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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Valley City State University will offer a new undergraduate major in software engineering beginning fall semester 2013. The announcement comes after the North Dakota Board of Higher Education approved of the move at a board meeting earlier this year.

“Valley City State University is excited to provide the first undergraduate software engineering major in North Dakota,” said VCSU President Steven W. Shirley.

“Software engineering will be a challenging and rewarding major for students,” said Susan Pfeifer, VCSU assistant professor in business and information technology. “This major completes a full spectrum of VCSU offerings that prepare graduates to succeed in computer systems and software engineering positions in North Dakota and beyond.”

The new software engineering major was developed to meet the growing needs of employers in North Dakota and throughout the Midwest.

“The Upper Midwest is home to businesses and industries that rely heavily on technology,” said David DeMuth, Jr., executive director of the Great Plains STEM Education Center at Valley City State. “VCSU students who graduate with a degree in software engineering will have the modern skills necessary to compete successfully in the workforce.”

Many of the courses required for the software engineering major are already offered at VCSU in the computer information systems major and the computer science minor, but six additional courses will be added.

In developing the curriculum for the software engineering major, VCSU faculty have also worked with North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of North Dakota (UND) faculty to ensure that students will be prepared for graduate study should they wish to pursue a master’s degree in computer science (UND or NDSU) or software engineering (NDSU).