phd in software engineering usa

Ph.D. Software Engineering

A new code search engine. New insights into how trust emerges (or doesn’t) in distributed software development organizations. New visualizations to aid developers in debugging code. New lessons about the quality of open-source components. A new Internet infrastructure that enables secure computational exchange.

These are just some examples of the wide variety of projects being worked on by current Ph.D. students in the software engineering Ph.D. program at UC Irvine.

As software continues to transform society in dramatic and powerful ways, we must improve our ability to reliably develop high-quality systems. From early incarnations as just an idea or set of requirements to when software is actually built, deployed and customized in the field, many challenges exist across the lifecycle that make creating software still a non-trivial endeavor today.

The software engineering Ph.D. program offers students the opportunity to tackle these challenges, whether it is through designing new tools, performing studies of developers and teams at work, creating new infrastructures or developing new theories about software and how it is developed. No fewer than six faculty members bring a broad range of expertise and perspectives to the program, guaranteeing a diverse yet deep education in the topic.

A strong core of classes introduces students to classic material and recent innovations. At the same time, we focus on research from the beginning. New students are required to identify and experiment with one or more research topics early, so that they can become familiar with the nature of research, write papers, attend conferences and begin to become part of the broader software engineering community. This focus on research naturally continues throughout the program, with an emphasis on publishing novel results in the appropriate venues.

Why study at UC Irvine?

• Excellence . You will be part of a world-class group of faculty and students who have an outstanding track record of publishing innovative and impactful research.
• Placement . We prepare our students for rich, fulfilling careers — as faculty members in academia, researchers at corporate research labs, development leads all throughout the industry and entrepreneurs starting their own businesses.
• Support . You will join a team that strongly believes that working together is essential to progress. Whether within a research group or across groups, we encourage you to seek advice from and work with other faculty members and students.
• Connections . We host a steady stream of visitors from all over the world to whom you get to talk, demo and present. Moreover, we help connect you with research labs and industry for internships that complement your research.
• Diversity . UCI was founded with a focus on diversity of thought, experiences and ideas. Our department faculty represent a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds and have in-depth collaborations across campus.

Interested?

We are always looking for talented students to join! To learn more about our work and accomplishments, we encourage you to explore this web site, as well as the web sites of many research labs and centers in the department. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via our vice chair for graduate affairs or by e-mailing one of the software engineering faculty directly.

Detailed requirements

Please see the catalogue for a detailed description of the requirements of the software engineering Ph.D. program.

• Graduate Application Process
• Past Dissertations
• Ph.D. Research
• Labs & Centers
• Student Profiles
• Graduate Alumni Spotlights
• Coming from Abroad

“For me, the most enjoyable part of doing research is finding myself at the limits of knowledge. Doing research gives you the ability to provide new findings and perspectives on various phenomena.”

Software Engineering Ph.D. Program

Software and societal systems department, build it better....

Software is becoming ever more important to our daily lives, as well as every sector of industry.  But as software systems increase in capability, they increase in complexity, resulting in delays, defects, and vulnerabilities.

Our Ph.D. program in Software Engineering seeks to educate the next generation of high-impact software engineering research, development, and educational leaders who will solve the problems associated with building large-scale and critical software systems.  Learn about our groundbreaking research , our world-leading faculty , and our alumni who are already making a big difference in the world.  We hope you will apply  to our Ph.D. program  so you can join us in learning to build software better!

Don't Forget!

Applications to the Ph.D. program in Software Engineering are accepted every year with a deadline in  December. This year the application window is open  September 4th, 2024, Early Deadline of November 20th, 2024, and final Deadline of December 11th, 2024. 

Learn how to apply

• Why Software Engineering?
• What are your research strengths?
• What will my course of study look like?
• What are the prerequisites for admission?
• How is this program going to help my career?
• How do I apply?

Video Highlights

Our faculty are taking on some of the most exciting technical challenges modern software faces. Learn more about their work in these short research vignettes!

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Software Engineering (PhD) Doctor of Philosophy

Quick facts.

of all Higher-Ed Institutions

- Center for World University Rankings, 2022

In Best Value Among Arizona's Public Universities

- Payscale, 2022

The University of Arizona's College of Engineering has launched the Software Engineering PhD degree in response to the high demand for individuals trained in the software engineering discipline. The degree program is critical in driving student success in a rapidly changing world and tackling essential problems at the edges of human endeavor. 

As a student graduating with a PhD in Software Engineering, you will be better positioned to develop the skills and mindsets to be leaders in software development, computing, machine learning, ever-increasing automation and connectivity, human and intelligent systems, data science, and network sciences.

Through the PhD program, you'll demonstrate the ability to design, develop, test, integrate, and evaluate software applications/products/systems in diverse computing and engineering domains. You'll also be able to critically analyze and review published research results and other literature related to your area of study. You'll also demonstrate your ability to articulate all aspects of the research in your software engineering specialization area, describe and defend the significance of your work, explain your research methodologies, and summarize your findings. 

