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Master of Science in Systems Engineering
Online for Part-time Students • In-Person for Full-time
Develop the ability to design and manage large systems and projects with an the Master of Science in Systems Engineering (MSSE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).
The MSSE program at CSUDH provides students with the latest, cutting-edge skills and design methods for the realization and management of the complex, interdependent systems required to develop and maintain today’s products and systems in rapidly changing environments. These include Model Based Systems Engineering, Systems Architecting, System-of-Systems Engineering and Complex and Resilient Systems. The curriculum balances theory with practical projects and case studies, enabling students to understand and implement applicable models to enhance and complement systems engineering activities throughout a project’s life cycle.
Systems Engineering has been implemented in nearly every field, including:
- Aerospace
- Automotive Design and Manufacturing
- Biotechnology
- Counter-Terrorism
- Critical Infrastructure
- Cyber Security
- Defense
- Environmental/Green Engineering
- Healthcare
- Homeland Security
- Manufacturing
- Next Generation Farming
- Oil and Gas
- Power and Energy Systems
- Quality Assurance
- Safety/Security Engineering
- Social Network Systems Architecture
- Space Systems
- Telecommunications
- Transportation
The program is designed to prepare students for industry. As such, our goal is not to offer conventional midterm and final exams in which students regurgitate material that that they have memorized. Instead, students apply course concepts to a mini-project that they complete alone or in small groups; they are typically allocated 4-7 days to complete these projects.
The program will have full-time face-to-face course modality offered beginning in Fall 2025.
Systems Engineering: Industry Outlook
Systems Engineering is a holistic interdisciplinary process critical to designing, integrating and managing complex systems to maximize system quality and safety. The high-demand discipline boasts an average, entry-level salary of $92,000, and the number of professionals is projected to increase by 27% nationwide and 42% in California between 2014–2024. Systems Engineers typically begin their careers in engineering, physical science or computing positions, and not only have depth in their primary field, but also develop skills and 'systems thinking' that allows them to solve problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries.
The CSUDH MSSE program draws upon case studies, methodologies and tools from several engineering industries, providing experienced professionals as well as those new to the field with exposure to real-world systems engineering case studies. Students access contextualized case studies within their industries, and complete their degree with a culminating project that prepares them for complex, real-life projects.
What Students Will Learn
Students will learn how to apply systems engineering knowledge and techniques to problems from the automotive, commercial aviation, defense, electronic communication and space industries. They will learn the importance of implementing Model Based Systems Engineering in the development of complex, interdependent systems that may be comprised of a combination of legacy and new components.
MSSE Program Learning Outcomes
- Systems Engineering and Life Cycle Overview: Critique the strengths and weaknesses of candidate life cycle models for a project given constraints such as budget, schedule, project deliverables and performance requirements.
- Technical Processes: Critique and assess the relative merits of various architectural approaches given a specific operational scenario.
- Technical Management Processes: Understand, analyze and quantify how the Systems Engineer contributes to the Business Aspect of a system, process, or product.
- Organizational Strategy and Operation: Define, defend, and implement organizational activities that generate and support system development
- Application of System Engineering: Analyze and justify the application of a specific modeling technique to a set of design/operational scenarios
- Cross-Cutting Systems Engineering Methods: Identify and evaluate the design alternatives associated with a set of performance and operational objectives.
- Specialty Engineering: Identify, compare and contrast the roles of specialty engineering disciplines in the fulfilment of mission requirements
- Complex Systems Analysis: Analyze and describe aspects of complex systems orally and in writing.
Courses include:
- Practice of Systems Engineering
- Introduction to Systems Engineering
- Analytics in Systems Engineering
- Quantitative Methods in Systems Engineering
- Economic Factors in Systems Engineering
- Modeling and Simulation
- Model Based Systems Engineering
- Complex Systems Architecture
- Systems-of-Systems Engineering
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