CSEE&T 2017 Hall of Fame Nomination: Studio-Based Master of Software Engineering Program at Carnegie Mellon University

Since its founding in 1989, the Studio-based Master of Software Engineering (MSE) Program at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has been a trailblazer in advancing the practice of masters-level professional software engineering education. From its inception, the program was designed around a comprehensive development project, the Studio. The Studio provides students with a team-based, mentored, multi-semester engagement with external clients, allowing them to "learn by doing" as they apply skills and techniques derived from complementary core and elective courses. Going far beyond the common "capstone" experience of many other programs at the time, the Studio concept was unique because of the amount of time set aside for practice-based learning (almost a third of the entire curriculum), its approach to active mentoring (engaging seasoned software engineering professionals), and its focus on reflective practices (with explicit attention given to retrospective analysis of positive and negative experiences). This formulation of a software engineering professional degree program has had far-reaching and lasting impacts on software engineering education.