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OMSE Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering (GCSO)

Software engineers work within a context of constantly changing technologies, challenging application domains, and volatile requirements. They need strong assurances that the project will succeed, in particular, that their software solutions will satisfy customer expectations within the constraints of cost and schedule. (see About OMSE)

The Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering (GCSO) provides software professionals with the practices, techniques, and tools they need to tackle the breadth and depth of software problems they will encounter throughout their careers. The target audience for this program includes individuals who are currently working in software development, software maintenance, or software engineering support activities such as quality assurance, configuration management, and process improvement. Upon successful completion of the program, Portland State University (PSU) will award a Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering (GCSO).
This page provides an overview of this program as well as courses to be completed, GCSO program requirements and how to apply.

Program Overview
The OMSE Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering is intended to provide professionals an opportunity to enhance their skills in the field while earning further credentials that will advance their careers. The program offers software engineering education that is practical and immediately applicable to the job. OMSE courses leverage the real-world problems and experiences of each student thereby allowing them to share problems and discuss possible alternatives, trade-offs, and solutions.

The principle objective of the program is to educate working professionals with respect to both current and emerging software engineering practices:

  • Introduces current and emerging software engineering knowledge and software industry practices
  • Provides software engineering education to experienced software practitioners who already have an undergraduate (bachelors) degree in another or related discipline
  • The student is able to integrate learning with their personal and work obligations
  • Enables the student to earn a 5-course certificate - a Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering
  • Provides a stepping stone for students considering or enrolled in the Oregon Master of Software Engineering program - all credits of the certificate also qualify as credits toward the master’s degree.

Students who complete this course of study will have mastered foundation software engineering principles, models, methods and techniques and will be able to:
  • Explain alternative software lifecycle models including benefits, shortfalls, what can be tailored, and how they can be adapted to the problem at hand
  • Describe processes for organizing software project teams, assessing project risks, breaking-down the work, estimating the work, producing project schedules, monitoring project status, and reporting out progress
  • Practice effective oral and written communications in a software project setting
  • Write unambiguous requirements, validate requirements, and manage project scope
  • Plan, write and conduct software assurance activities including quality assurance, software inspections, and testing.
Curriculum/Courses
The certificate consists of five (5) three-credit courses for a total of 15 credits of required coursework (course descriptions can be found on the curriculum/courses page):
  • OMSE 500-- Principles of Software Engineering
  • OMSE 511--Managing Software Development
  • OMSE 513--Professional Communication Skills for Software Engineers
  • OMSE 525--Software Quality Analysis
  • OMSE 531--Software Requirements Engineering
GCSO Program Requirements
Students must be admitted to the graduate certificate program by the University and must meet standards for admission to allied graduate degree programs (e.g., master's or doctoral level programs). Minimally this requires an accredited 4-year baccalaureate degree and an acceptable grade-point average. Students may be admitted as graduate degree students (e.g., concurrently admitted to a master's or doctoral program) or admitted to the University as a graduate certificate student only.

Academic Requirements: Students must maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.00 in all courses to be used to earn the certificate. A cumulative Grade-Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 must be attained for overall PSU graduate performance.

Award and Transcript: Courses and graduate certificates completed will be transcripted by the University Registrar as part of the student's permanent University record. Students must apply for award of the Graduate Certificate in Software Engineering (GCSE), which will be awarded once the program requirements are met.

Applying for Admission to the GCSO Program

Students apply for admission to the certificate program through the OMSE Program Office.
  • If you are not a currently admitted graduate student at PSU, you will need to fill out the PSU Admission Application for Graduate Certificate Program. This application requires a $50 non-refundable application fee due upon submission of the application.
  • If you are already an admitted graduate student at PSU, you DO NOT need to fill out the PSU Admission Application. Instead, you will need to fill out a GO-19M form and check-off the option that reads: “I wish to add to my present master’s degree program the graduate certificate program” and fill in the blank with the words “Software Engineering”.
Submission of Certificate Application Materials: In addition to one of the above PSU forms, the OMSE program office requires you to complete the OMSE Admission Application for admission consideration.

Please submit these forms together with other information requested in these forms (e.g. transripts, letters of reference) as one complete packet to the OMSE Program Office:

Oregon Master of Software Engineering (OMSE)
Portland State University-CMPS, PO Box 751
Portland, OR 97207