Distance Education in Software Engineering

Since June, 1996, Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science, Distance Education has been developing and delivering world-class software engineering courses at a distance. We began by offering a Certificate in Software Engineering, then as technology and demand progressed, we were able to offer the Master's of Software Engineering and now the Master of Science in Information Technology entirely at a distance.

Distance Delivery

All of our lectures are on DVD media, which the student may keep once the course is completed. We are exploring streaming video and hope to be able to offer this option soon. In addition to the lectures, students receive lecture slides, generally in PDF format, a Companion Guide with lecture notes and assignment descriptions, course readings in either hard copy or PDF format (textbooks not included) whenever available, and access to a course website, bulletin board and chatroom.

Instructors are in contact with students via email and bulletin boards in addition to, generally, holding weekly chatroom sessions or video-teleconferences. This will vary among instructors and students, depending on their opportunities and/or access to video-teleconferencing equipment.

Hardware/Software Requirements

Students will need a computer, either PC, Macintosh or Unix, with a minimum of 6x DVD-Rom drive, 800x600 screen size and a 16 bit color monitor with 40 MB RAM. In addition, all students must have email and access to a browser (Netscape Navigator 4.07 or Internet Explorer 5.x) with java and cookies enabled.

Software requirements include Microsoft Project. In addition Acrobat Reader and Quicktime are used, both of which can be downloaded for free. Some courses have other specific requirements, which will be mentioned in the course descriptions when applicable.

Frequently Asked Questions

During the Fall of 1996, the School of Computer Science offered its first software engineering course, Managing Software Development, at a distance. In the Fall of 1998, the School first offered students the option of taking our courses for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or for graduate credit. As we continue to expand our software engineering curriculum, we have compiled a list of answers to common questions.