The course is intended for individuals looking to understand the basics of software engineering as they relate to building large software systems that leverage big data. You will be introduced to software engineering concepts necessary to build and scale large, data intensive, distributed systems. Starting with software engineering best practices and loosely coupled, highly cohesive data microservices, the course takes you through the evolution of a distributed system over time. Fundamentals of Software Architecture for Big Data can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.