Engineering teaches students to apply engineering methods for solving practical problems. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Clarkson University offers three ABET-accredited programs. In addition to the Software Engineering undergraduate bachelor's degree program, the department administers computer and electrical engineering programs. Our faculty experts engage in the development of technology and innovation in areas such as next-generation identification technology, advanced cybersecurity for a safer world, metamaterials that can bend waves, and cutting-edge renewable energy systems for a greener tomorrow. 

Clarkson's Software Engineering bachelor's degree program is unique in its combination of software and hardware topics and a streamlined course sequence that emphasizes software engineering technology & engineering design. The program curriculum is interdisciplinary, drawing from both Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering. This collaborative approach provides our students with a curriculum in core areas such as programming fundamentals, data structures and algorithms, programming languages, software systems, software engineering (requirements, design, implementation, and verification and validation), web and mobile systems, and embedded systems. Our students are taught with the state-of-the-art industry tools and environments and languages such as C/C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript. 

​​Clarkson's program integrates software engineering technology and engineering design with a robust set of communication and teamwork skills that industry leaders seek. Ultimately, the curriculum culminates in a capstone design project where student teams showcase their accumulated knowledge in the program. In addition, some of the design projects give students opportunities to work with professors and graduate students and publish the work at academic venues. Overall, the software engineering program lays a solid foundation in our students for a successful career in today's vibrant IT industry.

Our classes are small, ensuring professors' personal attention on every student and collaborative learning among peers, so nobody falls behind. This unique quality of interaction between faculty and students is a hallmark of the Clarkson educational experience. The curriculum, combined with research and internship/co-op opportunities and career placement services, separates us from similar programs elsewhere.

Dedicated faculty and staff encourage technology development to serve humanity and express that mission throughout our software engineering undergraduate bachelor's degree program. This, combined with an extensive community of undergraduate students, graduate students, full-time faculty members, and an active alumni network, makes the software engineering program a great choice.

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Software Engineering Careers

Clarkson Class of 2020 97 percent employment

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has consistently ranked software engineer at the top of its job list for many years. Demand for software engineers spans many sectors, such as:

  • social media and entertainment
  • energy
  • automotive
  • aviation
  • telecommunication
  • finance and banking

According to PayScale, the average software engineer salary is nearly $85,000. Almost all organizations require some form of software engineering to support their business. Clarkson software engineering majors have been recruited by companies such as Aetna, Aurora North, BAE, Electric Boat, Gracenote, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Northeast Information Discovery and Saab Defense and Security.  

In recent years, our software engineering majors have also chosen to attend graduate schools, such as Duke University, Purdue University or Clarkson's own Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. program.

Watch the video above to see software engineering senior Kristen Printup share her favorite aspects of Clarkson's software engineering program, including excellent academic support and  abundant high-paying career opportunities.

Software Engineering Curriculum & Academic Options

Major in Software Engineering

The software engineering bachelor's degree curriculum includes courses from both computer science, computer engineering, mathematics, statistics and communication. Software engineering majors take courses such as:

  • Algorithms & Data Structures
  • Computer Architecture
  • Database Systems
  • Fundamentals of Software Engineering
  • Software Design for Visual Environments
  • Software Engineering Junior and Senior Design

 

Core Requirements

The software engineering program consists of 39 credit hours in software engineering, 27 hours in engineering common curriculum, 12 credit hours in computer science, 3 credit hours in electrical science, 12 credit hours in mathematics, and 6 credit hours in professional electives. 6 credit hours are in free electives.

Click here for a sample curriculum schedule

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Students are required to complete the following courses:

Software Engineering

  • CS341 Programming Languages
  • CS344 Algorithms and Data Structures
  • CS444 Operating Systems
  • CS458 Formal Methods for Program Verification
  • EE260 Embedded Systems 
  • EE262 Intro to Object-Oriented Programming and Software Design
  • EE264 Introduction to Digital Design 
  • EE361 Fundamentals of Software Engineering 
  • EE363 Software Components & Generic Programming 
  • EE368 Software Engineering 
  • EE407 Computer Networks 
  • EE408 Software Design for Visual Environments 
  • EE418 Software Engineering Senior Design 
  • EE462 Software System Architecture 
  • EE466 Computer Architecture
  • EE468 Database Systems

Professional Experience

  • Students are required to complete the following Professional Experience:
    ES499 Professional Experience (0 credits)

Clarkson Common Experience

The following courses are required for all students, irrespective of their program of study. These courses are offered during the fall semester, with FY100 First-Year Seminar being required of only first-year students. Both FY100 and UNIV190 are typically taken during the fall semester of the first year at Clarkson.
FY100 First-Year Seminar (1 credits)
UNIV190 The Clarkson Seminar (3 credits)

Common First Year Courses

Students must complete the following courses in their first year:

  • CM131 General Chemistry I (4 credits)
  • CS141 Introduction to Computer Science (4 credits)
  • ES100 Introduction to Engineering Use of the Computer (2 credits)
  • ES110 Engineering & Society 
  • MA131 Calculus I 
  • MA132 Calculus II 
  • PH131 Physics I (4 credits)
  • PH132 Physics II (4 credits)
Core Electives

Students must complete the following courses:

  • MA211 Foundations 
  • MA231 Calculus III 
  • MA232 Elementary Differential Equations
  • MA381 Probability
    or STAT383 Probability & Statistics
  • EE221 Linear Circuits
  • ES250 Electrical Science

Professional Electives

Software engineering professional electives may be any course numbered EE300+, CS300+, MS300+, AS300+, BR400, ME444, COMM442, COMM444 or CS242.

