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Acccelarated Programs

| BSCS/MS in TCOM Program | BSSE/M.S. in TCOM Program | BSIT/MS in TCOM Program |

Accelerated B.S.C.S./M.S. in TCOM Program

Students who are in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) program may elect to enter an accelerated Master of Science in Telecommunications (MS in TCOM) program while they are undergraduate students. The accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM Program is designed for qualified undergraduate students in the Computer Science program who would like to proceed directly into the MS in TCOM program, completing the two degrees with 144 credit hours. Accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM students must satisfy both the requirements for the B.S.C.S. undergraduate degree (a total of 120 credit hours) and the M.S. in Telecommunications graduate degree (a total of 30 credit hours), with 6 credit hours of overlap permitted between the two degrees. The MS in TCOM degree would therefore be on an accelerated track, 6 credits being taken while an undergraduate and 24 credits as a graduate student. The 6 credit hours of TCOM courses taken while a Computer Science undergraduate must be selected from those given in the table at the end of this description.

Applicants for the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program must be George Mason University undergraduate students in the Computer Science program. Students may apply for the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program during a semester after which they will have completed 90 or more credit hours as an undergraduate. Students must have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.25 to apply for the program. Students who have not yet finished 90 credit hours may be accepted provisionally subject to satisfactory completion of 90 credit hours. Criteria for admission into the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program are identical to criteria for admission into the MS in TCOM program, with the exception that students do not need to have completed an undergraduate degree prior to admission into the accelerated program.

Students who have been accepted into the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in the undergraduate segment of the accelerated program and a 3.00 GPA in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. That is, after a student has been accepted into the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program, the student must maintain a 3.25 average until they have satisfied all of the requirements for the BSCS undergraduate degree. They must then maintain a minimum 3.0 average in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. Should their GPA fall below 3.0 while a graduate student, they will be dropped from the accelerated program to the regular program and those graduate TCOM courses taken and applied to their BSCS program will no longer be admissible for their MS in TCOM degree. If a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied TCOM core courses towards their BSCS degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a grade B, or above, in those courses. However, they will need to take elective courses in their place to satisfy the 30-credit requirement for the regular MS in TCOM degree. In a similar manner, if a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied non-core TCOM courses towards their BSCS degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a C grade, or above, for those courses. Elective courses will be required to replace TCOM courses already taken and dropped from the program. NOTE: up to two C grades may be carried in the regular TCOM program in non-core courses. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to graduate with an MS in TCOM degree.

Students must complete all requirements for the BSCS degree. Students in the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program may apply to have the BSCS degree conferred during the semester in which they expect to complete their BSCS requirements. The MS in TCOM degree is granted upon completion of all requirements for the accelerated MS in TCOM degree.

The TCOM courses that may be taken as a Computer Science undergraduate student as part of the accelerated BSCS/MS in TCOM program are given in the table below.

Note: All of the pre-requisite courses indicated below must be passed with a grade B, or higher.

TCOM course Comment
TCOM 500 Modern Telecommunications Pre-requisite is ECE 301, or equivalent.

TCOM 502 Wide Area Networks and Internet Pre-requisite is TCOM 501, CS 455, or
equivalent.

TCOM 503 Fiber Optic Communications Pre-requisite is TCOM 500, or equivalent.

TCOM 504 Asynchronous Transfer Mode Pre-requisite is TCOM 501 and TCOM 502,
Network or equivalent.

TCOM 505 Networked Multicomputer Systems Pre-requisite is TCOM 501, CS 455, ECE
462, or equivalent.

TCOM 510 Client Server Architectures Pre-requisite is TCOM 505.
and Applications

TCOM 513 Optical Communications Networks Pre-requisite is TCOM 503.

TCOM 519 Voice Over IP Pre-requisite is TCOM 509, CS 455, or
equivalent.

TCOM 551 Digital Communication Systems Pre-requisite is TCOM 500, or equivalent.

TCOM 607 Satellite Communications. Pre-requisite is ECE 463, or equivalent.

NOTE: Accelerated BSCS/MS TCOM student who have passed CS 455 with a grade B will not be required to take TCOM 501 in the MS in TCOM core and may take an elective 1.5 credit hour course instead.

Accelerated B.S.S.E./M.S. in TCOM Program

Students who are in the Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering (BSSE) program may elect to enter an accelerated Master of Science in Telecommunications (MS in TCOM) program while they are undergraduate students. The accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM Program is designed for qualified undergraduate students in the Systems Engineering program who would like to proceed directly into the MS in TCOM program, completing the two degrees with 144 credit hours. Accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM students must satisfy both the requirements for the B.S.S.E. undergraduate degree (a total of 120 credit hours) and the M.S. in Telecommunications graduate degree (a total of 30 credit hours), with 6 credit hours of overlap permitted between the two degrees. The MS in TCOM degree would therefore be on an accelerated track, 6 credits being taken while an undergraduate and 24 credits as a graduate student. The 6 credit hours of TCOM courses taken while a Systems Engineering undergraduate must be selected from those given in the table at the end of this description.

Applicants for the accelerated BSSE/MS program must be George Mason University undergraduate students who have preferably chosen to take the Systems Engineering of Telecommunications System elective sequence. Other students will be considered on their individual merit. Students may apply for the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program during a semester after which they will have completed 90 or more credit hours as an undergraduate. Students must have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.25 to apply for the program. Students who have not yet finished 90 credit hours may be accepted provisionally subject to satisfactory completion of 90 credit hours. Criteria for admission into the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program are identical to criteria for admission into the MS in TCOM program, with the exception that students do not need to have completed an undergraduate degree prior to admission into the accelerated program.

