Graduate Program in Telecommunications Engineering

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

Faculty

The M.S.T.E. is an interdisciplinary degree program administered by the Telecommunications Engineering Division on behalf of 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.

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 examination may be required. Specific admission requirements follow.

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

Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals who are able to judge the candidate�s probability of success in pursuing a program of study leading to the master�s degree.

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

Students from other engineering disciplines or from other areas of science or mathematics 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. Research and thesis hours cannot be counted in a M.S.T.E. degree plan unless a thesis is written and successfully defended. A supervising committee, which must be chosen in consultation with the student�s thesis adviser prior to enrolling for thesis credit, administers the defense. 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:

Completion of a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate level lecture courses including the required core courses. With adviser approval, these may include some 5000 level courses.

Students must take the following five core courses and make a grade of B or better:


CS/TE 6385 Algorithmic Aspects of Telecommunication Networks
EE 6349 Random Processes
EE 6352 Digital Communication Systems
CS 6352 Performance of Computer Systems
CS 6390 Advanced Communication and Computer Networks

Students will take additional courses from those described in the following pages.

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
***Taught in both on-campus and UT-TeleCampus sections

Doctor of Philosophy in Telecommunications Engineering

Each doctoral degree program is tailored to the student. The student must arrange a course program with the guidance and approval of a faculty member chosen as his/her graduate adviser. Adjustments can be made as the student�s interests develop and a specific dissertation topic is chosen.

Admission Requirements

The University�s general admission requirements are discussed here.

The Ph.D. degree in Telecommunications engineering is awarded primarily to acknowledge the student success in an original research project, the description of which is a significant contribution to the literature of the discipline. Applications for the doctoral program are therefore selected by the Telecommunications Engineering Graduate Committee on the basis of research aptitude, as well as academic record.� Applications for the doctoral program are considered on the individual basis.

The following are guidelines for admission to the Ph.D. program in Telecommunications Engineering.

A master�s degree in Telecommunications Engineering, or Electrical Engineering or Computer Science or a closely associated discipline from an accredited U.S institution or from an acceptable foreign university. Consideration will be given to highly qualified students wishing to pursue the doctorate without satisfying all of the requirements for a master�s degree.

Applicants must also submit a narrative describing their motivation for doctoral study in telecommunications engineering.

Applicants must also submit a narrative describing their motivation for doctoral study and how it relates to their professional goals.

For students who are interested in a Ph.D., but are unable to attend school full-time, there is a part-time option. The guidelines for admission to the program and the degree requirements are the same as for full-time Ph.D., students.� All students must have an academic adviser and an approved plan of study.

Degree Requirements

The University�s general degree requirements are discussed here.

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

Each program for doctoral study is individually tailored to the student�s background and research objectives by the student�s supervisory committee. The program will require a minimum of 90 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor�s degree. These credits must include:

1. Course Work

At least 30 semester hours of graduate level courses beyond the bachelor�s level in the major concentration. Students choose 30 hours from the following courses with the approval of the TE Graduate Committee.

��������� �
Core Courses (choose any 5 of the following)
CS/TE 6385 Algorithmic Aspects of Telecommunication Networks
EE 6349 Random Processes
EE 6352 Digital Communication Systems
CS 6352 Performance of Computer Systems
CS 6390 Advanced Communication and Computer Networks
CS 6354 Software Engineering
EE 6390 Wireless Communication Systems
EE/CE� 6304 Computer Architecture
EE/TE� 7V81 Network Security �
Recommended Electrical Engineering Electives
EE 5305 RF Engineering
EE 6310 Optical Communication Systems
EE 6316 Fields and Waves
EE 6341 Information Theory
EE 6343 Detection and Estimation theory
EE 6344 Coding Theory
EE 6345 Engineering of Packet Switched Networks
EE 6355 RF and microwave communication circuits
EE 6360 Digital Signal Processing I
EE 6361 Digital Signal Processing II
EE 6365 Adaptive Signal Processing
EE 6390 Introduction to Wireless Communication Systems
EE 6391 Signal and Coding for Wireless Communication Systems
EE 6392 Propagation and Devices for Wireless Communication
EE 6394 Antenna Engineering for Wireless Communication
EE 6395 Advanced Radio Frequency Engineering
EE 7340 Optical Network Architecture and Protocols
TE/EE 7V81 Network Security �
Recommended Computer Science Electives
CS 6354 Software Engineering
CS 6360 Database Design
CS 6363 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
CS 6368 Telecommunication Network Management
CS 6378 Advanced Operating Systems
CS 6381 Combinatorics and Graph Algorithms
CS 6386 Telecommunications Software Design
CS 6392 Mobile Computing Systems
CS 6394 Digital Telephony
CS 6396 Real time Systems
CS 6390 Advance Computer Networks
CS 8302 Personal Communication Systems ���
2. Supervising Committee

At least 4, at least 3 from the Erik Jonsson school faculty.

3. Qualifying Examination�
The student must pass a qualifying exam approved by the TE graduate committee.
4. Dissertation

Completion of a major research project culminating in a dissertation demonstrating an original contribution to a scientific knowledge and engineering practice. The dissertation will be defended publicly.� The rules for this defense are specified by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. �

Neither a foreign language nor a minor is required for Ph.D. However, the student�s supervisory committee may impose these or other requirements that it feels are necessary and appropriate to the student�s degree program.

Areas of Research

The principal concentration areas for the graduate program are:�

Doctoral level research opportunities include: VLSI design, reconfigurable systems, system architecture, fault-tolerant computing, digital signal processing, digital communications, modulation and coding, electromagnetic-wave propagation, fiber and integrated optics, lasers and optoelectronic devices, optical transmission systems, optical networks, wireless communications, mobile IP, wireless multimedia, DWDM networks, QoS assurance protocols, network design and optimization, ad-hoc and PCS wireless networks, network security and high speed protocols.

Interdisciplinary Opportunities

In keeping with the established tradition of research at UT-Dallas, the Telecommunications Engineering Program encourages students to interact with researchers in the strong programs in basic computer science, electrical engineering and business management.