SJSU Catalog

Computer Engineering

Introduction

The Computer Engineering Department offers degree programs in Computer Engineering (BS and MS) and Software Engineering (BS and MS).

The mission of the Computer Engineering department is to be a leading provider of high quality, practice-oriented computer graduates to the nation, and to enhance engineering knowledge through research and scholarship. The department covers topics ranging from computer hardware design and embedded systems to software design and construction of computer networks for large-scale enterprise systems. Computer engineering students are expected to choose a set of elective courses to focus on a particular area of specialization.

Strategically located in the center of the Silicon Valley, the department provides students with advanced knowledge of hardware/software skill set by integrating the latest technological developments in design, verification, implementation, and application of general-purpose and application-specific computer systems in the curriculum. Recent Computer Engineering graduates have obtained employment in local high-tech companies in hardware design and verification, hardware/software co-design, system software, Electronic-Design Automation (EDA) tool design, and product testing.

BS Computer Engineering

• The B.S. program in Computer Engineering prepares students to enter the profession immediately after graduation or allows them to continue to graduate-level study. The undergraduate Computer Engineering curriculum is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

A few years after graduation, we expect the students of this program to have:

• Demonstrated an understanding of the fundamental knowledge that is a prerequisite for the practice of computer engineering, including its scientific principles and the importance of rigorous analysis and creative design.
• Demonstrated a practice-oriented, hands-on understanding of how to apply theoretical concepts to real world problems.
• Demonstrated clear communication skills, responsible teamwork, leadership, and professional attitudes and ethics.
• Successfully entered the engineering profession, and embarked on the process of life-long learning in engineering or other professional areas.

MS Computer Engineering

The MS Computer Engineering program provides students with a world-class educational experience that combines electrical engineering and computer science with the best of academia, the high-tech industry, and Silicon Valley. The high-tech industry increasingly requires engineers to be equipped with both hardware and software development knowledge and skills. The program provides in-class theory with hands-on hardware design and software development exercises to give students the skills necessary to create contemporary microelectronic products that are typically embedded computing systems containing both hardware and software. Graduates with an MS in Computer Engineering can expect to find significant opportunities in digital and computer hardware design and verification, system-level software development, prototyping and testing, as well as technical support and marketing.

The MS Computer Engineering program offers several areas of specialization including:

Embedded Systems

Students specializing in Embedded Systems receive balanced training in hardware and software development. Students take courses to obtain application-domain knowledge, then apply hardware/software co-design techniques and application software development skills for embedded applications in areas such as multimedia, graphics, computer networks, wireless communications, computer vision and robotics.

Secure Systems

Students specializing in Secure Systems learn key aspects of information security and privacy, from the fundamentals to advanced cryptography and authentication, computer and network security, and emerging security protocols and standards. They will understand security in a broad context and learn how security practice interacts with the law and public policy. They will practice how to defend against malicious attacks and build secure systems using the latest security tools and technologies.

Digital Hardware and Computer Architecture

Students specializing in Digital Hardware and Computer Architecture will master architecture and design including in-depth training in the latest methodologies and tools for design and verification of hardware functional blocks, application specific IPs, processors, and integrated complex hardware platforms containing all of these as building blocks at both the chip and board level.

Computer Networking

Students specializing in Computer Networking will study networking at all levels including network design and architecture, hardware and physical media, transport and application layer protocols, network programming and analysis. The specialization also covers advanced topics in network security, multimedia networking for mobile computing, and parallel processing.

BS Software Engineering

The goal of the BS in Software Engineering is the preparation of software engineers: professionals who develop software products on time, within budget and that meet customer requirements. The coursework builds on computer science fundamentals and mathematical principles to cover the design, analysis, verification, validation, implementation, deployment, and maintenance of software systems. The program focuses on practical aspects of building and deploying real software systems in a socially responsible way.

The hallmark of the program provides the students with an educational experience that builds on traditional computer science and engineering, but distinguishes itself in the following ways:

• Courses emphasize the team approach to building software and provide leadership opportunities for every student.
• Courses place an emphasis on software processes and lifecycles.
• Courses include significant learning in management areas such as project planning, resource allocation, quality assurance, testing, metrics, maintenance, configuration management and personnel management.
• A degree that has a stronger emphasis on mathematics and use of engineering methods in software design.

The software engineering curriculum culminates in a year-long capstone sequence where the students work in teams to build a large software system. Students are encouraged to complete a co-operative education experience prior to enrollment in these courses, in order to gain some direct, industrial experience before embarking upon their own project.

The program is offered jointly by the Computer Engineering and the Computer Science departments.

See the separate write-up for BS Software Engineering for further information.

MS Software Engineering

The MS Software Engineering program provides the students with an educational experience that builds on traditional computer science and engineering, and then takes an integrative approach to software engineering. With the increased globalization of the software development workforce it is increasingly important that graduates understand developing technologies and architectures and their influence on software engineering processes, where large-scale design is pre-eminent, and where component integration is the standard mode of development.

Teamwork is emphasized throughout the curriculum to provide students with essential preparation for working in the industry.

Graduates with an MS in Software Engineering can expect to find significant opportunities in software design and development, management, and marketing.

The MS Software Engineering program offers several areas of specialization including:

Enterprise Software Technologies

The specialization provides an in-depth exposure to the latest technologies and trends in enterprise software development with a focus on study and research of distributed enterprise software architectures that employ multiple clients and scalable server-side technologies to develop high performance systems that scale across multiple tiers of servers. It prepares students for technical careers in infrastructure software and enterprise application development.

Software Systems Engineering

The specialization covers the software development life-cycle models, object-oriented analysis and design, design patterns, frameworks, software architecture, and software project management. It also provides coverage of the quantitative aspects of software engineering, including software metrics, software quality, software costs, and software reliability.

Networking Software

The specialization focuses on networking and distributed systems including network architecture and protocols, network programming and analysis, network security, multimedia networking, networking for mobile computing, network management agents, distributed operating systems, and the impact of networking on distributed systems.

Combined BS + MS degree

The Computer Engineering and Computer Science Departments offer an accelerated program for motivated, well-qualified students. The combined program allows BS Computer Engineering and BS Software Engineering students to progress toward the Master’s degree in Computer Engineering or Software Engineering while still undergraduates. The scheduling flexibility provided by the program enables students to complete the BS and MS degrees efficiently.

Eligibility

Students majoring in BS Computer Engineering or BS Software Engineering are eligible to apply to the combined program if they meet the following minimum eligibility requirements:

• Junior status and completion of at least 12 upper division units of major courses.
• Meet a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 in the major.
• Have not enrolled in senior project.

Participation in the program is based on prior academic performance and other measures of professional promise. Students are selected by a faculty committee.

Program of Study

Students in the combined program complete all courses required for the MS degree and all courses required for the BS degree except the senior project. Completion of the MS project or thesis satisfies the senior project requirement. The MS thesis/project must include a major design experience to complete the undergraduate degree.

In consultation with the graduate coordinator, graduate courses may be used as technical elective units towards the BS degree and also count towards the MS degree requirements. Upon completion of the program, students are awarded the BS and MS degrees at the same graduation ceremony and at the same time. Degrees are earned concurrently, not serially.