Professional software Engineering Education

This paper is a speculation about how universities might organize new lines of business in software engineering professional education. Professional education enables practicing professionals to achieve defined levels of competence and to be certified according to standards in their professions. This kind of education is offered at very few universities. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for designing professional education programs; software engineering is the central example. It suggests a strategy for combining traditional degree programs and professional certificate programs, in any mix suitable for a department and its clientele.