The MS/SE Curriculum

Core Courses
Students must complete the following four core courses (12 credits)

• SYST 510 System Definition and Cost Modeling
• SYST 520 System Design and Integration
• SYST 530 System Management and Evaluation
• SYST 611 System Methodology and Modeling

Basic Methods Courses
Students must complete one basic methods course (3 credits). The choice of basic methods course may depend on the student's concentration and must be selected from the following list:

• OR 541 Operations Research: Deterministic Models
• OR 542 Operations Research: Stochastic Models
• OR 635 Discrete System Simulation
• SYST 563 Research Methods in Systems Engineering and Information Technology
• SYST 573 Decision and Risk Analysis
• SYST 620 Discrete Event Systems
• SYST 664 Bayesian Inference and Decision Analysis
• ECE 528 Introduction to Random Processes in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Specialization Areas
Students must complete a set of elective courses that together with the basic methods courses constitute a clearly defined specialization within Systems Engineering. Students pursuing the thesis option complete three concentration area electives; students pursuing the project option complete four concentration area electives.

Students may select one of the following six specialization areas, or may create their own specialization area with the approval of their advisor.

• Air Transportation Systems (ATS)
• Architecture-Based Systems Integration (ABSI)
• Systems Engineering of Software Intensive Systems (SIS)
• Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I)
• Systems Engineering Analysis (SEA)
• Systems Management (SMG)

Project
Students must complete 3 credit hours of SYST 699. Students in this course work in teams on an approved applied project. A project report is submitted at the end of the semester, and a final project presentation is made to the entire faculty of the SEOR Department.

Advising
All entering systems engineering students must attend an orientation meeting. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor upon acceptance. Students must meet with their advisors during their first semester and design an approved plan of study. Students are encouraged to seek out their advisor when questions arise and when their plan of study needs to be revised. Any changes to the plan of study must be approved by the faculty advisor. A copy of the plan of study must remain on file with the department.

Cooperative Graduate Engineering
Students may take courses through the Cooperative Graduate Engineering Program in affiliation with participating Virginia universities. With the departmental approval, appropriate courses may be transferred to the MSSE program.