Systems Engineering (SYST)
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
TED FOSTER, Graduate Program Director
Degrees Offered
Master of Science (SYST)
Post Baccalaureate Certificate (CENS)
Program Description
The Systems Engineering (SE) Program at UMBC is designed to accelerate the development of systems engineers by providing practical experience that can be immediately applied on the job. Students learn from industry experts how to develop operable systems that meet customer requirements, while successfully navigating the complexities of system design. Courses are developed and taught by senior systems engineers and address the entire systems engineering life cycle, including requirements analysis, systems architecture and design, modeling, simulation and analysis, and system implementation and test.
Degree Requirements
Master of Science
The Master’s of Science in Systems Engineering program is a non-thesis, 30-credit program. The program provides the broad background required for successful systems engineers in the 21st century. The core curriculum consists of five core course designed to equip students with the processes, techniques and tools required to practice systems engineering. The elective portion of the program is structured so that students can tailor it to their specific needs.
Required Core courses:
- ENEE 660: Systems Engineering Principles [3]
- ENEE 661: System Architecture and Design [3]
- ENEE 662: System Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis [3]
- ENEE 663: System Implementation, Integration, and Test [3]
- ENEE 670 or ENEE 698: Systems Engineering Project [3]
Electives:
Fifteen credits of breadth and depth electives in systems engineering and related disciplines, such as electrical engineering, computer engineering, engineering management, computer science and mechanical engineering. Suggested electives are listed below.
- CMSC 626: Principles of Network Security [3]
- ENMG 652: Management, Leadership and Communications [3]
- ENEE 664: Advanced Systems Architecture [3]
- ENEE 666: Model Based Systems Engineering [1]
- ENEE 667: Agile Systems Engineering [1]
- ENEE 668: Project and Systems Engineering Management [3]
- ENEE 669: Mathematics and MATLAB Fundamentals for Engineers [1]
- ENEE 672: Decision and Risk Analysis [3]
- CMPE 685: Introduction to Communications Networks [3]
- CMPE 687: Introduction to Network Security [3]
- CMPE 691: Wireless Sensor Networks [3]
- CMPE 620/CYBR 620: Introduction to Cybersecurity [3]
- CYBR 621: Cyber Warfare [3]
- CYBR 622: Global Cyber Capabilities and Trends [3]
- CYBR 623: Cybersecurity Law and Policy [3]
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Requirements
The UMBC Certificate in Systems Engineering is designed for students who need proficiency in the processes involved in systems engineering and the knowledge and skills to successfully guide a system's development from beginning to end.
Certificate Requirements
Students are required to complete the following five core courses:
- ENEE 660: Systems Engineering Principles
- ENEE 661: System Architecture and Design
- ENEE 662: System Modeling, Simulation and Analysis
- ENEE 663: System Implementation, Integration and Test
- ENEE 670 or ENEE 698: Systems Engineering Project
* All Certificate courses apply to the MS in System Engineering, the Systems Engineering track within the MSEE or MSCS program or the Systems Engineering concentration within the Master's in Engineering Management program.
Program Admission Requirements
Master of Science
- Applicants must have a B.S. degree, preferably in engineering, computer science or information systems or equivalent industrial experience in aerospace or electronic systems. Professional work experience is desirable, but not required.
- Applicants should have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4-point grading system) in their B.S. course work and any previous graduate courses. A slightly lower GPA might be sufficient for admission, based on work experience and letters of recommendation. GRE scores and letters of recommendation are not required of students who earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited U.S. university and maintained at least a 3.0 GPA.
- International students should have a TOEFL score of at least 99 (iBT), 597 (written or 247 (computerized). The minimum component scores for the iBT are: Writing – 23, Listening – 23, Reading – 25 and Speaking – 28 (A score of 23 is acceptable if the student has two years of experience in a supervisory or management position in the U.S.).
- International students should also have a GRE combined score of at least 1230. The Verbal Reasoning score should be at least 500, and the Analytical Writing score should be at least 4.5.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
- Applicants must have a B.S. degree, preferably in engineering, computer science or information systems or equivalent industrial experience in aerospace or electronic systems. Professional work experience is desirable, but not required.
- Applicants must have a B.S. degree, preferably in engineering, computer science or information systems or equivalent industrial experience in aerospace or electronic systems. Professional work experience is desirable, but not required.
- Applicants should have an overall grade point average of 2.7 or higher (on a 4-point grading system) in their B.S. course work and any previous graduate courses. A slightly lower GPA might be sufficient for admission, based on work experience and letters of recommendation.
- GRE scores and letters of recommendation are not required of students who earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited U.S. university and maintained at least a 2.7 GPA.
