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Software Engineering Programme

A. Definition of the Programme

  • 1. The Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Divisional Board shall offer a Programme of Studies in Software Engineering at postgraduate level.

  • 2. The subjects of the Programme shall be Software Engineering and Software and Systems Security.

  • 3. The following awards shall be available within the Programme:

    • i. M.Sc. in Software Engineering

    • ii. M.Sc. in Software and Systems Security

    • iii. Postgraduate Diploma in Software Engineering

    • iv. Postgraduate Diploma in Software and Systems Security

    • v. Postgraduate Certificate in Software Engineering

    • vi. Postgraduate Certificate in Software and Systems Security

  • 4. The Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Divisional Board shall elect for the supervision of the Programme a Supervisory Committee which shall have the power to arrange lectures and other instruction.

B. Progression

  • 5. Entry to the Programme is to the M.Sc. in Software Engineering or the M.Sc. in Software and Systems Security.

  • 6. With the approval of the Programme Director, a candidate may transfer from the M.Sc. in Software Engineering to the Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate in Software Engineering, and from the MSc in Software and Systems Security to the Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate in Software and Systems Security.

  • 7. Candidates who do not enter for or do not successfully complete the dissertation or do not otherwise meet the requirements for either the MSc Software Engineering or the MSc Software and Systems Security may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate provided they meet the requirements for those awards given in Section D. 

C. Eligibility for awards: duration of study

  • 8. The minimum period of registration for the award is two years and the maximum period of registration is four years.

  • 9. If, for good cause, a student is temporarily unable to study, the Programme Director may grant the student’s request for a temporary suspension of status up to a maximum of three terms. Applications for suspension of status should be made to the Programme Office and should be accompanied by statements of support from the student's supervisor and society. 

D. Eligibility for awards: study and examinations

  • 10. Schedules I and II of modules will be published on the programme’s website. If insufficient students register for a module the Programme Director may make the decision not to offer that iteration of the module.

  • 11. Every candidate will be required to satisfy the examiners in the following:

    • a. M.Sc. in Software Engineering

      • (i) assessment for ten modules chosen from those in Schedule I and II, as specified in the course handbook;

      • (ii) participation in a project module;

      • (iii) a dissertation of not more than 20,000 words on a subject selected by the candidate in consultation with the supervisor and approved by the Supervisory Committee. In preparation for the dissertation, candidates will be required to submit a proposal following participation in the project module. Dissertations submitted which differ from the topic approved by the Supervisory Committee may not be marked by the examiners.

    • b. M.Sc. in Software and Systems Security

      • (i) assessment for ten modules chosen from those in Schedule I and II, as specified in the course handbook;

      • (ii) participation in a project module;

      • (iii) a dissertation of not more than 20,000 words on a subject selected by the candidate in consultation with the supervisor and approved by the Supervisory Committee. In preparation for the dissertation, candidates will be required to submit a proposal following participation in the project module. Dissertations submitted which differ from the topic approved by the Supervisory Committee may not be marked by the examiners.

    • c. Postgraduate Diploma in Software Engineering

      • (i) assessment for eight modules chosen from those in Schedules I and II, as specified in the course handbook.

    • d. Postgraduate Diploma in Software and Systems Security

      • (i) assessment for eight modules chosen from those in Schedules I and II, as specified in the course handbook.

    • e. Postgraduate Certificate in Software Engineering

      • (i) assessment for four modules, chosen from Schedules I and II, as specified in the course handbook.

    • f. Postgraduate Certificate in Software and Systems Security

      • (i) assessment for four modules, chosen from Schedules I and II, as specified in the course handbook.

  • 12. The assessments, the project and the dissertation, shall be submitted as described in and by the date given in the Course Handbook.

  • 13. Provided the Supervisory Committee is satisfied that a candidate has undertaken equivalent study, of an appropriate standard, normally at another institution of higher education, the committee shall have the discretion to permit the candidate to be exempted from completing modules chosen from Schedule A, B, or C, as required under clause 11 above as follows:

    • a. For the M.Sc.: up to two of the total of ten modules;

    • b. For the award of the Postgraduate Diploma: up to two of the total of eight modules;

    • c. For the award of the Postgraduate Certificate: up to one of the total of four modules.

    • That equivalent study might consist of modules from Schedules I and II completed and assessed prior to the commencement of the student's period of study; or it might take the form of courses of an appropriate standard from another institution of higher education. In either case, the equivalent study should have been completed no longer than 2 years prior to first registration for the programme.

  • 14. Candidates may be required to attend a viva voce examination as part of the examination for each award at the discretion of the examiners.

  • 15. Candidates who fail to satisfy the examiners in the assignments under clause 11 above may be permitted to resubmit work in respect of the part or parts of the examination which they have failed for reassessment on not more than one occasion which shall normally be within one year of the initial failure.

E. Subsuming of previous awards under the Programme

  • 16. In the exceptional circumstances that a candidate granted approval under clause 7 above to be awarded one of the Postgraduate Certificates or Postgraduate Diplomas (set out in clause 3 above) is readmitted to one of the M.Scs (set out in clause 3 above), then the following apply:

    • a. If any candidate who is successful in the examination for the Postgraduate Diploma has previously successfully completed the Postgraduate Certificate, and for that examination has incorporated the assignments submitted for the Postgraduate Certificate into the Postgraduate Diploma, then the Postgraduate Diploma will subsume their Certificate.

    • b. If any candidate who is successful in the examination for the M.Sc. has previously successfully completed the Postgraduate Diploma or the Postgraduate Certificate, and for that examination has incorporated the assignments submitted for the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma into the M.Sc., then the subsequent award will subsume their previous award.