Curriculum Software Technology 2003

Introduction

The master program Software Technology takes two years of study and has a total size of 120 European study points (ECTS). The program has two flavours: a research-oriented P-track and an industry-oriented M-track.

The academic year is structured into four periods. In each period a students usually takes takes two courses of 7.5 ECTS each. The structure of the program is summarized by the following table:

Of course individual students may follow a different schedule, depending on deficiencies, delays, etc. It is possible to start the program in February (period 2). Some seminars are offered in later periods than the first.

All Students (82.5 ECTS)

Deficiencies or Electives (15 ECTCS)

Students with deficiencies in the entrance requirements of the ST program can take upto two courses to remedy those deficiencies. Students without a computer science bachelor from Utrecht University, typically lack one or more of the following courses:

• Functional programming
• Grammars and parsing
• Programmming and correctness

Students without deficiencies (which includes all students with a computer science bachelor from Utrecht University) can use this space in the curriculum for elective courses to be filled in with courses from the ST program or from other master programs.

Mandatory Courses (22.5 ECTS)

The following courses are required for all ST students:

• Software Engineering
• Software Architecture
• Implementation of Programming Languages

If one or more of these courses have already been taken as part of the bachelor program, or equivalent courses have been taken elsewhere, courses from the list of additional courses should be substituted instead.

Thesis Project (45 ECTS)

In the final thesis project a student performs research under the supervision of one of the staff members of the center. The project can be conducted in the ST-Lab of the center, in a company, or (partly) in a related (foreign) research group.

Thesis projects are structured in three phases: colloquium, proposal, and research.

Software Technology Colloquium (5 ECTS)

In order to prepare for the thesis project and get a broad overview of ongoing research in the Center and beyond, students attend the weekly Software Technology Colloquium. This colloquium provides a broad overview of interesting results in the ST area by means of research talks and paper presentations by internal and external speakers. Each student should attend at least 30 colloquium sessions, give one colloquium presentation about a topic of choice, and write a literature study about this topic.

Thesis Proposal (10 ECTS)

After choosing a topic for a thesis project, but before actually starting the research, a student writes a thesis proposal containing a problem statement for the proposed research, positioning of the research with respect to other research, an overview of the literature in the field, and a planning for the project. The proposal should be accepted by the thesis committee before the project can start.

Research and Thesis (30 ECTS)

The final part of the project consists of performing the research according to the plan in the thesis proposal and writing a thesis about the result. Relevant parts of the proposal will typically find their way into the thesis. The project is finished with a defense of the thesis before the thesis committee.

P-Track (37.5 ECTS)

The P-track is oriented at students pursuing a career as researcher or as technical software engineer. Courses or seminars taught inside the department and not mentioned below may be approved upon explicit request, especially in relation with the choice of a specific thesis area.

Additional ST Courses (22.5 ECTS)

At least three of the following courses should be taken by students taking the P-Track.

• Advanced functional programming
• Program transformation
• Data base architectures
• Distributed object systems
• Generic programming
• Program verification
• Automatic program analysis
• Type systems

Courses from this list can also be used to fill in the electives. Courses used to substitute for mandatory courses do not count towards filling the credits for this part of the curriculum.

Seminars (15 ECTS)

In preparation for their thesis project students in the P-track take two seminars or one seminar and an advanced ST course. Seminars usually take the form of small study groups in which a subject is studied in depth and may also have a practical component. The subjects are usually closely linked to the research conducted in the CST and follow up on earlier courses in the program. The subjects of seminars may vary from year to year. Typical seminars that are given in 2003-2004 (for students enrolled in 2002) include:

• High Performance Compilers
• Complex Data
• Haskell Compilation

M-Track (37.5 ECTS)

The M-track consists of courses directed towards management and organization and is intended for students pursuing a business-oriented software engineering career.

Additional ST Courses (7.5 ECTS)

At least one of the additional courses in the list above should be taken by students taking the M-Track. Note that more ST courses can be taken using the room for elective courses.

Minor Management and Organization (30 ECTS)

The M-Track is characterized by a minor concentrating on management and organization. The minor can be realized in different ways.

• An internship with a company.

• The Fundamentals in Business and Economics program of Prof. dr. Arie Buijs. Only a limited number of students can enroll.

• A selection of 4 courses from the MBI program or other relevant courses in the area of management and organization. Examples of courses that complement the ST program are:
  • Enterprise Lab
  • Knowledge Management
  • Management Control
  • Usability evaluation methods
  • Project Management (unless already taken in bachelor program)

  Note that the MBI program may impose restrictions on enrollment into their courses. Please plan ahead and consult the lecturer of courses you want to take.

Advise for Specific Groups

Bachelor degree in Computer Science from Utrecht University

If you have such a bachelor degree you can enter the program without explicit permission. Please register by sending an email to the student advisor including a letter of motivation for your choice and a plan with the courses you will take in the first year of the program. If you have not yet finished your bachelor program at the start of the fourth year of study, please include a plan for finishing the last courses.

In case you have already taken one or more of te mandatory courses as part of your Bachelors degree you should substitute courses from the list of additional courses. Students enrolling into the program in 2003 have done the courses IPT and SA as part of their bachelor and should therefore substitute other courses from the list of additional courses.

'Doctoraal' Students Computer Science from Utrecht University

Students who started their (undergraduate) studies before 2002 are not yet taking part in the bachelor/master system. These students can and are advised to follow the master curriculum as described above after finishing the first three years of the CS curriculum. For those students insisting on studying according to the old 'OER', the rules for the Software Technology 'afstudeerrichting' are described in:

• DoctoraalSoftwareTechnology

HIO Students (Students from Dutch Polytechnic Schools)

Students from the HIO in general have taken a good amount of project-oriented courses. These students are advised to follow the P-track to best complement their prior education. Usually deficiencies exist in functional programming and grammars and parsing.

Technische Bedrijfskunde / Business Informatics

Students with a background in business informatics who show to have affinity and experience in programming in addition to their formal education may be addmitted to the program. For these students it might be advisable to take some additional courses from the bachelor program.