Financial Assistance
Student financial aid is not available through this program, since the program is designed primarily for working professionals who will be reimbursed for their tuition expense by their employers. Even though financial aid is not offered as part of the program, some international students have succeeded in securing positions as teaching assistants or graduate assistants, once they arrived on campus.
COURSE LISTING
ENEE 660: Systems Engineering
Principles
This course provides a survey introduction to the discipline of Systems
Engineering (SE) and Systems Architecting (SA). Key industry standards for
SE and SA and a standard definition for the “The Systems Engineering (SE)
Process” are provided and are used throughout the course. The course describes
how the SE process is implemented in standard life cycle models and through
various standard organizational structures. Key SE technical process topics include:
Requirements Definition, Requirements Analysis, Architectural Design, Implementation,
Integration, Verification, Validation, and Transition. Key SE management process topics
include: Decision Analysis, Technical Planning, Technical Assessment, Requirements
Management, Risk Management, Configuration Management, Interface Management, and
Technical Data Management. Other topics will include: IPTs, Model-Based Systems
Engineering, DoDAF, Structured Analysis, UML, SysML, requirements allocation,
traceability, specialty engineering, technology readiness assessment, technical
performance measurement, earned value measurement, and work breakdown structures.
Students will develop a requirements document, and integrated architecture, and a
System Engineering Plan (SEP). Homework and Exams are designed to provide the opportunity
to practice the concepts learned in class.
Prerequisite: B.S. degree in EE or related field or equivalent industrial experience in aerospace or electronic systems.
ENEE 661: System Architecture and
Design
This course focuses on the role of the systems architect in the system development
life cycle. In the operational analysis phase, the emphasis is on understanding the
context of the system within the larger customer problem area, and the identification
of requirements that influence system partitioning. In the functional analysis phase,
the emphasis is on the dependencies between processing steps. In the architectural
design phase, the emphasis is on partitioning the system into generic components, and
ultimately instantiating them into physical components. A precision landing system is
used throughout the course as a common case study. Within the classroom sessions, a
search and rescue system is used. Three presentations by each group are given to simulate:
(1) RFI review, (2) SRR, and (3) SDR. These reviews progressively reveal each group’s
proposed solution to the precision landing system for a mythical country with unique
complicating characteristics.
Prerequisite: B.S. degree in EE or related field and familiarity with basic statistics and calculus. ENEE 660 (SE Principles) may be taken concurrently.
ENEE 662: Modeling, Simulation, and
Analysis
This course provides an overview of models and simulations and of modeling and
simulation techniques. Techniques include time-driven and event-driven dynamic
models/simulations, Monte Carlo simulation, and decision simulation. The course
addresses the role of modeling and simulation in the systems engineering process
and provides methods for architecting and managing the development of complex
models/simulations. The course introduces students to important design considerations
for the development of complex distributed software simulations and HWIL frameworks.
Topics include distributed real-time and non-real-time simulation and the use of HLA.
Students develop simple models and simulations using MATLAB and work as part of a
team to integrate some of these into a more complex, integrated simulation.
Prerequisite: A working knowledge of C/C++ or a similar programming language. In addition, students are required to pass a Mathematics and MATLAB fundamentals test or pass ENEE 669: Mathematics and MATLAB Fundamentals for Engineers.
ENEE 663: System Implementation, Integration,
and Test
This course is a follow-on to ENEE 661 and covers the translation of design
specifications into product elements, the integration of these elements
into a system, and the verification that the resulting system performs as
intended in its operational environment. The course follows the product
development life cycle beyond system architecture and design. The system is
decomposed into component level elements suitable for software coding and
hardware fabrication. These elements are then individually tested and gradually
integrated together as the various modules and sub-systems are subjected to unit
test, verification and validation. Eventually the full system goes through
Operational Test and Evaluation, and finally make it into production and
operation. This course covers the System Engineer role, activities and
processes that are needed during this phase of the product development cycle.
Areas of study will include technical planning, requirement & interface
management, standards, technical performance measures, technical evaluation,
technical readiness, implementation, integration, verification, validation,
production, transition to operation and complexity.
Prerequisites: ENEE 660 and ENEE 661 or permission of instructor.
ENEE 664: Advanced Systems Architecture [3]
This course emphasizes the many partitioning alternatives that can be
employed when developing generic physical systems architectures. Woven
throughout the course are heuristics collected from experienced systems
architects. Many of the heuristics come from the assigned text, "The Art
of Systems Architecting", by Mark W. Maier and Eberhart Rechtin. Other
heuristics and numerous examples derive from the experience of the
instructor.
