NASHVILLE — With the demand for coding and developer skills at an all-time high, Western Governors University (WGU) Tennessee has officially launched a new bachelor’s degree program designed for students seeking to build successful careers in application and software design. The bachelor of science in software development degree program (which has been in beta for several months) is now accepting new enrollees. Students may start their coursework on the first day of any month.
This provides knowledge of software engineering, software development, project management, and mobile application development.
“There is tremendous need for qualified programmers and developers in Tennessee,” said Chancellor Kimberly Estep. “I’m confident that our new program will help tech companies hire more locals for these important jobs.”
The gap between job openings in the computer software field and graduates with fitting degrees is consistently high in Tennessee. According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, there are an estimated 1,355 job openings in this field every year; but only 1,127 software degrees are obtained in a year. The 200-person gap is a hole that WGU Tennessee’s new program can fill.
“WGU Tennessee was launched to help more of our state’s adult workers gain job-ready competencies in high-demand career fields,” said Bryan Huddleston, president and CEO of the Nashville Technology Council. “The new B.S. in Software Development will be a ladder of opportunity for many Middle Tennesseans looking to gain a foothold in the red-hot tech sector of the economy.”
Like all of WGU Tennessee’s online, accredited, competency-based degree programs, this degree program was created for working adults looking to advance their careers in an educational setting that fits with their busy lives. WGU Tennessee uses technology to facilitate education in ways that work for individual learners, allowing them to study, complete assignments, and take tests on their schedule and at their pace. This approach allows students to move through their programs more quickly, saving both time and money.
Key topics and areas of discussion in the new software development degree program include:
- Systems and services
- Networking and security
- Scripting and programming
- Business of IT
- Operating systems for programmers
- Software engineering
- Data structures
- Data management for programmers
- Object-oriented design and development
- Client-server application development
- Mobile application development
About WGU Tennessee
WGU Tennessee is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university established to expand Tennesseans’ access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Tennessee and nationally recognized Western Governors University, WGU Tennessee is open to all qualified Tennessee residents. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.
