Sample Course Plans

The requirements for the M.S.E. degree in Telecommunications and Networking include core courses and elective courses. A major feature of this program is the flexibility students have in fulfilling the requirements. Within the core course category, a course in probabilistic analysis is required as are three telecommunications (TCOM) core courses. These may be selected from a small set of core TCOM courses to provide an analytical or more applied flavor in a student's program. Three other TCOM courses are required from a set of TCOM electives. Three free electives may be chosen from graduate offerings in Electrical and Systems Engineering, Computer and Information Sciences, Engineering and App lied Science (EAS), or from the Wharton School. Three Wharton graduate electives may be especially attractive to students wishing to include a significant component of telecommunications business, management, and policy aspects in their studies. Within the TCOM electives category, a student may elect one independent study course, or may register for two thesis course units if a Master's thesis is produced.

Every course relevant to a student's desired course plan within this program may not be available every year. On the other hand, core courses and popular electives are typically available each year, and some of these courses may also be sc heduled for the summer sessions. Course offerings reflect emerging trends in the technology and also faculty resources and student interests. A full-time student should be able, with careful planning, to complete the degree requirements in one calendar year (including summer). Over a longer period of time students may find more flexibility in scheduling courses of special interest to them.

An entering student who has had the equivalent of one of the core courses can be waived from that requirement, and is normally able to substitute it with another course.

Sample Course Plan:

The following illustrates a reasonable course plan for a part-time student completing the degree requirements in six semesters, or two calendar years. Several variants of this plan are possible, as are substitutions for individual courses.