Draft - please add comments and use change tracking. Blue texts are proposal guidelines that will be deleted in the final version of the document Proposal for Concurrent ECEE Bachelor of Science Degree and ITP Master of Science Degree Timothy X Brown version 1, November 8, 2012 1. Introduction: Field(s) of study; educational and scholarly goals of the proposed program, justification of need, relationship to similar degree programs in department, expected impact of program

This proposal is for a new concurrent degree within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). The bachelor of science degree is from the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (ECEE) and the master of science degree is from the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP). The concurrent program enables well-qualified students to be admitted to the MS program during the junior year of their BS program, and to work thereafter towards both the BS and MS degrees. This program allows for early planning of the MS portion of the student’s education, taking graduate courses as part of the BS degree, more flexibility in the order in which courses are taken, and more efficient use of what would otherwise be a final semester with a light credit hour load.

Communications and networking systems plays an increasingly central role in our individual lives and society. Social networks, Internet-based commerce, smart grids, and remote access to education and medical care all depend on network hardware consisting of mobile devices, switches, routers, data centers, and cellular base stations. Traditional electrical engineering curriculum focuses on the design of components such as transmitters, receivers, lasers and associated signal processing and control. The telecommunications degree focuses on using these components to build interconnected communication systems organized around technical protocols, business models, and regulatory policies. This separation has allowed efficient innovation at the component and system layers.

This separation model is becoming increasingly strained. Modern communication systems use highly integrated components where protocols, business models, and policies are integrated directly into the hardware devices. Engineers with this integrated knowledge are needed by companies that are high tech leaders such as Cisco, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Motorola, and Google; aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Ball Aerospace; as well as leading-edge technology startups. This integrated approach will also serve emerging technologies such as so-called smart grids that integrate communication and networking with the traditional electric power grid.

The educational and scholarly goals of this proposed program are to produce students with this integrated knowledge; who have studied the design of the underlying components and algorithms but also have studied how they are integrated into the larger communications systems. An ideal approach to this integration is possible through a concurrent bachelors and master’s degree between ECEE and ITP. ECEE’s curriculum is divided into nine tracks. Several of these tracks can feed into the concurrent degree including: Communications; Electromagnetics, RF, and Microwaves; Optics and Photonics; and Renewable Energy. ITP’s curriculum offers complementary technical courses on telecommunication systems, data communications, wireless networks, fiber optics, and smart grid communication technologies. As well, courses on the business, economics, policy, and regulation are offered.

ITP and ECEE have had a long-standing close relationship with shared faculty, cross- listed courses, and application of each other’s courses towards their respective master’s degrees. Because the two degrees naturally complement each other, it is possible to allow up to six credits of overlap between the two programs. 2. Admission to the program . Application requirements: application, letters of recommendation . Date of application . GRE requirement? (e.g. “no GREs are required for application”) . GPA requirement (overall, upper-division) . Acceptance of faculty sponsor (optional) . Completion of MAPS/core requirements

Application for admission to the concurrent degree may be made at any time during or after the student enters his or her junior year. ECEE students pursuing either the EE of ECE degree may apply. Minimum requirements for admission to the concurrent program are: (i) completion of the eight core EE courses, (ii) a minimum overall GPA of 3.25, (iii) a minimum GPA of 3.25 in ECEE Department courses, and (iv) at least three (3) letters of recommendation must be provided by the applicant (at least two (2) must be from ECEE faculty at UCB). Transfer students in place of requirement (i) above, must have taken at least two (2) of the core ECEE courses at the Boulder campus and have completed coursework at another institution (or other institutions) which is approved for the transfer credit equivalent to all ECEE core courses not taken on the Boulder campus, and must have completed at least 15 credit hours of total courses at UCB in order to qualify for admission.

