Edison State is proposing two pathways in Software Engineering: an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) designed to prepare students for entry-level roles, and a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) that builds on the A.A.S. to prepare students for advanced software engineering practice. Both programs emphasize modern tools, cloud-native development, security, and deployment practices.
The proposed program sequences are included below with course descriptions and tools provided for each course (click each course to expand it for details). Credit hours are provided for each course in parentheses.
Prereq: None — Recommended: Intermediate Algebra
Students develop problem-solving and programming skills using Python while learning core concepts such as variables, control structures, functions, data structures, and debugging. Git and GitHub are introduced to establish modern software development practices from the beginning of the program.
Tools & Technologies: Python, Git, GitHub, VS Code
Prereq: None — Recommended: None
Students learn to create responsive and accessible websites while exploring modern web standards and client-side development. The course introduces HTML, CSS, JavaScript, browser development tools, and the foundations of interactive web applications.
Tools & Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, GitHub, Browser Developer Tools
Semester Total: 16 credits
Prereq: Programming Foundations — Recommended: None
Students build on their programming foundation by learning how to organize, structure, and maintain larger software systems. Emphasis is placed on object-oriented design principles, abstraction, modularity, code reuse, and software maintainability.
Tools & Technologies: Python, GitHub, VS Code
Prereq: None — Recommended: Programming Foundations
Students learn how modern applications store, organize, and retrieve data through relational database design and SQL. The course also introduces transactions, normalization, concurrency concepts, and NoSQL databases.
Tools & Technologies: PostgreSQL, SQL, Database Modeling Tools
Prereq: None — Recommended: Programming Foundations
Students explore how software interacts with operating systems and computing infrastructure. Topics include processes, memory management, concurrency, virtualization, containers, and foundational concepts that support modern cloud platforms.
Tools & Technologies: Linux, Docker, Kubernetes (introductory)
Prereq: None — Recommended: None
Students learn how to identify business needs and translate them into effective software solutions. The course focuses on requirements gathering, process analysis, system modeling, and solution design, helping students bridge the gap between technical implementation and organizational goals.
Tools & Technologies: UML, User Stories, Process Modeling Techniques
Semester Total: 15 credits
Prereq: None — Recommended: None
Students learn how software and technology projects are planned, executed, and managed throughout their lifecycle. The course emphasizes Agile project management, team collaboration, risk management, and project communication to prepare students for work on modern development teams.
Tools & Technologies: Agile Methodologies, Scrum, Kanban, Project Management Software
Prereq: Object-Oriented Design — Recommended: None
Students learn how to evaluate software performance and solve problems efficiently using common data structures and algorithms. The course emphasizes computational thinking, complexity analysis, and selecting appropriate solutions for real-world applications.
Tools & Technologies: Python, Algorithm Visualization Tools
Prereq: Object-Oriented Design — Recommended: None
Students learn how to verify software correctness through automated testing and modern quality assurance practices. The course covers unit testing, integration testing, code quality analysis, and continuous quality processes used by professional development teams.
Tools & Technologies: pytest, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Code Coverage and Analysis Tools
Prereq: Programming Foundations, Web Foundations — Recommended: None
Students develop full-stack web applications that integrate user interfaces, business logic, APIs, and databases. The course emphasizes responsive design, data-driven applications, testing, debugging, and modern application architecture.
Tools & Technologies: C#, ASP.NET Core, SQL, GitHub
Semester Total: 15 credits
Prereq: Web Application Development — Recommended: Algorithms and Data Structures
Students learn how to design scalable, maintainable software systems using modern architectural patterns and practices. The course explores application structure, API design, distributed systems concepts, and cloud-oriented architectures.
Tools & Technologies: UML and Modeling Tools, Architecture Documentation Tools, Cloud Reference Architectures
Prereq: Web Application Development — Recommended: Data Modeling
Students build cloud-native applications using managed services and modern cloud development practices. Topics include serverless computing, event-driven architectures, identity and access management, containers, and infrastructure automation.
Tools & Technologies: AWS, Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, Terraform, Docker
Prereq: Web Application Development — Recommended: Data Modeling
Students learn how to identify, prevent, and mitigate common software vulnerabilities throughout the development lifecycle. The course emphasizes secure coding practices, authentication, authorization, threat modeling, and application security testing.
Tools & Technologies: OWASP Juice Shop, OWASP WebGoat, Postman, Security Analysis Tools
Prereq: Web Application Development — Recommended: None
Students learn how modern software systems are built, deployed, and maintained through automation and operational practices. The course focuses on continuous integration and deployment, container orchestration, infrastructure as code, and system observability.
Tools & Technologies: GitHub Actions, Docker, Terraform, Kubernetes
Prereq: Minimum completion of 18 credit hours in program
Students apply knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program by completing a substantial software engineering project or supervised industry internship. Projects are expected to incorporate software development, testing, cloud technologies, security, and deployment practices.
Tools & Technologies: Varies based on project or internship placement
Semester Total: 15 credits
Prereq: Algorithms and Data Structures — Recommended: None
Students extend their understanding of algorithms and computational thinking to address complex, real-world system challenges. The course emphasizes advanced algorithm design, complexity analysis, and the application of algorithmic principles to large-scale system design problems common in modern software engineering.
