Online Master of Science in Software Development

At a Glance

Completion Time

Months

Credits Required

Tuition

$27,920–$29,700

Part-Time*

*Based on 2026–2027 Boston University tuition and fees. Merit scholarship may reduce cost.

Advance Your Career with Software Architecture and DevOps Expertise

The MS in Software Development constitutes preparation for one of the largest and fastest-growing professions: software developer. It recognizes the ubiquitous and growing need for new and evolving software. The degree program is founded on the principle that developers must be thoroughly practiced in understanding new requirements in diverse fields and, acting as team members or leaders, fully competent to deliver secure, reliable software.

The MS in Software Development is also available on campus in Boston. Learn more.

Curriculum

A total of 32 units is required.

Preparatory Labs

Core Courses

(Five courses/20 units)

MET CS 521 Information Structures with Python

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Creativity/Innovation
Critical Thinking
Quantitative Reasoning II

Prerequisite: Programming experience in any language. Or Instructor's consent. Explore the object-oriented approach to software design and development using Python. You will engage in a detailed discussion of programming concepts starting with the fundamentals of data types, control structures methods, classes, arrays and strings, and proceed to more advanced topics such as inheritance and polymorphism, creating user interfaces, exceptions and streams. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to apply software engineering principles to design and implement Python applications that can be used with analytics and big data. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Critical Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning 2.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	COM 217

Section A2, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Lu	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SHA 206

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 526 Data Structures and Algorithms

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: MET LB 110 lab and either MET CS520 or MET CS521, or consent of instructor. Learn fundamental components of programs using various data structures to solve computational problems, and implement data structures using a high-level programming language. Algorithms will be created, decomposed, and expressed as pseudocode, and you will analyze their running time and computational complexity.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mellor	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SCI 115

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Doucette	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Burstein	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 622 Advanced Programming Techniques

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Creativity/Innovation
Critical Thinking
Quantitative Reasoning II

Prerequisites: (MET CS 342 or equivalent knowledge of Java) or (MET CS 521 and MET CS 526) or consent of instructor. Polymorphism, containers, libraries, method specifications, large-scale code management, use of exceptions, concurrent programming, functional programming, programming tests. Java is used to illustrate these concepts. Students implement a project or projects of their own choosing, in Java, since some concepts are expressible only in Java. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Creativity/Innovation, Critical Thinking.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Davoodi	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	CAS 228

MET CS 665 Software Design and Patterns

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: METCS342 and METCS565 or consent of instructor - Software design principles, the object-oriented paradigm, unified modeling language; creational, structural, and behavioral design patterns; OO analysis and design; software architectures and frameworks; code refactoring. Laboratory course.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Orsini	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	HAR 240

Plus one of the following:

MET CS 673 Software Engineering

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Digital/Multimedia Expression
Oral and/or Signed Communication
Teamwork/Collaboration

Prerequisites: At least two programming-intensive courses. Or consent of instructor. Familiarity with OO design concepts and proficiency in at least one high-level programming language is required. Familiarity with web or mobile application development preferred. A comprehensive overview of the entire software development lifecycle, emphasizing modern software architectures, methodologies, practices, and tools. Key topics include agile principles and methodologies such as Scrum and XP, DevOps concepts and practices, CI/CD pipeline, modern software architectures including microservices, REST, and MVC, design patterns, refactoring, software testing, secure software development, and software project management. This course features a semester-long group project where students will design, develop, build, and deploy a real-world software system, applying Agile methodology, DevOps pipeline, and various software tools. This course is better taken as a capstone course towards the end of your program study. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Zhang	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	PSY B55

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Zhang	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 682 Information Systems Analysis and Design

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: Basic programming knowledge or consent of instructor. - Object-oriented methods of information systems analysis and design for organizations with data- processing needs. System feasibility; requirements analysis; database utilization; Unified Modeling Language; software system architecture, design, and implementation, management; project control; and systems-level testing.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Guadagno	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SHA 210

Section E1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Guadagno	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SHA 210

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Williams	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Polnar	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

General Electives

(Three courses/12 units)

When choosing electives, students should make sure that they have all prerequisites required by the selected course or, instructor’s consent. Choose three from the following list:

MET CS 577 Data Science with Python

4 credits.

Prerequisite: (MET CS 521) or equivalent or instructor's consent. Students will learn major Python tools and techniques for data analysis. There are weekly assignments and mini projects on topics covered in class. These assignments will help build necessary statistical, visualization and other data science skills for effective use of data science in a variety of applications including finance, text processing, time series analysis and recommendation systems. In addition, students will choose a topic for a final project and present it on the last day of class.

