Get Set for Top Technology Jobs
Software engineers build the technological infrastructure for our increasingly connected world. They are in high demand to solve complex engineering problems across industries and government, working in areas such as:
- aerospace and space exploration
- automation and connectivity
- biomedical modeling and devices
- data, computing and networking
- human and intelligent systems
- natural and fabricated environments
With an interdisciplinary curriculum that covers large-scale product development and incorporates intensive real-world design, the University of Arizona BS in software engineering prepares students for some of the most coveted technology jobs in the world.
Academics > Research Opportunities > Outside the Classroom > Career Paths >
The 2021 U.S. News & World Report ranked software developer, or engineer, as the best technology job in the United States, and the second-best job across all categories.
Academic Focus Areas
Covering the Entire Software Development Lifecycle
Bolstered by intensive design experiences that reflect industry demand and focused on large-scale product and system development to meet societal needs, the University of Arizona BS in software engineering goes far beyond programming fundamentals and theoretical applications. The degree program – administered by the department of Systems & Industrial Engineering – is offered on the main campus in Tucson, Arizona Online, and Yuma Campus. Courses cover the entire software development lifecycle, or SDLC. Among them are:
- Software requirements analysis and testing
- Software architecture and design
- Software assurance
- Project management
- Cost estimation
- Digital logic
- Computer organization
Students choose electives – such as web and mobile applications, or embedded systems – from across many of the college’s eight departments.
Importantly, students learn about software DevOps, Agile methodology, and continuous integration and deployment. They use open-source integrated development environments, operating systems and cloud-based infrastructures to gain the specialized software skills in highest demand by top employers.
Research Opportunities
Globally recognized faculty and students collaborate across the campus and around the world to tackle challenges in health care, cybersecurity, big data and transportation. Ongoing research involving software engineering includes:
- Autonomous systems and robotics
- Communications, coding and information theory
- Computer architecture and cloud/distributed computing
- Data analytics, informatics and machine learning
- Embedded systems
- Wireless networking, security and systems
Outside the Classroom
Real-World Learning
Software engineering students do design projects every semester. They get experience participating in clubs and design-build competitions as well as internships with longtime industry partners.
Additionally, valuable contacts are made in student chapters of professional organizations such as IEEE and IISE/INCOSE and at specially scheduled events with industry leaders.
Career Paths
Endless Possibilities
Software engineering graduates work in corporate and government settings as well as in research and as independent consultants. They become software and application architects and developers, project managers, network engineers, and business owners. Software engineers are in high demand across industries with employers such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Snap Inc., Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Honeywell and Wells Fargo. The list, at home and abroad, is limitless.
