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Graduate Program in Telecommunications Engineering (M.S.T.E.)

http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/ee

Faculty

The M.S.T.E. is an interdisciplinary degree program jointly administered by the faculty members from the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (see Electrical Engineering and Computer Science sections for listing of faculty).

Objectives

The program leading to the M.S.T.E. degree provides intensive preparation for professional practice in the high technology aspects of telecommunications engineering. It is designed to serve the needs of engineers who wish to continue their education. Courses are offered at a time and location convenient for the student who is employed on a full-time basis.

Areas of Study and Research

The principal concentration areas for the M.S.T.E. program are: mobile communications, digital communications, high-speed networks, array processing, optical communications and speech processing.

Facilities

The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science has developed a state-of-the-art computational facility consisting of a network of Sun servers and Sun Engineering Workstations. All systems are connected via an extensive fiber-optic Ethernet and, through the Texas Higher Education Network, have direct access to most major national and international networks. In addition, many personal computers are available for student use.

The Engineering and Computer Science Building provides extensive facilities for research in microelectronics, telecommunications, and computer science. A Class 1000 microelectronics clean room facility, including optical lithography, sputter deposition and evaporation, is available for student projects and research. An electron beam lithography pattern generator capable of sub-micron resolution is also available for microelectronics research. The Plasma Applications Laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities for mass spectrometry, microwave interferometry, optical spectroscopy, and optical detection. In addition, a Gaseous Electronics Conference Reference Reactor has been installed for plasma processing and particulate generation studies. The Optical Measurements Laboratory has dual wavelength (visible and near infrared) Gaertner Ellipsometer for optical inspection of material systems, a variety of interferometric configurations, high precision positioning devices, and supporting optical and electrical components. The Optical Communications Laboratory includes attenuators, optical power meters, lasers, APD/p-i-n photodetectors, optical tables, and couplers and is available to support system level research in optical communications. The Electronic Materials Processing laboratory has extensive facilities for fabricating and characterizing semiconductor and optical devices. The Laser Electronics Laboratory houses graduate research projects centered around the characterization, development and application of ultrafast dye and diode lasers. Research in characterization and fabrication of nanoscale materials and devices is performed in the Nanoelectronics Laboratory.

The Digital Systems Laboratory includes a network of workstations, personal computers, FPGA development systems, and a wide spectrum of state-of-the-art commercial and academic design tools to support graduate research in VLSI design and computer architecture. In the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory several multi-CPU workstations are available in a network configuration for simulation experiments. Hardware development facilities for real time experimental systems are available and include microphone arrays, active noise controllers, speech compressors and echo cancellers. The Nonlinear Optics Laboratory has a dedicated network of Sun workstations for the development of simulation methods and software for optical transmission and communication systems, optical routers and all-optical networks. The Broadband Communication Laboratory has design and modeling tools for fiber and wireless transmission systems and networks, and all-optical packet routing and switching. The Advanced Communications Technologies (ACT) Laboratory provides a design and evaluation environment for the study of telecommunication systems and wireless and optical networks. ACT has facilities for designing network hardware, software, components, and applications.

The Center for Systems, Communications, and Signal Processing, with the purpose of promoting research and education in general communications, signal processing control systems, medical and biological systems, circuits and systems and related software, is located in the Erik Jonsson School. The Center for Applied Optics, which has produced more than twenty Ph.D. graduates and whose faculty carry out research in enabling technologies for microelectronics and telecommunications, is in the Erik Jonsson School.

In addition to the facilities on campus, cooperative arrangements have been established with many local industries to make their facilities available to U.T. Dallas graduate engineering students.
 

Master of Science in Telecommunications Engineering

Admission Requirements

The University's general admission requirements are discussed here.

A student lacking undergraduate prerequisites for graduate courses in electrical engineering must complete these prerequisites or receive approval from the graduate adviser and the course instructor. A diagnostic exam may be required. Specific admission requirements follow.

The student entering the M.S.T.E. program should meet the following guidelines:

1) an undergraduate preparation equivalent to a baccalaureate in electrical engineering from an accredited engineering program,
2) a grade point average in upper-division quantitative course work of 3.0 or better on a 4-point scale, and
3) scores on the GRE examination of 500, 700 and 600 for the verbal, quantitative and analytical components respectively, or 1800 for the total score.


Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals able to judge the candidate's probability of success in pursuing master's study.

Applicants must also submit an essay outlining the candidate's background, education and professional goals.

Students from other engineering disciplines or from other science and math areas may be considered for admission to the program; however, some additional course work may be necessary before starting the master's program.

Degree Requirements

The University's general degree requirements are discussed here.
 

The M.S.T.E. degree requires a minimum of 33 semester hours.

All students must have an academic adviser and an approved degree plan. Courses taken without adviser approval will not count toward the 33 semester-hour requirement. Successful completion of the approved course of studies leads to the M.S.T.E. degree.

