**Review** Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027

Software Engineering B.S.

Program Overview

Monfort College of Business and College of Natural and Health Sciences

Contact: Daniel Brannon, Ph.D., Interim Chair of CIS

Location: Kepner 2090 G

Telephone: 970-351-1210

Contact: Jodie Novak, Ph.D., Director, Department of Mathematical Sciences

Location: Ross Hall 2239H

Telephone: 970-351-2820

Advising Information:

All business majors must consult with their assigned advisor each semester prior to registering.

To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the MCB Advising Office for advisor information, 970-351-1233.

The program consists of three parts:

  1. Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
  2. Required Major Credits
  3. University-Wide Credits

Program Description:

The Software Engineering program is a collaborative degree offered by the Department of Accounting & CIS, Monfort College of Business, and the School of Mathematical Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences. The Software Engineering program prepares students to apply a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development of software employing technology independent standard processes. Course content provides understanding and experiences in determining software requirements, software design fundamentals, software project planning, software metrics, and testing and application development.

Graduates will be able to communicate technical requirements, design patterns and system specifications in writing and orally, design and develop software to solve complex problems, understand and apply basic principles of computer engineering, and understand and apply professional ethics.

Program Admission Requirements:

  • Incoming New First Time and Transfer students are admitted to the College of Business major and minors provided they meet the admission requirements set forth by UNC.
  • Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or above are guaranteed admission to any business major.
  • Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.00-2.49 qualify to apply for admission to a business major. Students may apply at the MCB Advising Center located in Kepner 1095.

Program Requirements

  • At least 44 credit hours of the degree must be earned at UNC.
  • Attain a 2.0 or greater GPA in the required major courses.
  • Attain at least a "C-" in each required major course.

Degree Requirements — 120 Credits

1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits

To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits.

Any additional LAC coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.

Written Communication — 6 credits

The program recommends that you choose the following courses:

ENG 122 AND

ENG 123 OR SCI 291

These courses will count towards both the major requirements and liberal arts curriculum.

See Written Communication courses

Mathematics — 3 credits

STAT 150 and/or MATH 131 is recommended to fulfill Mathematics requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.

See Mathematics courses

Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits

To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.

Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.

See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses

Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits

Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.

See Natural & Physical Sciences courses

See Liberal Arts Curriculum

2. Required Major — 64 credits

No more than 20 of the following credit hours may be transferred from another institution.

Of the 20 hours, no more than 9 hours of 300/400 level course may be transferred in from another institution.

Required Courses — 55 credits

The following courses are required as part of the Software Engineering major, some of which will also count towards the Liberal Arts Curriculum.

BACS 200Web Design and Development for Small Business

3

BACS 287Introduction to Business Intelligence and Workflow Design

3

BACS 350Intermediate Web Development

3

BACS 370Introduction to Organizational Cybersecurity and Risk Management

3

BACS 383Designing User Experiences

3

BACS 385Fundamentals of Project Management

3

BACS 387Advanced Business Intelligence Integrations and Testing

3

BACS 485Database Management Systems

3

BACS 487Systems Analysis and Design

3

CS 160Structured Programming

3

CS 200Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, and Programming

3

CS 301Algorithms and Data Structures

3

CS 350Software Engineering I

3

CS 440Operating Systems

3

or

CS 442Networking

3

MATH 131Calculus ILAX1GT-MA1

4

MATH 228Discrete Mathematics

3

STAT 150Introduction to Statistical AnalysisLAX1GT-MA1

3

ENG 123Writing and Research MethodsLAW2GT-CO2

3

or

SCI 291Scientific WritingLAW2GT-CO2

3

Required Senior Project — 3 credits

Choose 1 of the following courses:

BACS 488Senior CIS Project

3

CS 497Senior Project

1- 8

If CS 497 is taken; must complete 3 hours.

Major Electives — 6 credits

Choose 6 credits or more from any 300 or 400 level BACS or CS course not otherwise required for the major except for BACS 300.

3. University-Wide Credits — 25 credits*

Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for this degree at UNC; for this degree, that will typically be 25 credits.

*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.

Four Year Plan

This four year plan is a recommended schedule to complete this bachelor's degree in 4 years. Courses are subject to availability. Students must consult with their major advisor to receive information on any additional graduation requirements and course sequence guidance.

Year 1 – 31 credits

Fall Semester

BACS 287Introduction to Business Intelligence and Workflow Design

3

MATH 131Calculus ILAX1GT-MA1

4

ENG 122College CompositionLAW1GT-CO1

3

LAC HistoryLAH1

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:16

Spring Semester

CS 160Structured Programming

3

ENG 123Writing and Research MethodsLAW2GT-CO2

3

or

SCI 291Scientific WritingLAW2GT-CO2

3

STAT 150Introduction to Statistical AnalysisLAX1GT-MA1

3

LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Year 2 – 28 credits

Fall Semester

BACS 387Advanced Business Intelligence Integrations and Testing

3

MATH 228Discrete Mathematics

3

CS 200Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, and Programming

3

LAC Natural and Physical Sciences without LabLAS1

3

LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Spring Semester

BACS 200Web Design and Development for Small Business

3

CS 301Algorithms and Data Structures

3

LAC Natural and Physical Sciences with LabLAS1LASL

4

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:13

Year 3 – 30 credits

Fall Semester

BACS 350Intermediate Web Development

3

BACS 370Introduction to Organizational Cybersecurity and Risk Management

3

CS 350Software Engineering I

3

LAC Arts and Humanities, History, or Social and Behavioral SciencesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4LAB1LAB2LAB3LAH1

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Spring Semester

BACS 385Fundamentals of Project Management

3

LAC Social and Behavioral SciencesLAB1LAB2LAB3

3

Upper Division Major Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Year 4 – 31 credits

Fall Semester

BACS 383Designing User Experiences

3

BACS 485Database Management Systems

3

BACS 487Systems Analysis and Design

3

University-Wide Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Spring Semester

BACS 488Senior CIS Project

3

or

CS 497Senior Project

1- 8

CS 440Operating Systems

3

or

CS 442Networking

3

Upper Division Major Elective

3

University-Wide Elective

4

University-Wide Elective

3

Total Credit Hours:16

If CS 497 is taken, must complete 3 hours.

Advising Notes –

  • Some of the upper level Software Engineering courses are offered in only one semester each year. You are required to meet with your Software Engineering advisor each semester to make certain you are on schedule.
  • Students must meet course prerequisites as stated in the current UNC catalog. Be sure to check each semester to make sure you meet the prerequisite requirements

Back to Top