A New Name, A Clearer Focus: MGEN Becomes SEIS
A Q&A with Kal Bugrara on what the name change means for the COE community
Earlier this year, the College of Engineering renamed the Multidisciplinary Graduate Engineering (MGEN) unit to the Software Engineering and Information Systems (SEIS) unit. We sat down with Professor Kal Bugrara, SEIS Executive Director, to learn more about the change.
Q: What’s changing?
KB: Our portfolio, formerly known as Multidisciplinary Graduate Engineering (MGEN), is getting a new name: Software Engineering and Information Systems (SEIS). You should already start seeing SEIS showing up across university websites, communications, and marketing materials now and over the coming months.
Q: Why the name change?
KB: For more than a decade, we’ve been preparing graduate students for careers in software engineering, information systems, and related computing fields. The name SEIS simply does a better job of describing who we are, what we teach, and our long-standing focus on innovative, industry-connected graduate education.
Q: Why this particular name?
KB: It better captures the full breadth of our academic portfolio, and it’s clearer for prospective students, employers, and industry partners trying to understand what we offer. It also reflects our focus on software engineering, information systems, artificial intelligence, data, and emerging technologies, and sets us up for continued growth and innovation.
Q: Will this affect current students?
KB: No. Our degree requirements, curriculum, faculty, academic advising, and student services are all staying the same. Our SEIS students will still graduate with the same Northeastern degree they signed up for.
Q: What about prospective students?
KB: They’ll simply see the SEIS name as they explore our programs. If anything, the new name should make it easier for them to find programs that match their interests and career goals.
Q: Does this change anything for faculty and staff?
KB: No. Faculty, staff, and academic leadership remain the same, and the support we provide students isn’t changing either. This is purely a name change for the portfolio—it doesn’t touch organizational structure or day-to-day operations.
Q: Will degree titles or course prefixes change?
KB: No. Our degree titles and course prefixes stay exactly as they are, unless a separate change is announced through the university’s standard academic approval process.
Q: When does this take effect?
KB: The shift to SEIS has already begun and will continue during the 2026–2027 academic year, while further updates to websites, communications, and marketing materials will roll out as quickly as possible.
Q: Where can I go for more information?
KB: We’ll keep sharing updates as the transition moves forward. In the meantime, feel free to visit the SEIS website or reach out to the Software Engineering and Information Systems team at SEIS_Programs@northeastern.edu with any questions.