Tools & Technologies: Python, Algorithm Visualization Tools, System Design Frameworks, Whiteboarding Tools
Prereq: Web Application Development — Recommended: None
Students design and build mobile applications for modern smartphone platforms using cross-platform development frameworks. The course emphasizes mobile user interface design, device capability integration, offline data management, API consumption, and the deployment of applications to mobile distribution platforms. Students apply software engineering principles developed throughout the program to the unique constraints and opportunities of the mobile development environment.
Tools & Technologies: React Native or Flutter, JavaScript or Dart, REST APIs, SQLite, iOS App Store and Google Play deployment tooling
Prereq: Data Modeling — Recommended: None
Students extend their understanding of relational and non-relational database systems to address the demands of modern, data-intensive applications. The course emphasizes query optimization, distributed data architectures, data warehousing, and analytical data processing, preparing students to make informed data design decisions at scale.
Tools & Technologies: PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Apache Kafka, dbt, Snowflake or similar data warehouse platform
Semester Total: 15 credits
Prereq: Cloud Development — Recommended: None
Students extend their cloud development skills to design and evaluate scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized cloud infrastructure for enterprise-grade applications. The course emphasizes multi-region architectures, cloud security posture, cost management, infrastructure automation, and the application of well-architected framework principles to real-world cloud environments.
Tools & Technologies: AWS, Terraform, AWS Well-Architected Tool, AWS Cost Explorer, CloudWatch, AWS Config
Prereq: None — Recommended: Composition II
Students develop the research and communication skills essential for professional software engineering practice. The course emphasizes evaluating and synthesizing technical literature, designing and conducting applied research, and producing professional technical documentation including architecture decision records, technical proposals, and engineering reports. Students apply these skills directly to software engineering contexts throughout the course.
Tools & Technologies: IEEE/ACM Digital Libraries, Markdown, Confluence or similar documentation platform, GitHub, Diagramming Tools
Semester Total: 14 credits
Semester Total: 3 credits
Prereq: Algorithms and System Design — Recommended: None
Students examine the principles and challenges of designing and building software systems that operate across multiple networked components. The course emphasizes consistency models, fault tolerance, distributed communication patterns, and the architectural trade-offs that govern modern cloud-native and microservice-based applications.
Tools & Technologies: Docker, Kubernetes, Apache Kafka, gRPC, AWS (ECS, SQS, SNS)
Prereq: Advanced Data Systems, General Statistics — Recommended: None
Students apply machine learning concepts and engineering practices to design, train, evaluate, and deploy models in production environments. The course emphasizes data preparation, model selection, performance evaluation, MLOps practices, and the responsible development of AI-powered software systems.
Tools & Technologies: Python, scikit-learn, TensorFlow or PyTorch, Jupyter, AWS SageMaker, MLflow
Prereq: None — Recommended: None
Students examine the responsibilities, practices, and ethical dimensions of leadership within software engineering teams and organizations. The course emphasizes mentoring, code review culture, architectural decision facilitation, cross-functional communication, and the ethical obligations of software engineers with respect to privacy, accessibility, intellectual property, and AI development. Case studies and simulation exercises ground leadership concepts in realistic software engineering contexts.
Tools & Technologies: Case Study Frameworks, Agile/Scrum Tooling, GitHub (code review workflows), Communication and Collaboration Platforms
Prereq: Research Methods & Technical Communication, Department Approval — Recommended: None
Students define, scope, and design a substantial software engineering project that integrates the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program. The course emphasizes problem identification, requirements analysis, architectural decision-making, and project planning, culminating in a comprehensive design document and development roadmap approved for implementation in Senior Capstone II.
Tools & Technologies: Varies based on project scope and design decisions
Semester Total: 15 credits
Prereq: Secure Development — Recommended: None
Students apply advanced security principles and practices throughout the software development lifecycle to design and build resilient, secure applications. The course emphasizes threat modeling, secure architecture patterns, supply chain security, secrets management, and the integration of automated security testing into modern development pipelines, with alignment to the Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) body of knowledge.
Tools & Technologies: OWASP SAMM, Snyk, GitHub Advanced Security, HashiCorp Vault, OWASP ZAP, AWS Security Hub
Prereq: DevOps Engineering — Recommended: None
Students examine the principles and practices of designing and operating the internal platforms and tooling that modern software engineering teams depend on. The course emphasizes developer experience, platform observability, incident response, service level objectives, and the operational practices that enable engineering organizations to deliver software reliably at scale. Students develop an appreciation for the platform engineering discipline as both consumers and informed collaborators of internal developer platforms.
Tools & Technologies: Kubernetes, Prometheus, Grafana, PagerDuty or similar incident management platform, AWS CloudWatch, Terraform
Prereq: Senior Capstone I — Recommended: None
Students implement, deploy, and defend the software engineering project designed in Senior Capstone I. The course emphasizes production-quality development practices, cloud deployment, security, testing, and professional presentation of completed work. Projects are expected to demonstrate mastery of software engineering principles developed throughout the program.
Tools & Technologies: Varies based on project scope and design decisions
Semester Total: 14 credits