The M.S.T.E. program has both a thesis and a non-thesis option. All part-time M.S.T.E. students will be assigned initially to the non-thesis option. Those wishing to elect the thesis option may do so by obtaining the approval of a faculty thesis supervisor.

All full-time, supported students are required to participate in the thesis option. The thesis option requires six semester hours of research, a written thesis submitted to the graduate school, and a formal public defense of the thesis. The supervising committee administers this defense and is chosen in consultation with the student's thesis adviser prior to enrolling for thesis credit. Full-time students at UTD who receive financial assistance are required to enroll in 9 semester credit hours during the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. Students enrolled in the thesis option should meet with individual faculty members to discuss research opportunities and to choose a research advisor during the first or second semester that the student is enrolled. After the second semester of study, course selection should be made in consultation with the research adviser. Part-time students are encouraged to enroll in only one course during their first semester and in no more than two courses during any semester they are also working full-time.

To receive a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Engineering, a student must meet the following minimum set of requirements:

Recommended Elective Courses: Choose any 18 hours of 6000 level courses or higher with approval of the adviser.

RECOMMENDED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTIVES:

EE 5305 Radio Frequency Engineering
EE 6310 Optical Communication Systems
EE 6316 Fields and Waves
EE 6341 Information Theory I
EE 6343 Detection and Estimation theory
EE 6344 Coding Theory
EE 6345 Engineering of Packet-Switched Networks
EE 6355 RF and Microwave Communications Circuits
EE 6360 Digital Signal Processing I
EE 6361 Digital Signal Processing II
EE 6362 Speech Signal Processing
EE 6365 Adaptive Signal Processing
EE 6390 Introduction to Wireless Communications Systems
EE 6391 Signal and Coding for Wireless Communication Systems
EE 6392 Propagation and Devices for Wireless Communication
EE 6394 Antenna Engineering for Wireless Communications
EE 6395 Advanced Radio Frequency Engineering
EE 7340 Optical Network Architectures and Protocols


RECOMMENDED COMPUTER SCIENCE ELECTIVES:

CS 6354 Software Engineering
CS 6360 Database Design
CS 6363 Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms
CS 6368 Telecommunication Network Management
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 6381 Combinatorics and Graph Algorithms
CS 6386 Telecommunication Software Design
CS 6392 Mobile Computing Systems
CS 6394 Digital Telephony
CS 6396 Real Time Systems

Other Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Degree Programs
Computer Science
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering

Telecommunications Engineering Course Descriptions

Electrical Engineering Courses:

EE 5305 Radio Frequency Engineering (3 semester hours) Introduction to generation, transmission, and radiation of electromagnetic waves. Microwave-frequency measurement techniques. Characteristics of guided-wave structures. Impedance matching. Fundamentals of antennas and propagation. Prerequisite: EE 4301 or equivalent. (3-1) Y
EE 6310 Optical Communications Systems (3 semester hours) Operating principles of optical communications systems and fiber optic communication technology. Characteristics of optical fibers, laser diodes, and laser modulation, laser and fiber amplifiers, detection, demodulation, dispersion compensation, and network topologies. System topology, star network, bus networks, layered architectures, all optical networks. (3-0) T
EE 6316 Fields and Waves (3 semester hours) Study of electromagnetic wave propagation beginning with Maxwell's equations; reflection and refraction at plane boundaries; guided wave propagation; radiation from dipole antennas and arrays; reciprocity theory; basics of transmission line theory and waveguides. (3-0) Y
EE 6341 Information Theory I (3 semester hours) Self information, mutual information, discrete memoryless sources, entropy, source coding for discrete memoryless channels, homogeneous Markov sources, discrete memoryless channels, channel capacity, converse to the coding theorem, noisy channel coding theorem, random coding exponent, Shannon limit. Prerequisite: EE 6352. (3-0) R
EE 6343 Detection and Estimation Theory (3 semester hours) Parameter estimation. Least-square mean-square, and minimum-variance estimators. Maximum A Posterior (MAP) and Maximum-Likelihood (ML) estimators. Hypothesis testing, Bayes estimation. Linear vector spaces. Continuous and discrete time detection and estimation. Prerequisite: EE 6349. (3-0) R
EE 6344 Coding Theory (3 semester hours) Groups, fields, construction and properties of Galois fields, error detection and correction, Hamming distance, linear block codes, syndrome decoding of linear block codes, cyclic codes, BCH codes, error trapping decoding and majority logic decoding of cyclic codes, non-binary codes, Reed Solomon codes, burst error correcting codes, convolutional codes, Viterbi decoding of convolutional codes. Prerequisite: EE 6352. (3-0) R
EE 6345 Engineering of Packet-Switched Networks (3 semester hours) Detailed coverage, from an engineering point of view, of the physical, data-link, network and transport layers of IP (Internet Protocol) networks. This course is a Masters-level introduction to packet networks. Prior knowledge of digital communication systems is strongly recommended. (3-0) Y
EE 6349 Random Processes (3 semester hours) Random processes concept. Stationary and independence. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation functions, spectral characteristics. Linear systems with random inputs. Special topics and applications. Prerequisite: EE 4300 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
EE 6352 Digital Communication Systems (3 semester hours) Digital communication systems are discussed. Source coding and channel coding techniques are introduced. Signaling schemes and performances of binary as well as M-ary modulated digital communication systems are obtained. The overall design considerations and performance evaluations of various digital communication systems are emphasized. Prerequisites: EE 6349 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
EE 6355 RF and Microwave Communication Circuits (3 semester hours) Design of high frequency communication circuits. Prerequisite: Knowledge of Electromagnetic Theory. (3-0) R
EE 6360 Digital Signal Processing I (3 semester hours) Analysis of discrete time signals and systems, z-transform, discrete Fourier transform, fast Fourier transform, analysis and design of digital filters. Prerequisite: EE 3302 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
EE 6361 Digital Signal Processing II (3 semester hours) Continuation of EE 6360. Includes advanced topics in signal processing. Prerequisite: EE 6360 (3-0) T
EE 6362 Speech Signal Processing (3 semester hours) Introduction to speech signal processing. Various speech coding techniques are studied, including waveform based methods such as ADPCM and modern LPC based "analysis by synthesis" speech coding methods such as CELP and VSELP using current standards. Prerequisites: EE 6360 and EE 6349. (3-0) T
EE 6365 Adaptive Signal Processing (3 semester hours) Adaptive signal processing algorithms learn the properties of their environments. Transversal and lattice versions of the Least Mean Squares (LMS) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS) adaptive filter algorithms and other modern algorithms will be studied. These algorithms will be applied to network and acoustic echo cancellation, speech enhancement, channel equalization, interference rejection, beam-forming, direction finding, active noise control, wireless systems, and others. Prerequisite: EE 6349, 6360 and knowledge of Matrix Algebra (3-0) T
EE 6390 Introduction to Wireless Communications Systems (3 semester hours) Principle, practice, and system overview of mobile systems. Modulation, demodulation, coding, encoding, and multiple-access techniques. Performance characterization of mobile systems. MMIC and low-power mobile devices. Prerequisite: EE 4350 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
EE 6391 Signaling and Coding for Wireless Communications Systems(3 semester hours) Study of signaling and coding for mobile communication systems. Topics which will be covered include analog and digital modulation schemes, source and channel coding, diversity schemes and performance evaluation. Prerequisites: EE 6352 and EE 6390. (3-0) T
EE 6392 Propagation and Devices for Wireless Communications(3 semester hours) Mobile communication fundamentals, models of wave propagation, simulation of electromagnetic waves in the cellular environment, multipath propagation, compensation for fading, mobile and cell antenna designs, problems of interference and incompatibility, design of active and passive cellular components, comparison of analog and digital cellular designs. Prerequisites: EE 4301 or equivalent, EE 6390. (3-0) T
EE 6394 Antenna Engineering for Wireless Communications (3 semester hours) Operating principles for microwave antennas used in modern wireless communications systems. Prerequisite: EE 6316 or equivalent. (3-0) T
EE 6395 Advanced Radio Frequency Engineering (3 semester hours) Sources, components, antennas, and detectors used in wireless communication systems. Microwave-frequency component technology. Propagation paths and their effects on communications. Prerequisite: EE 5305 or equivalent. (2-3) R
EE 7340 Optical Network Architectures and Protocols (3 semester hours) Introduction to optical networks. The ITU Optical Layer. First-generation optical networks. Stards e.g. SONET/SDH,FDDI. Second-generation optical networks. Broadcast and select networks. The lightpath concept. Wavelength routing networks. Virtual topology design. Photonic packet switching. Advanced solutions and testbeds. Prerequisite: EE 6340 (3-0) T

Computer Science Courses:

