Brandeis University Online Software Engineering With Artificial Intelligence Master's Certificate

Brandeis's Software Engineering with Artificial Intelligence Master's Certificate is for people who already write code. It is four courses, 12 credits and $14,640, finishes in 1 year or less, and the classes are asynchronous. It is the technical sibling of the AI-Driven Leadership certificate at the same school and the same price.

Brandeis University is a private nonprofit university in Waltham, Massachusetts, and this certificate comes through Brandeis Online and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies. The program page lists it as 100% online and part time, with four courses worth 12 credits that you can finish in 1 year or less.

Brandeis reports an 86% graduation rate and a 40% admit rate. The GRE is not required.

Classes are asynchronous, so you can fit them around work. The price is the same $14,640 as the leadership certificate.

Brandeis lists the classes as asynchronous and the program as fully online and part time. The page describes small classes that allow close interaction with instructors and peers, so you won't be working entirely alone even without a set meeting time.

That makes it a workable choice if you have a full-time job or a schedule that changes. You can fit lectures and assignments around your day rather than around a weekly call.

Ask admissions how often cohorts start and how quickly instructors reply, since asynchronous programs depend on both.

Who It Fits

• Working programmers who want a structured path into machine learning, natural language processing and generative AI.
• Professionals who need asynchronous classes. Brandeis describes them as small, so you get close interaction with instructors and peers.
• People who want the option of a degree later. The credits can count toward the online Master of Software Engineering and the MS in Applied Leadership, each with six more courses.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you have never programmed. Admission asks for undergraduate introductory coursework in Python or Java, or equivalent programming experience.
• Skip it if you manage people rather than write code. The AI-Driven Leadership certificate at Brandeis covers strategy and governance instead, and it lists no technical prerequisites.
• Skip it if you already work with Python daily and want advanced machine learning. The first course here is a Python course.

The four courses build in order. RSEG 111 is Software Development in Python. RSEG 112 is Software Engineering with Artificial Intelligence. RSEG 113 is Software Engineering with Machine Learning. RSEG 114 covers Software Engineering with Natural Language Processing and Generative AI.

That sequence starts with your coding foundation, adds AI as a software engineering topic, then moves into machine learning and finally into language models and generative tools.

Four courses keep it short, so ask how much of RSEG 113 and RSEG 114 is hands-on building, because that's what employers will care about most.

It differs from Brandeis's Applied Machine Learning and Engineering certificate, which centers on data science, MLOps and data pipelines. This one centers on software.

Courses the School Names

• RSEG 111 Software Development in Python
• RSEG 112 Software Engineering with Artificial Intelligence
• RSEG 113 Software Engineering with Machine Learning
• RSEG 114 Software Engineering with Natural Language Processing and Generative AI

Standout Features

• Credits can count toward the online Master of Software Engineering and MS in Applied Leadership with six more courses
• Hands-on projects that build portfolio skills for the software industry
• Instruction from experienced professionals with current industry knowledge

Each credit is $1,220, so the four courses come to $14,640 on the 2025-2026 schedule. Your first course carries a $500 nonrefundable deposit that's applied toward it. Veterans, active-duty personnel and their spouses get 15% off, and no GRE is needed.

Brandeis's leadership certificate and its Applied Machine Learning and Engineering certificate cost exactly the same, so price won't decide between them.

Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering With AI certificate totals $14,160 for two courses, which is close in total price but half the course count.

12 credits at $1,220 a credit comes to $14,640 in tuition, before fees.

You earn a Brandeis Master's Certificate, not a degree. The credential is the Brandeis name plus the four courses on your transcript.

The stackable path is the stronger selling point. Brandeis says the credits can count toward the online Master of Software Engineering and the MS in Applied Leadership with six more courses. If you suspect you'll continue, ask whether the certificate has to be finished first and whether you need to reapply.

Where this degree can lead: Data Scientist Jobs, Jobs You Can Get With an AI Degree.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• The first course teaches Python, so experienced developers may find the opening lighter than the title suggests.
• With four courses and 12 credits, it adds skills rather than a degree, so check how your employer values certificates.
• At $1,220 a credit, the price per credit is high for a certificate.

• How many credits count toward the online Master of Software Engineering, and does the certificate need to be finished first?
• What programming experience do admissions staff accept in place of Python or Java coursework?
• How much of the work in RSEG 113 and RSEG 114 is hands-on building versus reading?
• How often do new cohorts start, and can I begin in any term?
• How does this certificate differ from the Applied Machine Learning and Engineering certificate for someone who codes?

Private university in Waltham, Massachusetts. Its online master's certificates are offered through Brandeis Online and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies.

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