Section A2, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	PHO 202

Section A4, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	T	09:00:00 AM–11:45:00 AM	STH 113

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 601 Frontend Web Development

4 credits.

Prerequisite: MET WD 100 - Learn essential front-end development skills, starting with foundational JavaScript techniques, such as DOM manipulation and event handling, and advancing to interactive web technologies like HTML's Drag and Drop, Canvas, and SVG. You will be exposed to asynchronous operations, including AJAX, the Fetch API, and Web Workers, and learn to craft responsive designs using Flexbox, CSS Grid, and advanced CSS selectors. A comprehensive exploration of TypeScript and its main feature, static typing, and capabilities will also be covered. The course concludes with a comprehensive dive into ReactJS, covering its core architectural concepts, component-based structure, and state management techniques.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Sheehan	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	MCS B33

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Hur	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 602 Server-Side Web Development

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisite: MET CS 601 Or instructor's consent. - The Server-Side Web Development course concentrates primarily on building full stack applications using the state of the art tools and frameworks. The course is divided into various modules covering in depth the following topics: NodeJS, Express, React, MongoDB, Mongoose ODM, Sequelize ORM, REST and GraphQL APIs, and application security. Along with the fundamentals underlying these technologies, several applications will be showcased as case studies. Students work with these technologies starting with simple applications and then examining real world complex applications. At the end of this course, students would have mastered developing the full stack applications using the MERN stack and related technologies.

MET CS 633 Software Quality, Testing, and Security Management

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Examine software development and software engineering from a project and program management perspective, with a focus on leading agile and distributed teams. You will engage in a term project featuring peer-reviewed milestones and a working prototype. Topics include AI-driven quality assurance (QA), team leadership, and effective collaboration in distributed settings. Additional topics covered in the course include information systems security, ethics, and professional responsibility. No programming background required.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Elentukh	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	KCB 102

Section E1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Elentukh	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	KCB 102

MET CS 634 Agile Software Development with Intelligent Systems

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the principles, processes, and practices of agile software development. Students learn how to initiate, plan, and execute software projects using a variety of agile methodologies. The course covers multiple frameworks—including Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), and Lean—and incorporates agile games and simulations to reinforce key concepts. Students gain practical experience with agile tools and techniques across the software development lifecycle, from ideation to deployment. Emphasis is placed on building and leading agile teams, defining roles and responsibilities, fostering effective communication, managing change, and applying Lean principles to maximize value and reduce waste. AI-Powered business analysis is also a core focus, with students learning how to identify stakeholder needs, define and manage requirements, and ensure that solutions deliver business value in agile contexts.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Heda	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	STH 113

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Arruda	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 664 Artificial Intelligence

4 credits.

Prerequisites: MET CS 521 or equivalent. - Study of the ideas and techniques that enable computers to behave intelligently. Search, constraint propagation, and reasoning. Knowledge representation, natural language, learning, question answering, inference, visual perception, and/or problem solving. Agent frameworks for developing modern agents are explored. Laboratory course.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Kalathur	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SCI 115

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Kalathur	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 669 Database Design and Implementation for Business

4 credits.

Learn the latest relational and object-relational tools and techniques for persistent data and object modeling and management. You will gain extensive hands-on experience using Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server as you learn the Structured Query Language (SQL) and design and implement databases. You will design and implement a database system as a term project. Restrictions: This course may not be taken in conjunction with MET CS 469 (undergraduate) or MET CS 579. Only one of these courses can be counted towards degree requirements.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Diwania	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	CAS 315

Section A2, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Russo	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	FLR 121

Section E1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Diwania	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	CAS 315

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Lee	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mansur	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 683 Mobile Application Development with Android

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: MET CS 342 OR MET CS 520 OR MET CS 521. Or consent of instructor. - Learn the principles, techniques, and issues associated with modern mobile application development using Android as the development platform. Topics covered will include Android application components (Activities, Services, Content Providers and Broadcast Receivers), ICC (Inter-component Communication), declarative UI design, data storage, asynchronous processing, Android sensing, 2D graphics, and Android security. You will use Kotlin as the main language for Android development and the latest Jetpack APIs. You will also develop your own app in Kotlin using Android Studio as your semester-long project.

