Clayton campus
Course code: 1234
Course leader: Professor J Breen
Until recently, the two subjects of computing and communications have been largely independent of one another; those pursuing a career in one of these areas have rarely found it necessary to have expertise in the other area. Even within the general area of computing, only a small proportion of people have been proficient in both hardware and software.
Developments in microelectronics have profoundly altered this situation by providing complex digital components, such as microprocessors, at a very low cost. In computing, there is now a strong requirement for communications so that distributed computer systems can cooperate on common tasks. Furthermore the reduced cost of communications equipment has also accelerated the use of communications. In communications, it is now common for signals to be transmitted using digital encoding and computers are widely used to control the communications process.
As a result, professionals in both areas are finding it increasingly necessary to be competent in computing, digital technology and communications. Unfortunately few people have had the opportunity to acquire this range of expertise, either through educational courses or through work experience.
The Master of Digital Communications is intended for professionals in either computing or communications who wish to undertake studies in computer communications. The aim is to provide a thorough understanding of the central subject of the course, computer communications, and to consolidate students' skills in the underlying foundation disciplines of computing, digital technology and communications.
The program is divided into two stages, level four (preliminary year) and level five (masters year). Level four 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 communications software.
Level five has been designed to build upon the material covered in level four, and to go more deeply into the underlying theoretical and technological foundations of digital communications systems. In addition level five 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 four years or full-time for a minimum of two calendar years.
The normal entry requirement is a three-year degree or diploma-level qualification in a discipline that provides a suitable basis for the course, eg computer science, data processing or electrical, electronic or communications engineering.
Applicants with a degree or diploma in a discipline not directly related to the course will be considered if they have relevant work experience in computers or communications.
Applicants without degree or diploma qualifications may also be admitted on the basis of work experience, subject to the approval of the faculty's admissions committee. The level of work experience required would be at least five years in a position carrying significant technical responsibility in an area relevant to the course. 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.
Direct entry to level five is possible. The normal requirement for direct entry to level five is satisfactory completion of the Graduate Diploma in Digital Communications. Applicants with a four-year or honours degree with significant emphasis on data communications may be considered; however, it is likely that some preliminary subjects selected from the graduate diploma program will also be required.
In 1996 the course fee is $6000 (per full-time year) or $750 per subject.
In order to satisfy the course requirements, each student must pass a total of seven coursework subjects and complete a project. Subjects may be taken in any order, subject to the pre and corequisites defined for each subject. The subjects are grouped into bridging subjects, core subjects and elective subjects.
The level four course is similar to the Graduate Diploma in Digital Communications. For further information, please refer to the Graduate Diploma in Digital Communications entry in this section of the handbook.
Before proceeding with the core subjects in the course, students must have reached a minimum standard in programming in the C language, digital electronics, operating system principles and introductory data communications. Students with insufficient prior study in one or more of these topics must enrol in the bridging subject DGS6800 (Topics in digital technology), during which they will undertake an assessed program of reading and self-study.
There are five compulsory core subjects:
Students must complete three electives from the following:
Level five consists of a number of coursework subjects each of which constitutes 12.5 per cent of the course. In addition a student must undertake either a minor thesis in some aspect of digital communications (50 per cent weighting), or a project on an advanced topic (25 per cent weighting). Depending on whether the minor thesis or project is selected, either four or six coursework subjects must be completed. The subjects approved for the level-five year are:
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