St. Mary’s University this fall will offer online master’s degree programs in Software Engineering and International Relations and a graduate certificate in Conflict Transformation.

Last summer, St. Mary’s received a $2.5 million Title V grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) Program. The grant will fund the University’s “Promoting Excellence in Graduate Education” project, which will expand online offerings and enhance graduate services.

The online learning experience is academically rigorous and focused on transformative education. Each online course is held to St. Mary’s standards of professional education via Quality Matters-certified faculty and collaboration of online classmates. Online learning provides a platform for people everywhere to have access to the Catholic, Marianist education that St. Mary’s University has offered since 1852.

“These graduate programs provide a flexible online learning experience that combines top-notch academics and our mission of cultivating ethical leaders committed to the common good,” President Thomas Mengler said.

Djaffer Ibaroudene, Ph.D., helps students in class.Master of Science in Software Engineering
This 30-credit-hour program is intended for students, practitioners and managers who are interested in mastering the development of large-scale, practical software systems. Students are prepared to manage the software development process, analyze customer requirements, design reliable solutions and produce high-quality software systems that meet budgetary constraints and delivery deadlines.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of software developers will grow 22 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. The median annual wage for systems software developers was $99,000 in May 2012.

The admission requirements and content of the online program are the same as those of the on-campus program, which includes courses on software project planning and management, software design and architecture, software quality assurance, user interface design, web engineering and software security, among others.

Image of flags wavingMaster of Arts International Relations
Integrating the disciplines of political science, history, anthropology, international law, sociology and geography, this 36-credit-hour program provides students with the interdisciplinary education necessary for better understanding the complicated nature of global issues and events.

The online option is an interdisciplinary examination and analysis of national and international security with a concentration in Security Policy. The program is also offered on campus and off campus at Fort Hood Army Post in Killeen.

Course content includes perspectives from the areas of economics, history and political science. Issues range from nuclear proliferation and conventional arms trade to narco-trafficking, trade imbalances, environmental conflict and race/ethnic/gender/religious issues. Two courses are offered concurrently each semester, and coursework can be completed in two years.

StMU Faculty Aaron TylerAcademic Certificate in Conflict Transformation
This program, which includes two collaborative weeks in Northern Ireland, provides participants with practical and creative peace-building approaches to help transform conflict and heal divided societies in constructive and sustainable ways.

The nine-month, four-course offering is competitively priced, and certificate recipients may apply the 12 credit hours earned toward a master’s degree if accepted into the M.A. program. The next cohort will begin Sept. 1.

Through academic learning, critical thinking sessions, tailored field studies, established and emerging intervention methodologies, and problem-solving and practitioner workshops, participants will collaborate to develop reconciliation strategies to take back to their respective communities and areas of vocation.

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