The Role Of Application Domain Tracks In Software Engineering Programs

Although it is generally acknowledged that understanding domain-specific information is essential for the proper development of software in that application area, requiring the inclusion of a particular application domain as part of a software engineering curriculum is a relatively recent occurrence. In particular, ABET software engineering program criteria (in use since 2002) and the joint IEEE-CS/ACM software engineering curriculum model released in 2004 both specify the ability to work in at least application domain as a requirement of graduates of baccalaureate software engineering degree programs. This paper will examine how the ABETaccredited software engineering degree programs have implemented these application domain tracks.