Why Study / Key Benefits

The official Swinburne course is titled Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), majoring in Software. The major focuses on advanced software engineering, practical software development, quality assurance, project management and industry-oriented engineering practice.

Key benefits include:

• Develop engineering and software development knowledge through a four-year honours degree.
• Build skills in programming, software development, deployment and testing.
• Study cloud computing and artificial intelligence alongside software engineering.
• Develop teamwork, problem-solving and project-management skills.
• Work on industry-linked projects throughout the degree.
• Swinburne states that students undertake eight professionally focused, industry-linked projects, with industry-based projects commencing from Year 1.
• Gain exposure to practical engineering environments and industry-standard tools.
• The qualification is accredited by Engineers Australia, providing an internationally recognised engineering qualification framework.
• Graduates of the Software major are eligible to apply for graduate membership of Engineers Australia.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The degree contains 400 credit points:

• 11 core units
• 17 Software major units
• 4 elective units.

The following is Swinburne's current indicative 2026 sequence; Swinburne notes that unit availability and sequencing can change.

Year 1 – 100 credit points

Semester 1:

• Humanitarian Engineering Design Project – ENG10001
• Engineering Materials – ENG10002
• Preliminary Mathematics – MTH00007
• Energy and Motion – PHY10001

Semester 2:

• Introduction to Programming – COS10009
• Engineering Mechanics – ENG10003
• Engineering Technology with Indigenous Context – ENG10006
• Linear Algebra and Applications – MTH10013.

Year 2 – 100 credit points

Semester 1:

• Calculus and Applications – MTH10012
• Engineering Technology Inquiry Project – ENG20009
• Object Oriented Programming – COS20007
• One elective

Semester 2:

• Engineering Technology Design Project – ENG20010
• Internet and Cybersecurity for Engineering Applications – TNE20003
• Cloud Computing Architecture – COS20019
• One elective.

Year 3 – 100 credit points

Semester 1:

• Professional Experience in Engineering – EAT20008
• Data Structures and Patterns – COS30008
• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence – COS30019
• Interface Design and Development – COS30043
• Engineering Technology Sustainability Project – ENG30002

Semester 2:

• Software Development for Mobile Devices – COS30017
• Software Testing and Reliability – SWE30009
• Engineering Technology Innovation Project – ENG40011
• One elective.

Year 4 – 100 credit points

Semester 1:

• Artificial Intelligence Engineering – COS40007
• Software Architectures and Design – SWE30003
• Deploying Secure Engineering Applications Online – TNE30024
• Engineering Technology Project A (ENG/CS) – EAT40005

Semester 2:

• Concurrent Programming – COS40003
• Software Deployment and Evolution – SWE40006
• One elective
• Engineering Technology Project B (ENG/CS) – EAT40006.

Disciplines / Specialisations

The selected major is:

• Software

The Software major covers areas including:

• Software engineering
• Programming
• Object-oriented programming
• Data structures
• Software testing and reliability
• Software architecture
• Software deployment and evolution
• Artificial intelligence
• Cloud computing
• Cybersecurity for engineering applications
• Mobile software development
• Concurrent programming
• Interface design and development
• Secure application deployment
• Engineering technology innovation.

Programme Highlights

• Four-year Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).
• Software major with an advanced software-engineering focus.
• 400 credit points.
• 11 core units, 17 major units and 4 electives.
• Engineers Australia accreditation.
• Industry-linked learning throughout the degree.
• Eight professionally focused, industry-linked projects.
• Practical learning in programming, software development, testing, cloud computing and AI.
• Optional six-month or 12-month professional placement.
• Hawthorn campus in Melbourne.
• Two 2027 intakes.

Career Outcomes

Swinburne lists the following career opportunities for graduates of the Software major:

• Software engineer
• Software systems developer
• Software modeller
• Project and technology manager.

The curriculum also develops knowledge relevant to:

• Software development
• Software testing and quality assurance
• Cloud computing
• Artificial intelligence
• Software architecture
• Application deployment
• Mobile software
• Cybersecurity
• Project management.

International Student Visa Requirements

International students intending to study this course in Australia generally require an Australian Student visa (subclass 500).

Enrolment and visa requirements

The Department of Home Affairs requires Student visa applicants to:

• Be enrolled in an eligible course in Australia.
• Hold a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) when the visa is decided.
• Maintain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), unless exempt.
• Meet the Genuine Student requirement.
• Meet applicable health and character requirements.
• Provide financial evidence where required.
• Provide the documents specified by the current Home Affairs Document Checklist Tool.