Empirical results of a software engineering curriculum incorporating formal methods

A three year study of integrating formal methods into the undergraduate software engineering curriculum of the Systems Analysis Department of Miami University was recently completed (NSF Educational Innovation Program CDA-9522257). Formal analysis skills were added to the curriculum to address the concern that the discipline of software engineering education lacks sufficient emphasis on mathematics and engineering science. A presentation of the six courses chosen for integration of formal analysis is given. The empirical data which directly compares the problem solving skills of the formal methods and control student groups shows that the formal methods students possess an increased level of complex problem solving skills as well as a greater ability to perform problem abstraction.