Application to the concurrent degree program is through ITP. Applicants will follow the same procedure to apply to the program as other applicants to ITP. They will be required to submit an application that includes undergraduate transcripts, a statement of purpose, and three letters of recommendation. For students who meet the above requirements, GRE scores are not required. Application deadlines follow ITP domestic applicant deadlines which are currently:

o Fall – June 15 o Spring – November 1 o Summer – March 15 3. Continuation in program . Required cumulative GPA in courses after admission to the program . Required completion of credits or coursework (depending on timeline of degree), time limit (5 years generally for A&S, 6 for Eng. And Bus.) . Definition of “satisfactory academic progress”

The student must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 over all undergraduate courses taken, and a GPA of at least 3.0 in all graduate courses taken in order to remain in good standing in the program.

Until a student in this program reaches a total of 128 credit hours of courses applicable to the BS or MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering taken and passed (each with a grade of D or better), he/she will be governed by the rules and regulations applicable to any undergraduate student in the ECEE Department, unless specified otherwise in the regulations described herein. After a student has accumulated a total of 128 applicable credit hours, he/she will be governed by the rules and regulations applicable to any graduate student in the ECEE Department, unless specified otherwise in the regulations described herein. It is the intention of the department that, as far as possible, a student in this program is treated on the same basis as any other student in the department at a comparable stage of their academic career.

The concurrent degree program must be completed within 6 years. Extensions of time limits will be approved only after consideration by the Concurrent Degree Appeals Committee (CDAC) based on a review of extenuating circumstances.

Concurrent degree students may not participate in the Time Out program. Exceptions may be granted only after consideration by the CDAC based on a review of extenuating circumstances.

Concurrent degree students may not be admitted to a Ph.D. program prior to completion of both the Bachelor's and the Master's degrees. 4. Curriculum (provide sample curriculum chart for years 3, 4, and 5)- direct hours, research hours, and coursework (including courses to be developed) . Undergraduate requirements . Master’s degree requirements . Research/internship requirements (optional) . Residency requirement/minimum full-time registration requirement . Sample curriculum for junior, senior and fifth year . Explanation of overlap (no more than 6 credits for A&S, 12 for Eng. and Bus.) for students to complete master’s degree requirements in reduced time

With the recommendation of the student’s academic advisor and the approval of the ITP Graduate Advisor, as many as six (6) credit hours of ITP Department courses at the 5000 level or above may be counted both toward the undergraduate degree requirements and the requirements for the MS degree. The student must meet all the requirements for the Telecommunications Master of Science Degree which is currently 33 credits. Therefore, the minimum number of credits for the Concurrent BS/MS degree is 155. Courses used in the BS/MS may not be used towards a PhD.

An example curriculum for years three, four, and five are shown in the table below.

Junior Year Course Title Hrs Course Title Hrs ECEN 3350 Programming of Digital Systems 3 ECEN 3360 Digital Design Lab 3 ECEN 3810 Probability 3 ECEN 4593 Computer Organization 3 ECEN 3250 Microelectronics 3 ECEN 3300 Linear Systems 3 CSCI 2270 Data Structures 4 ECEE BS Technical Elective 3 Humanities and Social Sciences 3 TLEN 5310 Telecom Systems 3 Approved upper-division writing 3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 16 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 18

Senior Year Course Title Hrs Course Title Hrs ECEN 4610 Capstone Lab: Part 1 2 ECEN 4620 Capstone Lab: Part 2 3 ECEE BS Technical Electives 5 ECEE BS Software Elective 3 Humanities & Social Sciences 3 ECEE BS Technical Elective 3 ECEE BS Free Elective 3 Humanities and Social Sciences 3 TLEN 5330 Data Communications 1 3 ECEE BS Free Elective 3 TLEN 5210 Introduction to Telecom Policy 2 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 16 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 17

