The high-level goals of the program are to:

• Train engineers in the core skills needed for success in modern software engineering.
• Train engineers on how to use AI/LLMs to become more efficient and productive software engineers.
• Train engineers to be experts in integrating AI/ML/LLMs into software systems in order to build AI-aided software applications that are secure, correct, reliable, performant, and intuitive to use.

Students who successfully complete the program will be prepared to enter careers such as:

• AI Software Engineer—design and build software systems that integrate AI models, embedding them into products, APIs, and services.
• MLOps Engineer—build and maintain the infrastructure that supports ML pipelines, from data ingestion to model deployment and monitoring.
• Software Architect for Intelligent Systems—define high-level architecture and design for software systems that include AI and distributed data components.

Learning Outcomes

1. Apply disciplined software engineering practices to ensure reliability, maintainability, and scalability in evolving systems capable of handling data at scale.
2. Design and implement scalable software systems that integrate AI/ML components.
3. Apply data management and distributed systems principles to support AI applications.
4. Evaluate and use AI-assisted development tools responsibly.
5. Implement and monitor AI-enabled software with ethical and security considerations.
6. Collaborate across disciplines to deliver reliable, user-centered intelligent systems.

Requirements

The online Master of Science in Software Engineering for Artificial Intelligence consists of 30 units spread across 13 modules. The modules will be completed sequentially in an expected two years.

The program will begin with a launch orientation and bootcamp completed prior to the official start of the term, and the program will conclude with a capstone project.

• ECE EX 501 Software Engineering Orientation
• ECE EX 502 Software Engineering Bootcamp
• CDS DX 500 Data Science Bootcamp
• ECE EX 601 Software Engineering Fundamentals
• CDS DX 602 Programming Toolkit for Data Science
• ECE EX 603 Data and Algorithms for Scalable Systems
• CDS DX 603 Machine Learning Fundamentals
• ECE EX 602 Software Engineering at Scale
• ECE EX 604 AI/LLM-Aided Software Development
• ECE EX 606 Human-Centric AI UX
• ECE EX 699 Capstone Project—End-to-End AI Application Utilizing Big Data at Scale
• ECE EX 605 Data Design & Distribution at Scale, AI/ML OPS
• CDS DX 701 Responsible & Ethical Data Science & AI

The program will be offered completely online with a flexible schedule for students to complete. The program starts in September and January.

Admissions Information

All students are expected to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and coursework in areas relevant to the degree, for example, computer science, data science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering, mathematics and physics with coding background. Work experience can vary by program, with a minimum of 2–5 years desired. The Electrical & Computer Engineering department will look at applications holistically in a similar way that applications are reviewed for the residential program. A committee of faculty will review applications and recommend students for admission.