Description Of The Degree Program
The Master of Science degree in Computer Networking may be earned through either of:
Either option of the MS degree may be used as preparation for further graduate study or employment in an industrial research, development, or design environment. Students planning to continue for a Ph.D. should discuss the option selected with their advisors.
Credit-Hour Requirements:
A minimum of 31 credit hours is required for all students. The computer networking core courses constitute 10 of these 31 credit hours. Students must take 12 credit hours of additional computer networking courses from one of four technical concentration areas. Each technical concentration area includes both required and elective courses.
The remaining 9 credit hours may be taken from
- List of approved bussiness courses
- Additional courses from the Computer Networking technical concentration areas
- Pool of graduate level CSC courses
- Pool of graduate level ECE courses that form the CPE major (refer to the ECE graduate student handbook)
The above is the only way to earn the 9 credits for students pursuing the MS without-thesis option. Students earning the MS with a thesis option may substitute a maximum of six credit hours of the 9 with thesis work (ECE or CSC 695)
At least 6 of the 31 credits must come from the 700-level. Individual study courses cannot account for more than 3 credit hours.
Core Course Requirements
All students must take the following four core courses for a total of 10 credit hours:
- CSC/ECE 570: Computer Networks
- CSC/ECE 579: Computer Performance Modeling
- Graduate Orientation - CSC 600 for CSC students, ECE 600 for ECE students
- One BUS course from the list approved of business core courses. Students pursuing the service engineering initiative should take the "service management" course.
Technical Concentrations
All students must earn 12 credits by taking four courses from one of the defined technical concentration areas for the MS Computer Networking degree. Each technical concentration has a set of two courses that are required for students electing that concentration.
The remaining 9 hours of credit
Students in the MS without-thesis program (Option B) can either take three approved electives chosen from any of the approved
technical concentrations or from the pool of CSC graduate level courses and ECE graduate level courses that form the CPE major, or from the list of approved business courses. Students pursuing the service engineering initiative are encouraged (but not required) to take one or more of the following courses: Process Analysis and Design, Organizational Structure, Management of Technology. Students pursuing the MS with thesis option (Option A) may use a maximum of six credit hours of the remaining 9 hours for thesis research.
A student who wishes to pursue the MS with thesis option must find a member of the ECE or CSC Graduate Faculty who agrees to serve as the student's advisory committee chair and direct the student's thesis research. If the chair becomes unable or unwilling to direct the work to completion, and the student is unable to find another graduate faculty member willing to direct the work, the student will be required to transfer to the non-thesis option.
Advisory Committee:
Each MS with thesis student must form an advisory committee by the end of the semester in which nine or more credits are completed toward the degree sought. The advisory committee must consist of three members of the graduate faculty.
Thesis Research:
A student pursuing the MS with thesis may apply a maximum of 6 credits of CSC or ECE 695, Thesis Research/Thesis Preparation, toward the minimum 31 hour requirement.
A Master of Science may be obtained without a thesis (Option B). CNE non-thesis students must formally select a non-thesis advisor during their first semester. CNC non-thesis students are not required to select a non-thesis advisor. Their advisor is Dr. Perros, the CSC program Coordinator for the Masters of Science in Computer Networking.
All Students
- Must take a minimum of 31 credit hours of graduate courses.
- Must take a minimum of 6 credit hours of Computer Networking courses at the 700 level.
- Credit for thesis research is not allowed for Option B, the MS without thesis.
- Non-letter grade courses, such as individual studies courses, may account for a maximum of 3 of the required 30 credit hours.
- To graduate, a student must have a minimum 3.00 average on all graduate course work as well as all courses on his or her Plan of Graduate Work. This policy is strictly enforced.
Application to Ph.D. Program
A student who wishes to apply for admission to the Ph.D. program should ask his/her advisor and one additional ECE or CSC graduate faculty member to complete a Recommendation for Admission during the final semester of the MS degree program and submit the request to the CSC or ECE Graduate Office.
Admission To The Program - How To Apply