BSE is a UGC-approved degree program offered by the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). It is the first software engineering degree programme, which is designed according to the ACM/IEEE, global standards for computing degree programs, and is delivered in close association with the Sri Lanka Association of Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM). SLASSCOM is an umbrella organisation with over 400 large software development companies in Sri Lanka.

Please refer the Student Guide Book 2022/2023.

Yes, you need a fairly good knowledge.

All the mathematical knowledge required for the degree program is included in the curriculum. In the first year, you will learn the basic mathematics that is required for the rest of the mathematics courses. However, we have also designed a bridging mathematics course for those who have studied arts or commerce subjects at the Advanced Level.

The OUSL has a flexible learning methodology. A student can decide the workload he/she wants to take at the beginning of each year. This allows students who are employed to take a lesser number of credits per year and study over a longer period; and/or to take the full load of credits a year and finish in 4 years for a student who is free.

Please refer course details in the guide book

You have to complete 130 credits within 4 years to complete the degree in a minimum time

The BSE degree program consists of 130 SLQF credits. Each credit requires a learner to spend 50 notional hours. This includes face-to-face interactions, self-study time, lab classes, assignments and all other academic activities. Each course will be delivered for 15 weeks, thus students are expected to spend around 3 hours per week for each credit they take from the course.

A student following a course at another institute may register for the BSE program. However, such a student should keep in mind the workload of the program. In practice, it will be very hard to manage time to do more than one study program at a time.

Yes. But the total combined credits that can be offered in a year cannot exceed 38.

Degrees offered by the OUSL are recognised by the UGC and professional bodies such as IESL. Like any other state sector university, OUSL also goes through rigorous review process every 5 years to ensure that its degree programs are of the highest standard. Students who graduated from OUSL are occupying the highest positions in the industry.

Yes. The flexibility offered by the OUSL allows you to take a year off. A Student can register to maintain only the studentship by paying a nominal fee without taking any courses within the year. Students are allowed 12 years to complete the BSE degree from the date of first registration

We conduct lectures in Day Schools (DS) to guide students on the respective course. Day Schools are scheduled on the weekdays & weekends. One Day School will be continued for two hours. There can be four or five Day Schools scheduled on weekdays & weekends per course based on the course requirement. We are conducting all the DSs through Zoom (Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing) due to the pandemic situation in the country at present.

The following is the tentative timeline:

Yes. The flexible learning structure of the OUSL allows a student who satisfies the requirements to obtain a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Software Engineering and exit. Visit the Student Guide Book 2022/2023 for the list of requirements for the Higher National Diploma. Guide book

At the OUSL, course fees are calculated based on the number of credits. For the BSE Honours degree programme, the course fee is LKR. 3,630 per credit. To get the degree a student needs to pass a minimum of 130 credits. Each year course fees are increased by 10% to account for inflation. In addition to that, students should also pay the following registration and facilities fees.

Registration Fee:        LKR 500/-

Facilities fee:               LKR 2,500/-

Library Facility:          LKR 100/-  (A refundable deposit will be charged if you get the facility to borrow books from the library)

Request for Exemptions:  LKR    60/credit

EfIL (compulsory Free course)

EGAP:                         LKR 5,500/- (Compulsory)

The OUSL allows students to pay the course fee in four instalments, 30% of the course fee at the beginning of the academic year and second instalment (30%) and third instalment (20%) during the semesters and the balance before the final exam of the 2nd semester.  Other fees such as the facilities fees, registration fees have to be paid at the beginning of the academic year.

• Open University Enrollment Bursary-Proposed Selection Criteria
• Mahapola Scholarship

Besides, member companies of SLASSCOM are willing to provide  internship opportunities and scholarships for the students who have the right aptitude and attitude to follow the program. Visit the SLASSCOM Future Careers Bridge site and do the challenges given there. If a company becomes interested in your abilities and mindset, they will contact you.

No. OUSL does not have hostel facilities. However, it provides temporary residential facilities (TRF) for those students who have to travel to Colombo, Kandy or Matara regional centres for scheduled academic activities such as Lab evaluations, CAT examinations, final examinations etc. The student has to obtain a TRF card by paying a fee of Rs. 1,500 which would allow the students to stay at the facility for 30 days. A student may use the TRF facility for 60 days in an academic year. However, a student is allowed to stay only for 6 consecutive days on any occasion.

You have to request the letter from Student Affairs/Student Welfare division.

Yes, You can request exemptions for qualifications that you have obtained elsewhere. The student will need to provide all the required information and pay a small fee to process the request. Once a request has been received, a departmental committee will evaluate the contents of the certification the student has obtained from some other institute and decide whether an exemption can be granted and recommend the same to the Faculty Board and the Senate.

The student guidebook contains a list of qualifications already accepted by the OUSL for exemptions. These exemptions are automatically granted if the student produces the relevant certificate at the time of registration.

Refer the 2022/2023 student guidebook and/or activity diary (course-wise)

You can get the contact details from the activity diary. There are two types of activity diaries. One is a Date-wise Activity Diary and the other one is Course-wise Activity Diary. Respective course coordinator’s name, email address, and contact numbers are updated in the course-wise activity diary. You can download the latest activity diary from the CITES webpage.

Selection Test will be held online on the 18^th September 2022 (details will be sent via email)

There will be 20 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on Logical Reasoning, Mathematical Reasoning and English Comprehension

No past papers are available. However a mock site will be made available from 12th September 2022 for candidates to practice sitting the test.

No. OUSL does not provide any classes to sit for the selection test. However, there are many practice questions available on the web.

No. All candidates must pass the selection test to be selected to follow the program.

All candidates who have the necessary qualifications (for e.g. 3 passes at A/Ls) will be admitted to the program.