CS 6352 Performance of Computer Systems and Networks (3 semester hours) Overview of case studies. Quick review of principles of probability theory. Queuing models and physical origin of random variables used in queuing models. Various important cases of the M/M/m/N queuing system. Little's law. The M/G/1 queuing system. Simulation of queuing systems. Product form solutions of open and closed queuing networks. Convolution algorithms and Mean Value Analysis for closed queuing networks. Stochastic Petri Nets. Discrete time queuing systems. Prerequisite: a first course on probability theory. (3-0) S
CS 6354 Software Engineering (3 semester hours) Introduction to software life cycle models and overview of their stages. System and software requirements engineering, software architecture and design, software testing, validation, and verification, software quality assurance and metrics, software generation, maintenance, and evolution, project planning, control, and management. Software processes, CASE tools, software reuse, reverse engineering, and re-engineering. Prerequisites: CS 5303, CS 5333; corequisite: CS 5343 (CS 5343 can be taken before or at the same time as CS 6354) (3-0) S
CS 6360 Database Design (3 semester hours) Methods, principles and concepts that are relevant to the practice of database software design. Topics such as file-system organization, database structure, schemata, database implementation, information retrieval and protection. Prerequisite: CS 5343. (3-0) S
CS 6363 Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms (3 semester hours) The study of efficient algorithms for various computational problems. Algorithm design techniques. Sorting, manipulation of data structures, graphs, matrix multiplication, and pattern matching. Complexity of algorithms, lower bounds, NP completeness. Prerequisite: CS 5343. (3-0) S
CS 6368 Telecommunication Network Management (3 semester hours) In-depth study of network management issues and standards in telecommunication networks. OSI management protocols including CMIP, CMISE, SNMP, and MIB. ITU's TMN (Telecommunication Management Network) standards, TMN functional architecture and information architecture. NMF (Network Management Forum) and service management, service modeling and network management API. Issues of telecommunication network management in distributed processing environment. Prerequisite: One of CS 4390, CS 6390, or CS 6385. (3-0) Y
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems (3 semester hours) Concurrent processing, inter-process communication, process synchronization, deadlocks, introduction to queuing theory and operational analysis, topics in distributed systems and algorithms, checkpointing, recovery, multiprocessor operating systems. Prerequisites: CS 5348 or equivalent; knowledge of C and UNIX. (3-0) S
CS 6381 Combinatorics and Graph Algorithms (3 semester hours) Fundamentals of combinatorics and graph theory. Combinatorial optimization, optimization algorithms for graphs (max flow, shortest routes, Euler tour, Hamiltonian tour). Prerequisites: CS 5343, CS 6363. (3-0) T.
CS 6385 (TE 6385) Algorithmic Aspects of Telecommunication Networks(3 semester hours) This is an advanced course on topics related to the design, analysis, and development of telecommunications systems and networks. The focus is on the efficient algorithmic solutions for key problems in modern telecommunications networks, in centralized and distributed models. Topics include: main concepts in the design of distributed algorithms in synchronous and asynchronous models, analysis techniques for distributed algorithms, centralized and distributed solutions for handling design and optimization problems concerning network topology, architecture, routing, survivability, reliability, congestion, dimensioning and traffic management in modern telecommunication networks. Prerequisites: CS 4348, CS 3345, TE 3341 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
CS 6386 Telecommunication Software Design (3 semester hours) Programming with sockets and remote procedure calls, real time programming concepts and strategies. Operating system design for real time systems. Encryption, file compression, and implementation of fire walls. An in-depth study of TCP/IP implementation. Introduction to discrete event simulation of networks. Prerequisite: CS 5390. (3-0) Y
CS 6390 Advanced Computer Networks (3 semester hours) Overview of the ISDN network and the SS7 protocol. High-speed networks including B-ISDN, Frame Relay and ATM. Congestion control algorithms, quality of service guarantees for throughput and delay. Prerequisite: CS 5390. (3-0) S
CS 6392 Mobile Computing Systems (3 semester hours) Topics include coping with mobility of computing systems, data management, reliability issues, packet transmission, mobile IP, end-to-end reliable communication, channel and other resource allocation, slot assignment, routing protocols, and issues in mobile wireless networks (without base stations). Prerequisite: CS 5348 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
CS 6394 Digital Telephony (3 semester hours) Introduction and overview emphasizing the advantages of digital voice networks. Voice digitization. Digital transmission, multiplexing, and switching. Rearrangeable switching networks. Digital modulation for radio systems. Network operation issues: synchronization, control; integration of voice and data, packet switching and traffic analysis. (3-0) Y
CS 6396 Real-Time Systems (3 semester hours) Introduction to real-time applications and concepts. Real-time operating systems and resource management. Specification and design methods for real-time systems. System performance analysis and optimization techniques, task assignment and scheduling, real-time communication, case studies of real-time operating systems. Prerequisite: CS 5348 or equivalent. (3-0) Y

Telecommunications Engineering Courses:

TE 5341 Probability, Statistics, and Random Processes in Engineering(3 semester hours) Introduction to probability modeling and the statistical analysis in engineering and computer science. Introduction to Markov chains models for discrete and continuous time queuing systems in Telecommunications. Computer simulations. Prerequisite: Undergraduate degree in engineering and computer science. (3-0)
TE 7V81 Special Topics In Telecommunications (1-6 semester hours) For letter grade credit only. (May be repeated to a maximum of 9 hours.) ([1-6]-0) S
TE 8V98 Thesis (3-9 semester hours) (May be repeated for credit.) For pass/fail credit only. ([3-9]-0) S
 

Last updated 4/12/00