Software engineering and undergraduate computing curricula

Abstract

Most graduates of baccalaureate computing programs (at least in the United States) take jobs in the computing profession immediately upon graduation. These jobs generally involve software development or maintenance activities, and therefore demand certain software engineering skills and knowledge.It appears, however, that typical undergraduate computing programs are at present inadequately preparing their students in the area of software engineering. This was in evidence at the 1991 International Conference on Software Engineering, in comments made at plenary sessions and in a special workshop on directions in software engineering education. It is also evidenced by recent attempts to encourage development of software engineering programs at the undergraduate level, separate from those in computer science or computer engineering.The purpose of this panel is to explore the following question: “What software engineering knowledge and skills should be required in a typical baccalaureate computing program, assuming the program is preparing its graduates for immediate entry into the computing profession?” In addressing this question, the panel will consider the recent report of the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Curriculum Task Force, proposed software engineering curricula for undergraduates, and accreditation criteria.