A proposal of postgraduate programme for software testing specialization

This paper proposes the design of specific programme dedicated for students who want to specialize in software testing at postgraduate level. The motivation behind this proposal is to encourage more higher learning institutions to offer variety of software engineering related programme, in particular software testing so that this area is recognized as another key contributor for developing competent testing professionals. Although there are many software testing professional certifications available in the market, there is still a need for offering this kind of programme in university at postgraduate level to nurture the importance of software testing in producing quality software. The proposed programme is designed based on coursework basis to mainly cater for the working students. As the structure emphasizes on mix of theories and practical knowledge with the use of suitable testing tools, thus the substance of this programme should at least cover the fundamentals knowledge of testing, every key types of testing performed today such as functional testing, security testing, performance testing, usability testing and compatibility testing as well as latest trends in testing such as testing in agile environment. It is expected that the proposed programme should be able to produce graduates that demonstrate advanced competencies in software testing and able to apply the acquired skills in producing high quality software.