Fifth Year Course Title Hrs Course Title Hrs TLEN 5010 Network Econ and Finance 3 TLEN 5050 Leadership and Management 3 TLEN 5460 Telecommunications Lab 3 TLEN 5240 Telecom Law and Policy 3 TLEN 5510 Wireless and Cellular Comm 3 TLEN 5410 Network Management and Operations 3 TLEN 5600 Telecommunications Seminar 1 TLEN 5520 Wireless LANs 3 TLEN 5700 Research Methods 2 TLEN 5710 Capstone 1 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 12 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS 13

5. Escape plan . Description of requirements to complete bachelor’s degree for students who drop out of bachelors/masters program Students who drop out of the concurrent degree program will be able to revert to the standard ECEE degree requirements. They may count up to six credits of ITP graduate courses at the 5000 level toward electives in their ECEE BS degree. 6. Program demand . Enrollment projections . Expected student clientele (e.g. outstanding students, returning professionals, nondoctoral students, in-state students who will seek doctorate out of state)

The electrical engineering discipline underpins most of the modern technology that we use in society. ECEE students who learn this underlying technology will have a smooth path to the broader wireless networking and Internet based disciplines. This ability for talented students to earn in five years degrees that place them at the heart of modern technology can be a powerful attraction for new undergraduate students in ECEE. ITP is interdisciplinary and provides a broad training. Students can specialize in project management, entrepreneurship, telecom policy as well as more technical disciplines. Compared to a strictly technical degree, the concurrent degree will attract students interested in a wider set of career paths.

One challenge with Telecommunications is that this is not a common degree in the United States at the undergraduate or graduate level. Therefore it has few natural feeders from domestic undergraduate programs. As a graduate-only program it has little visibility among undergraduate students and most CU undergraduate engineering students are not even aware that the MS in Telecommunications degree exists. Internationally, telecommunications is a separate field of study in some countries and graduate study in telecommunications is a natural path. ITP has robust enrollments from these countries in no small part because nearly all ITP graduates can find telecommunications jobs within six months of graduation. This new concurrent degree will help create a natural feeder into the ITP and prepare more domestic students for careers in the telecommunications industry.

Specific enrollment projections are difficult to make, but we note that ECEE currently has a long-standing concurrent BS/MS program that has 24 students enrolled. We would expect that the ECEE/ITP concurrent degree will grow to similar numbers. 7. Resource needs needs in faculty, facilities, equipment, etc., both currently available and projected increases If successful, the new concurrent degree will potentially add 24 students to the program, each taking 33 credits spread over 3 years. This represents approximately 50 additional course enrollments per semester. Compared to current enrollments this is a 15% increase in student enrollments. We expect that this will result in the need for somewhat larger class sizes and possibly new sections of some courses. The resources for additional instructors and teaching assistants will be met through the additional revenue that the students will generate through ITP’s enterprise status. 8. Administration program director, groups responsible for overseeing program, curriculum, admissions The program shall be managed by the ITP Faculty Director or their designee. Admission to the program shall be administered by the ITP graduate admissions committee. Changes to the concurrent degree will be made by mutual consent of ECEE and ITP. Issues of satisfactory academic progress, petition/appeal, transfer credit and grievance shall be monitored by the ECEE undergraduate advisor regarding ECEE major requirements and minimum standards of achievement. At the graduate level, these issues will be monitored by the ITP graduate advisor. In addition, the dean's offices shall appoint representatives to the Concurrent Degree Appeals Committee (CDAC) which will consider appeals and review standards regarding school/college or university requirements or issues that cross undergraduate/graduate or school/college lines of authority. All decisions regarding appeals, exceptions, or issues of adequate progress shall be copied to the following: the student, ECEE department administrator, the ITP administrator, and the appropriate undergraduate or graduate dean's offices. 9. Program Approvals

______Michael R. Lightner, Chair Date Dept. of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering

______Timothy X Brown, Faculty Director Date Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program

______Robert H. Davis, Dean Date College of Engineering and Applied Science

______John A. Stevenson, Dean Date Graduate School

______Russell L. Moore, Provost Date University of Colorado, Boulder