Contact: Phil Hearn
Computer software engineering jobs are expected to nearly double during the first decade of the 21st century and Mississippi State's nationally accredited program in the field already is filling the employment demand.
With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting that two out of the top three fastest-growing jobs for 2000-10 will be in the area of software engineering, the university just learned its S.E. program is among the first four in the nation earning 2002-03 approval from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.
"We are among the first accredited departments that will help fill this demand," said Donna Reese, professor and software engineering undergraduate coordinator for the department of computer science and engineering.
"We think this places us among the premier software engineering programs in the country," added department head Julia Hodges.
ABET is the recognized accrediting agency for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education. Although the organization declined to identify the other accredited S.E. programs, it confirmed MSU is among the first four.
"I'm so proud of our faculty I could burst," said Bob Taylor, associate dean of the Bagley College of Engineering and ABET compliance coordinator. "This demonstrates that MSU is a world leader in software engineering education."
College dean Wayne Bennett also extended his congratulations to the faculty in software engineering, which he described as a "new field that has evolved with the growth and development of computing and telecommunications over the last two decades.
"Our computer science and engineering department has played an important role in the evolution of software engineering," Bennett said. "The field has matured to the stage where a specialized undergraduate engineering curriculum is needed."
In its December 2001 report on the fastest growing occupations for 2000-10, the labor statistics bureau projected that:
--Jobs in computer software engineering applications would lead the way, growing from 380,000 to 760,000;
--Jobs in computer software engineering systems would rank third, growing from 317,000 to 601,000; and
--Eight of the 10 fastest growing occupations would be computer related, with computer support specialists ranking second.
Software engineering is the study of applying an engineering process to the development of software products. Students are taught to apply computer science, computer engineering, industrial engineering and some human factors to the development of systems.
"We teach students the skills and tools necessary for use in today's large development projects," said associate professor Ray Vaughn, one of several faculty who have helped build the S.E. program. "That includes proper documentation, security, quality control, testing, and total lifecycle support."
Vaughn said software systems today impact everyday life in a variety of ways that range from automobile design and health care systems to ATM machines.
"Software engineers are charged with the responsibility to ensure that this software is correctly designed, implemented and maintained so that it reliably does what the customer needs it to do, gets delivered in a timely manner, is affordable and is easily extendable as new functionality needs to be added," he said.
While companies developing software as a business--MicroSoft, Accenture, Symantec and computer gaming companies, among others--are obvious prospective employers for software engineering graduates, Reese said "most every company in business today has some special software needs.
"Software engineers can make an impact on virtually any company," she added.
NEWS EDITOR/DIRECTORS: For more information on MSU's software engineering program, contact Dr. Hodges at (662) 325-2756 or hodges@cs.msstate.edu.