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Certified Software Development Professional

Highlights:

• 2005 CSDP Candidate Bulletin now available
• New for 2005! Additional Testing Sites in Europe
• CSDP Examination Fees are now reimbursable under the GI Bill
• Register for the CSDP Online Course Software Engineering Overview:
  Preparing for the IEEE Computer Society CSDP Examination
• Join the CSDP Study Group Forum on Yahoo and talk to other test takers. (Group Name: ieee-csdp)

To the IEEE Computer Society Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) Program web center.

Here you will find information, resources and support from other software development professionals about becoming certified by the IEEE Computer Society.

Use the navigation bar at the right or the links below to find everything you need to study for the Certified Software Development Professional examination, as well as apply for the certification and present your educational and experience requirements. 

The explosion of technology advancements created an explosion in certification programs - many directed to computer professionals as well as to millions of technicians.  The need to transform knowledge into performance and competitive advantage spurred the growth of certification.

On the front lines of this fast-moving, rapidly evolving scenario are software engineering professionals who have witnessed a handful of certifications offered in the 1960's grow to more than 2000 by software companies and vendor-independent organizations.

As the art, science, engineering, and technology of software advanced into the 1990's, the need for a credential, of the highest value and distinction, became evident.

After more than three years of extensive research in the field among professionals, employers and their customers, the leaders of the IEEE Computer Society realized that the time had come to develop and offer the Certified Software Development Professional designation

Professional certification has three critical components:

• Exam-based testing demonstrating mastery of a Body of Knowledge (BOK);
• Extensive experience base in the performance of the work or profession being certified; and
• Continuing professional education, measured and relevant to the BOK.

The IEEE Computer Society certification is the only  software development professional certification that has all of these critical support components and carries the mark of the IEEE Computer Society, which has been active in developing software engineering standards for more than 20 years.  Collectively, the IEEE standards make up the practice standards for software engineers.  This certification program is part of the society's larger effort to provide education and certification services to the software engineering community.

"I think this certification program would be very useful particularly as it would provide a basis for International recognition and benchmarking of software professionals worldwide. The Computer Society's initiative is very timely. Standards should be set high and maintained at high levels in order for the certification to be respected and recognized."

Many software vendors, training companies and vendor-independent groups have created their own brand of certification since the 1960s. When the rapidly emerging field of computer technology began to experience exponential growth in the 1980s more than 200 different certifications emerged. Computing professionals now face a complex and confusing array of choices for determining and demonstrating competence. 

The credential is a primary certification because it is the only one administered and endorsed by the IEEE Computer Society, which is the only professional society in the world that has provided the highest levels of leadership and expertise needed to unify software engineering standards in the field. 

One of our critical missions is to build the Community of Leading Software Development Professionals and Practitioners. We welcome your participation in advancing software engineering as a profession. We want to hear from you. For more information or to receive periodic updates and news on the program, please contact us directly at certification@computer.org.

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