The global software engineering market alone will be worth $64 billion by 2025, and it is a vital part of a larger industry. Some factors behind this growth include increased automation in multiple sectors, the demand for cloud-based solutions, the Internet of Things, and an increased number of devices that can be used in daily life for convenience. Thus, pursuing a Software Engineering PhD will give you a competitive edge in this fast-growing industry.

No GRE is required for this graduate degree program.

A minor is required for this program and will be determined by the student and advisor.

Students who do not have a degree equivalent to the University of Arizona Bachelor of Science degree in a computing-related program may be admitted into the graduate program but may be required to complete additional graduate-level pre-requisite courses prior to enrolling in some graduate courses. 

Proficiency in one or more programming languages OR one to two years of industry experience in a software-related position is required.

*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.

Courses for this program include: 

SFWE 502: Software DevSecOps

This course will allow you to explore key principles of a DevSecOps approach to software development. Development (Dev) and operations (Ops) are the union of people, processes, and technology to continually automate and develop higher-quality/more reliable software products faster. Security (Sec) is integrated into a typical DevOps pipeline to address potential security issues in code as soon as possible in the software development lifecycle.

SFWE 503: Software Project Management

In this course, you will learn how to plan, track, and communicate the status of large-scale software projects to a diverse group of stakeholders. Using modern traditional and Agile software development methodologies and tools and emulating a realistic software development project, students will be immersed in the activities used by industry to develop, manage, and monitor software product development throughout the semester. You’ll learn why planning a software project is important, what constitutes a good plan, how to adapt to the unexpected and unknowns that are likely to occur throughout the project development, and how to track and share the status of the project with your team members, other teams, and the customers/business managers.

SFWE 504: Software Requirements Analysis & Test

Learn how to derive and develop software requirements that are measurable, testable, and lead to a compliant software design and implementation. Using industry best practices and tools, you will learn how to elicit, analyze, specify, and validate functional requirements (what should the software system do) and non-functional software requirements (how should the software system fulfill the functional requirements). You will develop software requirement models and specifications that capture the customer/user's needs.

SFWE 505: Software Architecture & Design

In this course, you'll explore different architectural styles and patterns and learn to apply modern processes, methods, and tools in architecting, modeling, and designing software systems. They will also learn the importance of developing a sound software architecture as part of the overall software design.  

SFWE 506: Distributed Computing

In this course, you will explore the unique aspects and considerations required to develop a large-scale software product in a distributed computing environment. Distributed computing refers to a system where processing and data storage are distributed across multiple devices or systems rather than being handled by a single central device. In a distributed system, each device or system has its own processing capabilities and may also store and manage its own data. 

SFWE 507: Foundations of Software Engineering

Gain foundational skills and knowledge used by software engineers in diverse industries. The course introduces you to the different software development lifecycle (SDLC) phases used in developing, delivering, and maintaining software products for a wide variety of applications. Common software process models will be introduced, along with developing an understanding of the importance of defining software requirements, developing software architectures and designs, and the various forms of testing that go into delivering reliable and resilient software systems.

SFWE 509: Cloud Computing Principles and Practices

This introductory course on cloud computing delves into the fundamental technologies and ideas that make up contemporary cloud computing infrastructure. You'll get hands-on practice using cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, FaaS), virtualization, data centers, cloud management, and essential Linux commands. The course also covers advanced topics such as cloud storage, containers, microservices, serverless computing, cloud security, emerging trends in cloud IoT, mobile clouds, edge computing, and big data processing.

SFWE 510: Cloud Native Software Engineering

This course introduces the design and implementation of decentralized systems with up-to-date software architecture and relevant development frameworks. Topics include inter-module communication, asynchronous processing, security, concurrency, parallelism, and an overview of contemporary enterprise technology and challenges. The course also dives into the development, infrastructure, best practices, and DevOps practices for monitoring and debugging such systems.

Earning your Doctor of Philosophy in Software Engineering (PhD) will build core skills, including:

• Agile methodology
• Algorithm design & optimization
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cloud & distributed computing
• Continuous deployment
• Continuous integration
• Cybersecurity practices & standards
• Full stack development
• Machine learning algorithms & approaches
• Programming language proficiency
• Software Development Lifecycle
• Software engineering

Potential Career Paths

Graduates of the Software Engineering PhD program will be prepared to pursue careers in the following fields, among many others:

• Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
• Aerospace & Defense
• Space Exploration
• Data Science & Analytics
• Medical Devices Technologies
• Financial Systems & Technologies
• Quantum Computing
• Automotive/Vehicle Networking/Autonomous Driving
• Cybersecurity Analysis
• Engineering
• Systems & Software Solutions Architecture
• Mobile Computing
• Computer Vision
• Cloud Computing/Networking

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How to Apply

Tuition & Aid