Knowledge Area/University Course Electives

Students will have at least 12 credit hours available to use toward Knowledge Area and/or University Course electives to satisfy the Clarkson Common Experience requirements.

Free Electives

Students will have 6 credit hours available to use toward courses of their choice.

 

Minor in Software Engineering

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering also offers a minor in software engineering, which students in any degree program at Clarkson may pursue. The software engineering minor is designed to help students master important principles in software engineering, and most students can complete the minor in four years. Software Engineering majors may also consider a variety of minors to complement their software engineering degree program.

All Clarkson Minors, Concentrations and Tracks

Software Engineering Minor

Software Engineering Minor Core I

Students are required to complete the courses in one of the following options:

Option 1

  • CS141 Introduction to Computer Science I (4 credits)
  • CS142 Introduction to Computer Science II
  • CS344 Algorithms and Data Structures

Option 2

  • CS141 Introduction to Computer Science I (4 credits)
  • EE262 Intro to Object Oriented Programming and Software Design
  • EE363 Software Components and Generic Programming

Software Engineering Minor Core II

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • CS242 Advanced Programming Concepts in Java
  • or EE408 Software Design for Visual Environments

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • EE368 Software Engineering
  • or CS350 Software Design & Developments

Software Engineering Minor Core III

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • EE465/CS452 Computer Graphics
  • CS455/EE407 Computer Networks
  • EE468/CS460 Database Systems
  • or course approved by the Software Engineering Program Committee.

 

Robotics Minor

The minor in Robotics is designed to provide students with a solid and coherent introduction to the field and consists of two parts: four required core courses (9 credit hours) to give students a strong, working foundation in the associated technology and three elective courses (9 credit hours) that allow students to explore various sub-areas within the field or specialize more deeply in one area. 

Robotics Core Courses

To graduate with a minor in Robotics, students must earn an average GPA of 2.0 in six courses (18 credit hours).

  • MA339 - Applied Linear Algebra (3 credits) OR MA330 - Advanced Engineering Mathematics (3 credits)
  • EE455 - Introduction to Mobile Robotics (3 credits)
  • EE456 - Introduction to Robot Manipulators (3 credits)
  • MP414 - Applied Robotics or equivalent robotics project experience (0 credits)

Robotics Elective Courses

With elective courses, some course substitutions are possible - a list of acceptable substitutions will be maintained by the Coulter School of Engineering in conjunction with the Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering department, the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, and the Computer Science department and updated annually. 

Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • EE260 - Embedded Systems
  • EE401 - Digital Signal Processing
  • EE408 - Software Design For Visual Environments
  • EE446 - Instrumentation
  • EE450 - Control Systems
  • EE451 - Digital Control
  • EE452 - Optimization Techniques in Engineering
  • EE465 - Computer Graphics
  • EE506 - Image Processing and Computer Vision
  • EE652 - Computer Vision

Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

  • ME385 - Design of Electromechanical Systems
  • ME443 - Optimal Engineering
  • ME444 - Computer Aided Engineering
  • ME450 - Control Systems

Computer Science

  • CS449 - Computational Learning
  • CS451 - Artificial Intelligence
  • CS452 - Computer Graphics
  • CS459 - Human-Computer Interaction
  • CS461 - Mixed Reality
  • CS465 - Mobile Robotics/Human-Robot Interaction
  • CS652 - Computer Vision

Experiential Learning

Research Opportunities

Our software engineering professors are also active researchers. Rich research opportunities are available from projects sponsored by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, U.S. Air Force Research Lab, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and private companies. Past student projects include construction of web and mobile apps, data analysis using Python, machine learning applications, biometrics, and cyber security.

Internship and Co-op Opportunities

There are a plenty of internship and co-op opportunities from companies, government offices and other organizations available for our software engineering majors. Clarkson's Fall and Spring Career Fairs, which bring in nearly 200 companies each, are very effective in helping our students secure such opportunities, often leading to full-time job offers before graduation. Recent companies where our students have interned with include, but are not limited to, BAE Systems, Syracuse Research Corporation, IBM, General Dynamics Electric Boat, GE, and Lockheed Martin.

Software Engineering Student Clubs

a photo of members of the student club

Clarkson software engineering students can get involved outside the classroom through over 200 clubs and organizations on campus, including several related to software engineering. These include:

  • American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
  • Autonomous Robotics Club
  • Clarkson University Software Engineering Club
  • Gaming Initiative
  • Gaming Society
  • Clarkson Open Source Institute (COSI)
  • H2Code LLC
  • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
  • Order of Omega 
  • Power and Energy Society
  • Robotics Living Learning Community
  • Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Society
  • Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
  • Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
  • Tau Beta Pi - National Engineering Honor Society
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