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Software Development Pathway
This pathway assumes:
- You will be a full-time student.
- You will start in the fall.
- You are ready to take 100- and 200-level classes.
If not, you can still complete the pathway! You will just need to make adjustments. Talk with your advisor to customize your plan.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE (AAS) (90 CREDITS)
The software development degree is designed to prepare individuals to work as entry-level applications or web programmers within an organization. Students will acquire the core skills to design, code, implement, and maintain programs and database systems that provide programming solutions for industry.
Talk with your advisor about adapting this pathway for your individual goals.
Click here to download a fillable, printable planning worksheet.
Quarter 1
CIS 105 Computer Operating Systems I (4 credits)
| Description | Introduces the fundamentals of computer operating systems including history, evolution and design, as well as support, maintenance and troubleshooting. Lab work included. Recommended preparation: CIS 100 or equivalent. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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CS& 141 Computer Science I Java (5 credits)
| Description | This course provides an introduction to computer programming with Java. It covers computer architecture, machine instruction processing, basic data types, program control structures, functional decomposition, classes, and fundamental data structures. Recommended for math, science, engineering, computer science, and software development majors. CS 101 recommended. (MS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of MATH 099 |
| Course Attributes |
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ENGL& 101 English Composition I (5 credits)
| Description | This course helps students become more effective writers in academic and professional settings. Students learn to enter ongoing academic conversations, analyze and use secondary sources to formulate, develop, revise, and communicate ideas in writing, and shape their message to different purposes, audiences, and media. (CC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of ENGL 95 or placement in ENGL& 101. |
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EDPL 100 College Success (2 credits)
| Description | Designed for students new to the college environment. Introduction to college services; study skills and time management; educational planning and career exploration; and skills necessary to become a successful student. Lectures, small group discussion, and experiential exercises. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 16
Course note: EDPL 100 is optional. This course is really helpful if you don't have much college experience.
Career exploration: Find your people! Attend area-of-study activities and connect with clubs related to your career goals. Find out where students in your pathway go to study.
Action item: Meet with your advisor to build your degree plan.
Action item: Have your transfer-in credits officially evaluated.
Action item: Visit the Intercultural Center, the Learning Center, and the library.
Quarter 2
CIS 201 Introduction to Database Design (5 credits)
| Description | Students will learn how to use Structured Query Language (SQL) to retrieve and organize information from a relational database, filter, modify, group and summarize data, and retrieve joint information from multiple tables in a database. Recommended preparation: CS& 141 with a minimum grade of C. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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CS 145 Computer Science II (5 credits)
| Description | This course is a continuation of CS&141. Teaches the fundamentals of computer programming. Covers searching and sorting, object oriented design, error handling, file input and output, event based programming, bitwise operators, multithreaded and network programming. Recommended for math, science, engineering, computer science, and software development majors. (MS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CS& 141 with a minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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MATH& 141 Precalculus I (5 credits)
| Description | The basic properties and graphs of functions and inverses of functions, operations on functions, compositions; various specific functions and their properties including polynomial, absolute value, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions; applications of various functions; conics. A graphing calculator is required. (QSR,MS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of MATH 099 or MATH 132 with a minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Meet with the internship coordinator to explore internship options.
Quarter 3
SD 120 HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals (5 credits)
| Description | Teaches the fundamentals of web page design and implementation. Emphasizes text formatting, web page layout, links, lists, tables, frames and forms using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and database connectivity. Recommended preparation: windows file management and keyboarding skills. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 260 Graphical user interface programming (5 credits)
| Description | This course introduces students to graphical user interface (GUI) programming using a common OOP language. Students will learn to create interactive, event-driven applications with a focus on desktop application design, layout management, and user experience principles. Through hands-on exercises, students will develop the skills to build, test, and deploy GUI-based applications with rich graphical interfaces.(UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | CS 145 with a minimum grade of C- |
| Course Attributes |
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ORAL COMMUNICATION click for list (CMST& 101, CMST& 210, or CMST 245 recommended) (5 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Ask your instructors about nearby conferences you might attend next year.
Career exploration: Look for a summer job or internship related to your career goals.
Quarter 4
SD 130 Systems Analysis and Design (5 credits)
| Description | This course examines the system-development cycle in depth. Topics include problem identification, problem solving, and information-gathering techniques. Current structured tools are used to describe business rules and objects, data flow, data structures, and process flow and documentation. Creative problem solving and working in a team environment are stressed. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 231 Web programming I (5 credits)
| Description | This course introduces students to graphical user interface (GUI) programming using a common OOP language. Students will learn to create interactive, event-driven applications with a focus on desktop application design, layout management, and user experience principles. Through hands-on exercises, students will develop the skills to build, test, and deploy GUI-based applications with rich graphical interfaces. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | SD 120 with a minimum grade of C and CS& 141 with a minimum grade of C |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 250 Software Security Principles (5 credits)
| Description | Students will explore fundamentals of software security, and learn how to write more secure code. Topics include common software and website vulnerabilities, proactive coding practices, and basics of cryptography. Advisory: CIS 201 with minimum grade of C recommended. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CS 240 with minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Ask your instructors about nearby conferences you might attend next year.
Career exploration: Look for a summer job or internship related to your career goals.
Quarter 5
CIS 106 Open Source Operating Systems (5 credits)
| Description | Fundamental management of open source systems from the command line, user administration, file permissions, software configuration and management of clients. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CIS 105 with a minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 232 Web programming II (5 credits)
| Description | Utilizing various scripting languages, students will learn to create interactive and dynamic web pages and applications. Topics include authentication, APIs, containerization, database services, message queues, and writing code on the web that interacts with a database. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | SD 231 min C and CIS 106 min C |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 235 Programming for Mobile Devices (5 credits)
| Description | This course teaches the principles of mobile application design and development. Students will learn application development for major mobile platform(s). Topics will include user interface design, memory management, user interface building, input methods, data handling, and network techniques. Prerequisite: CIS 105 and CS 145 with minimum grade of C. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CIS 105 and CS 145 with minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Action item: Apply to graduate by week 3 of this quarter.
Action item: Attend the winter tech job fair.
Quarter 6
CIS 220 Cloud Foundations (5 credits)
| Description | This course introduces foundational cloud computing concepts and best practices. Students will examine the benefits and cost of operating cloud architecture. They will discuss the financial impact of cloud migration and the general impact of migrating to a cloud-based architecture. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CIS 105 with a minimum grade of C. |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 270 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (5 credits)
| Description | This course introduces fundamental concepts, techniques, and applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students will explore the principles of intelligent agents, problem-solving, search algorithms, knowledge representation, reasoning, and basic machine learning techniques. Ethical considerations and real-world applications of AI, including robotics, natural language processing, and computer vision, are also discussed. |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of CS 145 with a minimum grade of C |
| Course Attributes |
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SD 299 Software Development Capstone (0-6 credits)
and/or SD 290 Software Development Internship (0-6 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 16
Course note: Take a total of 6 credits of SD 299 and/or SD 290