach for the project, and then the enterprise architect looks at how one project then builds up to the overall enterprise architecture and addresses overall best principles that are used within the enterprise architecture across various projects to make sure they're all consistent and are using the appropriate set of technologies and security principles.
We also have a path for management. So some of our students who may already be in the software industry, then use their degree to proceed more on the management level. Proceeding along the path of a team leader. Then, possibly a software development manager, possibly an information systems manager. The next role would be director, perhaps an associate director, 1st for software, engineering or information technology, then proceeding to director, then, possibly senior director, executive director, and so on. So there are many different paths and options within the software industry, including what's listed here, is a role in the quality, assurance and testing area which also has its own path proceeding to management.
And there are also roles that involve product ownership. And this is actually my current role is a lead product owner. And that's a person that looks at overall product structure requirements, investigates what is needed for the product and represents overall ownership for the product, working closely with developers, architects, testers to make sure that the product meets the business needs so lots and lots of interesting options within the software industry and lots of roles that you can choose for your career path.
The slide switches to a list of job titles held by faculty in the Software Engineering program: Principal Quality Development Engineer at InterSystems, Corporate Vice President of User Experience at New York Life Insurance, API Development Manager, and Director of Data and Systems Integration at Brandeis University.
Aline Yurik speaks: Our faculty, as I mentioned, are all industry professionals. So you see here some of the roles that our faculty hold within the software industry and the biggest value you get out of that is that our faculty bring what they experience every day and what they have experienced through their career in the software industry. They bring that to the classroom through discussions, through the lectures, through the handouts that they provide, they share their expertise, they share the various case studies that they've experienced on real life project, and that to me is really a very valuable part of learning process within our program.
The slide switches to a list of prerequisites for the program: Introduction to Software Engineering, Introduction to Data Structures, and Introduction to Programming in Java, C++, or C.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Thank you. So in addition to Gen. Admission requirements which I'll cover in a moment, those applying to software engineering program should have completed some undergraduate level coursework in these fields: software engineering data structures, programming in Java, C plus plus or C. So these are things we would look for in undergraduate coursework. If you haven't done them, people might take them, you know, after graduation, through online courses like Coursera or through individual courses in online institutions. Or just, you know, post graduation of their of their bachelor degree. Aline, anything to add before I jump into admissions?
Aline Yurik speaks: This is great, Tom. We certainly have had students who have just learned programming languages and software engineering basics on their own through Coursera and through other courses. We've also had students who may have had a different bachelor's degree, not not a computer science or information systems degree, but they have picked up some of these technologies and then use them on projects and work. So we are looking for base level knowledge. Whether you've gained it through a formal undergraduate course, a more informal, perhaps non-credit course online through Coursera or through actual practical work experience.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Thank you. That's that's a wonderful point to make, that it's not a very narrow field in terms of what you have to have studied to be eligible for our program. We are pretty open to experiences in education, professional background. So thank you for highlighting that, that's definitely an important point to make. So thank you.
The slide switches to an Application Checklist: 1) Online Application, 2) Official transcripts, 3) Resume or CV, 4) Statement of goals, 5) Letter of recommendation. Below, text says that there's no application fee and no GMAt or GRE required. The Spring-2 admissions deadline is March 4 for a 10 week session, and the Fall-1 admissions deadline is July 29 for an 8 week session.
Thomas Screnci speaks: So when it comes to the application process, our application process is very straightforward. I'm quite proud and and happy that we are not requiring application. Fees or standardized testing makes it a little bit easier for you as an applicant to complete this for those coming up to our Spring 2 session. It is January 31st, so currently our next session begins in early April with our application deadline of March 4th.
After that, our next session isn't isn't until Fall 1, in end of July. This is because, as you see, in the parentheses there, we are switching from a 10 week academic session to an 8 week session, so our courses will be 2 weeks shorter, which will enable us Brandeis online, to offer 5 sessions throughout the year. If you're going for a certificate program or a master's graduate level program, this will enable you to complete your program even quicker. So that's the real motivation behind our shift is to enable you, as a student, to graduate faster. But with that this year we are having a little bit of a gap between our spring and our fall sessions. So these are 2 upcoming sessions. For those who are interested in applying applications are only available on our website. They are free to start, free to submit.