Prerequisites: ENEE 660 and ENEE 661
ENEE 666: Model Based Systems Engineering [1]
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is the formalized application of
modeling to support specifying, analyzing, designing, and verifying systems
beginning in the conceptual design phase and continuing throughout the
development and later life cycle phases. A primary output of MBSE is a
coherent model of the system, where the emphasis is placed on evolving
and refining the model. MBSE is intended to facilitate systems engineering
activities that have traditionally been performed using the document-based
approach. Use of MBSE results in enhanced communications, specification
and design quality, and reuse of system artifacts. This course introduces
the students to some of the essentials of MBSE using SysML, which is a
general-purpose modeling language that enables the application of MBSE
to develop complex systems that may include hardware, software, information,
personnel, procedures, and facilities. The course includes the motivation
for MBSE by providing a comparison with the document-based approach, a
description of SysML concepts and diagrams, various examples that apply
SysML, and an MBSE approach to selected problems. The course will also
demonstrate some of the SysML diagrams generated by a systems modeling
tool.
Prerequisites: ENEE 660, ENEE 661 and ENEE 662, or consent of instructor.
ENEE 667: Agile Systems Engineering [1]
This course builds on systems engineering fundamentals and provides an
innovative approach for responding to today’s dynamic and rapidly
changing environments. Agile systems engineering provides a model
that enables the ability to respond to changing customer needs and
technological advancements in a collaborative environment. Students
will learn why this is an effective approach for developing systems
and how it results in more efficient practices leading to reduced
project risk while maximizing value delivered to our customers. Students
work in teams and actively participate in applying Agile practices while
developing a simple web site. Major topics covered include an overview of
agile methods and comparison to traditional practices, capturing and
managing customer needs and requirements, planning and adapting to change,
tracking and reporting progress, and building collaborative environments.
ENEE 668: Project and Systems Engineering Management [3]
This course will cover fundamental project control and systems engineering
management concepts, including how to plan, set up cost accounts, bid,
staff and execute a project from a project control perspective. It provides
an understanding of the critical relations and interconnections between
project management and systems engineering management. It is designed to
address how systems engineering management supports traditional program
management activities to break down complex programs into manageable and
assignable tasks.
ENEE 669: Mathematics and MATLAB Fundamentals for Engineers [1]
This 1-credit course provides a review of matrix mathematics, probability,
calculus, ordinary differential equations, difference equations, and some
basic numerical methods as well as an introduction to the use of MATLAB.
It provides a review of the material required for a number of systems
engineering graduate courses. It is designed to refresh students' basic
skills in these areas of mathematics (not substitute for such courses)
and to establish basic proficiency in MATLAB. Course work focuses on
developing MATLAB programs that use these mathematical techniques to
solve problems of systems engineering interest.
ENEE 670: Systems Engineering
Project
In this course, the student performs in an industry-based work environment
on a SE project. The project spans the essential phases of the System
Life Cycle and results in the development of a simulation model of the
objective system. During the course of system development, engineering
artifacts are created to substantiate system development. A final summary
technical report summarizing the artifacts and simulation results are
compiled in a form representative of an professional report in partial
satisfaction of course requirements. Starting six weeks before the beginning
of the semester, students form Integrated Product Teams, usually not exceeding
5 students per team. During the six weeks before the semester begins, the
team prepares a proposal for the project that is submitted to the instructor
for approval. The advisor may approve the project proposal, subject to
adjustment, as needed. To increase the realism of the environment, an
industry mentor may collaborate with the advisor during the periodic
milestone reviews of the project.
Prerequisites: ENEE 660, ENEE 661, ENEE 662, ENEE 663, or consent of instructor.
ENEE 671: Service Oriented
Architecture
This course examines the design consequences in following
SOA architectural principles including: Encapsulation,
Loose Coupling (Independence), Service Contract (for
Communication), Service Abstraction (hiding logic),
Reusability, Composability (coordination of composite
services), Autonomy (control over encapsulated logic),
Statelessness (retention of data from an activity) and
Discoverability (finding and accessing services based upon
intuitive identification). The course emphasizes the
practical implementation of useful enterprise-wide systems
using SOA. Working in teams, students will architect,
design and implement a system project via simulation of
performance and behavior. As result, students will gain
fundamental knowledge and hands-on experience to permit
them to function as individual contributors and integration
leads in the context of an industrial environment.
ENEE 672: Decision and Risk Analysis
[3]
This course provides an overview of decision and risk
analysis techniques. It focuses on how to make rational
decisions in the presence of uncertainty and conflicting
objectives. It covers modeling uncertainty, the principles
of rational decision-making, representing and solving
decision problems using influence diagrams and decision
trees, sensitivity analysis, Bayesian decision analysis,
deductive and inductive reasoning, objective and subjective
probabilities, probability distributions, regression
analysis, defining and calculating the value of
information, modeling risk attitudes and utility functions.
Concepts will be illustrated through case studies and
practiced by students through homework.