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Certificate Program

Software Engineering and Quality

Putting quality first

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certificate Description

Learn QA methodologies. Build a strong SQA team. Save on costs.

Software errors cost companies millions of dollars. The longer it takes to discover bugs, the more costly the corrective action. When you study quality assurance in the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Software Engineering and Quality certificate program, you learn to methodically and thoroughly test and manage software projects. You learn to minimize defects early in the life cycle and influence product development to improve the customer experience.

Our rigorous approach to quality assurance complements the latest and established practices in software engineering and user experience design with proven techniques in software testing.

Three QA focus areas

We offer three focus areas for your studies to help you prepare for your next software quality assurance job.

    Software Engineering

    A focus on software architecture, software system design, and modeling

    Quality and Testing

    A study of software test automation and quality assurance methods

    User Experience Design

    The practices and methods required to create successful user experience for software across various platforms

Software Engineering and Quality certificate program objectives

  • Demonstrate competence in the software development lifecycle, from requirements to release
  • Design and model software systems using object orientation
  • Develop test plans and quality assurance strategies that minimize defects in software systems
  • Apply accepted software development techniques, such as Agile, in planning a software system’s development
  • Design clean and consistent user interfaces

Our Students

The students in our Software Engineering and Quality certificate program include:

  • Software developers who want to build a foundation in software engineering, architecture, and developmental process.
  • Software QA and test professionals seeking adaptive SQA and testing knowledge and skills.
  • Software project leaders and managers overseeing their team’s on-time delivery of high-quality products.

Recent online events

How to get a job in software

Pick up some great tips for your job search and career advancement from two instructors in our Software Engineering Quality certificate program. (May 2023)

Program Overview

Estimated Cost: $4,625–$6,000 + est. course materials: $500 (You pay only for courses you enroll in.) | International Tuition Cost
Program Requirements: 5–7 courses (minimum 14 quarter units). Take 3 core courses (6.5 units) and 3–4 electives (minimum 7.5–9 quarter units). End with certificate of completion review.
Minimum Hours of Instruction: Minimum 140 hours of instruction.
Estimated Duration: A full-time student can complete the certificate in 9–12 months.
Modality: You can complete this program fully online, in person, or choose a mix of course formats.
Special Programs: This program is approved for workforce and international students.
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Courses


1. Required Course(s):

Quarter Units: 1.5
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

02-18-2025 to 03-18-2025
$750.00
SEQA.X406.(12)
See complete class schedule here.
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me
Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

01-10-2025 to 03-14-2025
$980.00
SEQA.X401.(28)
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Quarter Units: 2.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID
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2. Electives: Software Engineering

Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

01-08-2025 to 03-26-2025
$750.00
SEQA.X409.(6)
See complete class schedule here.
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Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

01-07-2025 to 03-11-2025
$980.00
CMPR.X425.(19)
See complete class schedule here.
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Quarter Units: 2.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID
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Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me

3. Electives: Quality and Testing

Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

01-21-2025 to 03-25-2025
$840.00
SEQA.X404.(15)
See complete class schedule here.
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me
Quarter Units: 2.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me
Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me

4. Electives: User Experience Design

Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

03-15-2025 to 04-19-2025
$950.00
UEWD.X412.(14)
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Quarter Units: 3.0
Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

01-22-2025 to 03-26-2025
$950.00
UEWD.X414.(13)
See complete class schedule here.
Want to enroll or get the estimated cost of future sections? Notify Me

5. Completion Review:

Start / End Date
Cost
Instructor
Location
Section ID

Meet Our Instructors

No image for Alexander I Alten
Sr. Infrastructure Security Engineer, Zuora
Alka S Jarvis
SEQ Chair | Global SQ Process/Performance Excellence Officer
Alp Tiritoglu
Principal, UILAB LLC
Bineet Sharma
Director/Assoc. Professor, Univ. of Silicon Valley|Chair/Instructor UCSC SV
David Rines
SRE Architect, Duo
Edwin Mach
Director of Product Management and Head of Product Stream Processing Splunk
Eric Dorf
Senior UX Designer, Google
Hong Nguyen-Phuong
Independent Consultant
Min Wu
Senior Staff Software Engineer, ServiceNow
Nicole L. Sharratt
Vice President of Product Design, Jumio Corp.
Paddu N Melanahalli
Sr. Director-Engineering, Enterprise Networking & Cloud, Cisco Systems
Prajakta Badhe
Manager, Product Security at Origami Risk
Prasanna Vasudevan
Senior Release Engineer, Apple Inc.

Certificate Inquiry Form

Contact Us

Speak to a student services representative.

Call (408) 861-3860

Envelope extension@ucsc.edu

Advisory Board

Alka Jarvis, Program Chair and Instructor

Certificate Program Chair 

ALKA JARVIS, M.B.A., is a global software quality process/performance excellence officer at Hitachi ABB. A Distinguished Quality Engineer and former senior director, she retired from Cisco Systems after 25 years with the company. She is an Exemplar Global certified auditor and a recognized industry leader in software engineering principles, quality assurance, and testing with an emphasis on customer experience, process improvement, and total quality management. Learn more.

Requisite Knowledge

Please review the course descriptions to ensure that you have taken necessary prerequisites or meet the requirements through job experience or previous education.

Required. Experience with a programming language is required as well as a degree in computer science or engineering or equivalent experience in software development, testing, QA, or project management.

Establish Candidacy

Grade Requirements

Please note that only letter grades of C or higher may be applied to a certificate, and in some programs, students may have more stringent requirements. Students in most employer- and government-sponsored payment programs, such as workforce development, as well as international students on F-1 visas, need to maintain a B average to meet their requirements. Personal Financial Planning students have additional grade requirements for individual courses to attain a certificate.

See Grading and Credits Policy for further information.