As I mentioned, we can review your applications with transcript copies. As you see it says official transcripts. If you happen to have a copy laying around, which I personally do, you can submit that, and we can send a decision and make a decision with it. However, by the end of your 1st academic session, we would require an official transcript to be submitted to us. The email address at the bottom of your screen, online@brandeis.edu, is where you can submit transcripts or have your institution submit transcripts to us that is perfect.
Next is a resume. We do love updated resumes. We do love detailed resumes the kind of old belief that or traditional belief, I should say the traditional belief that a resume should be typically one page. It's kind of out the window. For the sake of this application it can be 2, 3 pages long, giving us detailed experience, a list of your experiences, rather projects you've worked on, you know, courses, trainings you've done are very welcome. So giving us a full breakdown of what your experience has been like is is perfectly acceptable. So feel free to break that norm that you sometimes hear of one page only, for for resumes, it can be much longer if you really want. If you have the ability to and want to give us a lot of detail, so please feel free to do that.
We only require one letter recommendation. You can, of course, submit more if you have them. We do typically look for a current manager, supervisor, a former manager or supervisor is also acceptable at Brandeis Online. We do see students who are recent graduates up to people who are, you know, 10, 15, 20 years into your career. If you are the former, if you're a recent graduate and you don't have a very related current or former supervisor, maybe someone who oversaw a practicum, a capstone, a thesis project, some type of manager would still be acceptable. Someone who has seen you in a professional capacity is the the end goal of this recommendation, with the ideal candidate being a current supervisor or manager. Again, you can submit more. If you have multiple you wanted to submit, that is perfectly welcome and acceptable. So please consider that as well.
And that completes the application. It is very straightforward. Materials can be submitted on the application portal on our website. You can submit things and ask questions, of course, through online@brandeis.edu. If you do have any questions or follow up materials, you wanted to submit through that way. That is totally fine as well.
We also require a statement of goals which I kind of missed mentioned, which is kind of fitting because it can be the last thing people submit. This is typically 500 words or more. It is really you saying about the goals of the program. Why you're applying to this program. Why you're picking Brandeis. Maybe what you hope to achieve through this program. If you have a rougher undergraduate experience, let's say, if you're shifting careers, if you have a maybe unique background, you wanted to explain to us, please feel free to give us the details of of your background, your experience, and what you hope to see as a result of this program that is great, to have as much detail. It's better to have more detail than too little, so please feel free to go as long as you feel needed to give us a full understanding of kind of where you're coming from where you hope to see yourself going through this program.
Slide changes to a white background with a quote from a Brandeis Online alum Angela Dalembert in navy text: "This university is not just an establishment, it's a community which fosters learning, wonderful communication, and endless support. Although my program was completed online, I never once felt alone in my journey to accomplishing something great."
Then, the slide switches to display contact information for Aline, Program Chair of Software Engineering (ayurik@brandeis.edu) and Tom, Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment (tscrenci@brandeis.edu).
Thomas Screnci speaks: So that completes the application requirements which you can submit on our website here. And this brings us to our end of our presentation as is a recorded session. We'll just jump one more head quickly to our contact page, so you can feel free to be in touch with Aline or myself at any point. I am typically the main 1st contact for people as the admissions and enrollment representative, so please feel free to reach out to us. You can reach out to me through my email, through the email address on the bottom, online@brandeis.edu, and of course, always welcome phone calls as well. But thank you for joining us for this recorded session. And, Aline, thank you so much for your contribution and your information about the curriculum, the faculty, and the marketplace. So thank you so much for that. We're going to stop this recording now, and hope that we hear from you soon, so thank you for joining us.
Aline Yurik speaks: Thank you very much.