MET CS 763 Secure Software Development

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: At least two programming-intensive or software development courses or consent of instructor. You should be proficient in at least one high-level programming language. Completion of MET CS 673 is preferred. - An overview of techniques and tools to develop secure software. You will focus on the application of security with topics including secure software development processes, DevSecOps, threat modeling, secure requirements and architectures, vulnerability and malware analysis using static code analysis and dynamic analysis tools, and vulnerabilities in C/C ++ and Java programs, Crypto and secure APIs, vulnerabilities in web applications and mobile applications, and security testing will also be covered. You will complete the required hands-on lab and programming exercises using current tools.

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Zhang	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 767 Advanced Machine Learning and Neural Networks

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: MET CS 521 and at least one of MET CS 577, MET CS 622, MET CS 673 or MET CS 682; or consent of instructor. Theories and methods for learning from data. The course covers a variety of approaches, including Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, Regression, k-means, KNN's, Neural Nets and Deep Learning, Transformers, Recurrent Neural Nets, Adversarial Learning, Bayesian Learning, and Genetic Algorithms. The underpinnings are covered: perceptron's, backpropagation, attention, and transformers. Each student creates a term project.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	MET 122

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Alizadeh-Shabdiz	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Students interested in taking electives outside of the stated requirements should contact the Department of Computer Science for approval.

Dates & Deadlines

View BU MET’s academic calendar for online programs, including important dates and deadlines.

Application Requirements

Learn about application requirements for BU MET graduate degree and certificate programs.

How You Benefit from a
Boston University Education

A BU credential can help lay the foundation for career advancement and personal success.

Benefit from a 24:1 average student-to-instructor ratio.
Work closely with highly qualified faculty and industry leaders who are involved in research projects in areas such as novel internet architectures, smartphone applications, information assurance, biomedical informatics, and many other areas.
Study software development alongside fellow professionals from all backgrounds, learn from faculty who have valuable IT contacts across several sectors, and benefit from an alumni community with strong professional connections.
Courses ensure you get the attention you need, while introducing case studies and real-world projects that ensure you gain in-depth, practical experience with the latest technologies.
BU MET’s Department of Computer Science was established in 1979 and is the longest-running computer science department BU. Over the course of its existence, the department has played an important role in the emergence of IT at the University and throughout the region.

All graduate students are automatically considered for merit scholarships during the application process and nominated based on eligibility. Learn more.

Rankings & Accreditations

U.S. News & World Report - Best Online Programs - Grad Information Technology - 2026

#12, Best Online Master’s in Computer Information Technology Programs

MET’s online master’s degrees in computer information technology are ranked #12 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Graduate with Software Development Expertise

Students who complete the online master’s degree in Software Development will be able to demonstrate:

Advanced knowledge of programming languages, software design and development, and databases, networks, or security.
Proficiency in algorithms, operating systems, programming languages, software development, and the management of data, networks, or security.
Competence sufficient to investigate continually emerging new software technologies, applications, and approaches.

$133,080
Median annual wage for software developers, May 2024

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

“I found that I was really drawn to the software development field on an intellectual level, and I started the program because I wanted to learn more. I also felt that my career would benefit from obtaining a degree in software development, and I hoped to transition from working as a systems administrator to a software developer—which I was able to do.” Read more.

Nikki Tebaldi (MET’21)
Cloud Adoption Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
MS, Software Development

Advance Your Career

BU MET’s Software Development master’s prepares you for a wealth of different roles, such as software engineer, systems engineer, data engineer, software developer, solution architect, and many others.

Recent graduates have found job opportunities and career paths at companies such as:

Tesla
Fidelity Investments
Bank of America
Microsoft
US Navy
Amazon
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Uber
United States Air Force

Wayfair
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
BMC Software
BNY Mellon
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Cigna
Dell
iRobot
PayPal
PhilipsCompany

Take Advantage of Career Resources at BU MET

You will find the support you need in reaching your career goals through MET’s Career Development office, which offers a variety of job-hunting resources, including one-on-one career counseling by appointment for online students. You can also take advantage of tools and resources available online through BU’s Center for Career Development.

Computer Science Faculty

Guanglan Zhang

Associate Professor, Computer Science

Coordinator, Health Informatics Programs

Chair, Computer Science

Shengzhi Zhang

Associate Professor

Associate Chair, Computer Science

Coordinator, Web Application Development

Eugene Pinsky

Associate Professor of the Practice, Computer Science

Coordinator, Software Development

Farshid Alizadeh-Shabdiz

Professor of the Practice, Computer Science

View All Faculty

Interested in Learning More?

MET Events

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Online Master of Science in Software Development

At a Glance

Advance Your Career with Software Architecture and DevOps Expertise