Students who have been accepted into the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in the undergraduate segment of the accelerated program and a 3.00 GPA in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. That is, after a student has been accepted into the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program, the student must maintain a 3.25 average until they have satisfied all of the requirements for the BSSE undergraduate degree. They must then maintain a minimum 3.0 average in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. Should their GPA fall below 3.0 while a graduate student, they will be dropped from the accelerated program to the regular program and those graduate TCOM courses taken and applied to their BSSE program will no longer be admissible for their MS in TCOM degree. If a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied TCOM core courses towards their BSSE degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a grade B, or above, in those courses. However, they will need to take elective courses in their place to satisfy the 30-credit requirement for the regular MS in TCOM degree. In a similar manner, if a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied non-core TCOM courses towards their BSSE degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a C grade, or above, for those courses. Elective courses will be required to replace TCOM courses already taken and dropped from the program. NOTE: up to two C grades may be carried in the regular TCOM program in non-core courses. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to graduate with an MS in TCOM degree.

Students must complete all requirements for the BSSE degree. Students in the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program may apply to have the BSSE degree conferred during the semester in which they expect to complete their BSSE requirements. The MS in TCOM degree is granted upon completion of all requirements for the accelerated MS in TCOM degree.

The TCOM courses that may be taken as a Systems Engineering undergraduate student as part of the accelerated BSSE/MS in TCOM program are given in the table below.

NOTE: All of the pre-requisite courses indicated below must be passed with a grade B, or higher.

TCOM course Comment

TCOM 500 Pre-requisite is ECE 301, or equivalent

TCOM 501 Pre-requisite is ECE 301, or equivalent. The TCOM 501/502 courses are an advanced version of SYST 422; students may not count both SYST 422 and TCOM 501/502 in their undergraduate programs.

TCOM 502 Pre-requisite is TCOM 501, or equivalent

TCOM 503 Pre-requisite is TCOM 500, or equivalent

TCOM 504 Pre-requisite is TCOM 501 and TCOM 502, or equivalent

TCOM 505 Pre-requisite is TCOM 501 or ECE 462, or equivalent

TCOM 509 Pre-requisite is TCOM 501 and TCOM 502, or equivalent

TCOM 510 Pre-requisite is TCOM 505

TCOM 513 Pre-requisite is TCOM 503

TCOM 521 Pre-requisite is SYST 301, or equivalent

TCOM 607 Satellite Communications. Pre-requisite is ECE 463, or equivalent.

Accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM Program

Students who are in the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) program may elect to enter an accelerated Master of Science in Telecommunications (MS in TCOM) program while they are undergraduate students. The accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM Program is designed for qualified undergraduate students in the Information Technology program who would like to proceed directly into the MS in TCOM program, completing the two degrees with 144 credit hours. Accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM students must satisfy both the requirements for the BSIT undergraduate degree (a total of 120 credit hours) and the M.S. in Telecommunications graduate degree (a total of 30 credit hours), with 6 credit hours of overlap permitted between the two degrees. The MS in TCOM degree would therefore be on an accelerated track, 6 credits being taken while an undergraduate and 24 credits as a graduate student. The 6 credit hours of TCOM courses taken while a BSIT undergraduate must be selected from those given in the table at the end of this description and will be substituted for BSIT Concentration electives, subject to prior approval by a BSIT advisor. Note that accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM students must take ECE 301 as one of their BSIT Concentration electives.

Applicants for the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program must be George Mason University undergraduate students in the BSIT program. Students may apply for the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program during a semester after which they will have completed 90 or more credit hours applicable toward the BSIT as an undergraduate. Students must have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.25 to apply for the program. Students who have not yet finished 90 credit hours may be accepted provisionally subject to satisfactory completion of 90 credit hours. Criteria for admission into the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program are identical to criteria for admission into the MS in TCOM program, with the exception that students do not need to have completed an undergraduate degree prior to admission into the accelerated program.

Students who have been accepted into the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in the undergraduate segment of the accelerated program and a 3.00 GPA in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. That is, after a student has been accepted into the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program, the student must maintain a 3.25 average until they have satisfied all of the requirements for the BSIT undergraduate degree. They must then maintain a minimum 3.0 average in the graduate segment of the accelerated program. Should their GPA fall below 3.0 while a graduate student, they will be dropped from the accelerated program to the regular program and those graduate TCOM courses taken and applied to their BSIT program will no longer be admissible for their MS in TCOM degree. If a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied TCOM core courses towards their BSIT degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a grade B, or above, in those courses. However, they will need to take elective courses in their place to satisfy the 30-credit hour requirement for the regular MS in TCOM degree. In a similar manner, if a student is dropped from the accelerated program and has taken and applied non-core TCOM courses towards their BSIT degree, then the student does not need to repeat those courses for the regular MS in TCOM program if they obtained a C grade, or above, for those courses. Elective courses will be required to replace TCOM courses already taken and dropped from the program. NOTE: up to two C grades may be carried in the regular TCOM program in non-mandatory core courses. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to graduate with an MS in TCOM degree.

Students must complete all requirements for the BSIT degree. Students in the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program may apply to have the BSIT degree conferred during the semester in which they expect to complete their BSIT requirements. The MS in TCOM degree is granted upon completion of all requirements for the accelerated MS in TCOM degree.

The TCOM courses that may be taken as a BSIT undergraduate student as part of the accelerated BSIT/MS in TCOM program are given in the table below.

Note: All of the pre-requisite courses indicated below must be passed with a grade B, or higher.

Note: Accelerated BSIT/MS TCOM students who have passed IT 341 with a grade of B or better will not be required to take TCOM 501 in the MS in TCOM core and may take an elective 1.5 credit hour course instead.

Last updated February 2004