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Master of Digital Communications

Course code: 2406 + Course abbreviation: MDigComms + Total credit points required: 72 + 1.5 years full-time, 3 years part-time

Study mode and course location

On-campus (Clayton)

Course description

The Monash digital communications program covers a broad range of courses ranging from the short graduate certificate up to the masters degree by coursework in digital communications. The courses have been structured to provide an integrated program of postgraduate education in digital communications.

The aims of the digital communications program are to provide:

  • a thorough understanding of the central communications and networking technologies: transmission systems, local networks and protocols
  • practical and theoretical foundations to enable graduates to design, develop, specify, select, install and operate communications facilities in a wide range of applications areas
  • a foundation of theory from which trends and future technologies can be evaluated.

The course currently draws students from a wide range of employment backgrounds, including programming, systems analysis, engineering, management, consultancy, auditing, marketing and teaching. The program is designed to provide graduates in fields such as computing, computer science or electrical engineering with specialist graduate-level education in topics such as digital communications technologies, communications architectures, protocols and network design.

The initial units introduce underlying principles and technologies, and the later units cover in-depth the theoretical and technological foundations of digital communications systems, and also examines the social and political aspects of communications networking, and the management structures for communications networks.

The course is available either part-time for a minimum of three years or full-time for a minimum of 18 months (three semesters).

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirement is a degree that is equivalent to an Australian bachelors degree in a discipline that provides a suitable basis for the course, eg computer science, data processing or electrical, electronic or communications engineering.

Applicants without degree qualifications may apply for the Executive Certificate in Information Technology, indicating their preference in the Master of Digital Communications. Entry to this masters program is subject to satisfactory achievement in the Executive Certificate in Information Technology. Approved units in the executive certificate program will be counted as credits towards the Master of Digital communications. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate an ability to study at tertiary level. The number of places available to applicants in this category is limited.

Applicants should note that demand for this course usually exceeds the quota of places available and consequently not everyone qualified for entry to the course can be admitted. Applicants are therefore advised to present their cases strongly when applying for the course.

Advanced standing

Advanced standing in the program is available to applicants who hold a suitable postgraduate qualification, or who have a four-year or honours degree with significant emphasis on data communications or telecommunications.

Course structure

The course consists of coursework units and either a project or a minor thesis, structured as follows.

Structure A: (a) At least eight units from the list of approved digital communications graduate units listed below. No more than four of these units may be from group one on the list. (b) Up to two units which may be drawn from any postgraduate program of the university with the approval of the school or nominee. (c) A communications project (12 points), in which the student undertakes an investigation of some aspect of digital communications, leading to a project report, or in some circumstances the development of communications-oriented hardware or software.

Structure B: (a) At least six units from the list of approved digital communications graduate units listed below. No more that four of these units may be from group one on the list. (b) Up to two units which may be drawn from any postgraduate program of the university with the approval of the school or nominee. (c) A communications minor thesis (24 points), in which the student undertakes a significant investigation of some aspect of digital communications, leading to a thesis which will be assessed by two examiners. (The minor thesis is expected to be at a significantly higher standard than the project in structure A. Students proceeding to a later PhD program would normally undertake the minor thesis as a demonstration of readiness for a research degree.)

Group 1

  • CSE4881 Internet architecture and protocols
  • CSE4882 Digital communications technologies
  • CSE4883 Communications software
  • CSE4884 Network design and management
  • CSE4885 Communications practical
  • CSE4886 Communications project
  • CSE4890 Proprietary network architecture
  • CSE4891 Public telecommunication networks
  • CSE4892 Information security
  • CSE4400 Systems programming 1

Group 2

  • BUS5150 Project management
  • CPE5002 Network security
  • CSE5000 Distributed object technology
  • CSE5020 Distributed computation and simulation
  • CSE5210 Advances in information security
  • CSE5302 Digital video coding and compression
  • CSE5303 Advanced digital signal processing
  • CSE5501 Mobile and distributed computing systems
  • CSE5802 Distributed systems
  • CSE5803 Advanced internet protocols and application
  • CSE5804 Protocol engineering
  • CSE5805 Advanced network design
  • CSE5806 Telecommunications policy and management
  • CSE5807 Wireless and personal communication systems
  • CSE5808 Quality of service in digital communication networks
  • CSE5811 Digital communications project
  • ECE5203 Antennas and propagation
  • ECE5204 Microwave/RF devices, circuits and communications
  • ECE5205 Electromagnetic compatibility
  • ECE5403 Signal processing
  • ECE5404 Digital signal processing
  • ECE5405 Optical communication systems
  • ECE5406 Digital transmission
  • ECE5410 Software engineering for telecommunications
  • ECE5411 Internet architecture and protocols
  • ECE5412 ATM and ISDN networks
  • ECE5413 Mobile communication systems and networks
  • ECE5414 Performance of telecommunication networks
  • ECE5416 Application of high-speed telecommunication networks
  • GCO5805 Multimedia computing and communications
  • GCO5807 Project management
  • IMS5007 Electronic commerce

Note that not all units are available in any one year. This list is subject to revision.

Contact details

Course leader

Associate Professor Bin Qiu

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