MSc Agile Software Projects provides professional development for practising software developers to support the move from traditional to agile development methods. You will develop the skills and understanding required for agile software development, develop skills in critical evaluation, communication and self-management, and develop your skills as an independent learner. A masters paper and masters project are compulsory elements for the MSc. You will be provided with academic supervision for the project in your workplace and will be given feedback on your reflections and analysis of situations at work.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

2010 places may still be available please contact our course enquiries team regarding entry requirements as these may differ from 2011.

Entry requirements for postgraduate courses vary and you are advised to check below for any specific requirements or with Enquiry Management. Normally the following general entry requirements apply:

Postgraduate Diplomas, Certificates and Conversion Courses:
A recognised British first degree or its equivalent, or a BTEC Higher Diploma/Certificate.

Taught Masters Courses:
A recognised British honours degree to a good standard, or its equivalent. Applications from all candidates will be considered on their merits and in the light of the nature and scope of the programme or work proposed. Informal enquiries are welcomed and will normally be followed by an initial advisory interview.

Specific entry requirements for this course are:

• Good honours degree or equivalent
• Degree and substantial relevant industrial experience
• BCS postgraduate diploma plus PGD project
• Qualifications deemed by the University to be equivalent to the above

Students will also be expected to be employed within the software development industry.  If students do not have this experience, they would be interviewed to assess their suitability for the course.  Those for whom English is a second language require a minimum standard for written English of IELTS 7.0.

Course Content

MSc Agile Software Projects provides professional development for practising software developers to support the move from traditional to agile development methods.  The course is delivered in burst mode.  The five taught models require the student to attend for two long weekends per module.  The student does some reading before the first teaching weekend then does assessment work between the teaching weekends.  Exams, if applicable, will be at the end of each module.

You will develop the skills and understanding required for agile software development; develop skills in critical evaluation, communication and self-management; develop your skills as an independent learner.  You will:

Learn how to work in a team, involving other stakeholders in design and planning decisions;
Contribute to facilitated workshops as developer, representative, scribe and facilitator;
Negotiate, learn, revise decisions and enable other people to do these things in groups;
Plan and implement iterative consultation and incremental delivery of software products;
Take legal, contractual and service-level issues into account.
You will also develop widely applicable skills such as:

Finding information from multiple sources, evaluating ideas, methods and systems;
Solving technical and human problems;
Communicating effectively with stakeholders;
Applying the results of recent research to your working situation;
Working as part of a team.
The University will provide academic supervision for a project in your workplace, giving you feedback on your reflections and analysis of situations at work.  The project encourages you to read more widely and think more critically about tasks and problems at work.

Course at a Glance

Learning Environment:

The School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences provides an ‘electronic supported learning’ environment to facilitate flexible learning. This environment combines traditional face-to-face lecture/tutorial and practical sessions with additional, resource-rich, online materials allowing you to continue independent learning through a variety of approaches.

Careers:

A course module that will help you plan your career is available as a free choice module (called an elective), which you can study as part of your degree programme.

Money Matters

Most graduates of this University are entitled to a 20% reduction on tuition fees for our postgraduate courses, if self-funding.

Details of current fees are available from Enquiry Management,
University of Central Lancashire,
Preston,
PR1 2HE,
United Kingdom,
01772 892400.

Gilbertson Excellence Scholarships
These scholarships are awarded to UCLan undergraduates in their final year of study in 2009-10 who want to continue their studies at postgraduate level, either on a full time or part time taught programme eg MA or MSc, or on a research programme such as an MPhil in the 2010-11 academic year. These awards worth £3,390 towards tuition fees are available to Home/EU students achieving a first class honours degree at UCLan in 2009-10 and are subject to specific terms and conditions.