Two advanced certificates may be taken within the MS in Telecommunications Program. These advanced certificates differ from the other three TCOM certificates in having greater depth with more advanced course requirements. Students are allowed to take these certificates as stand-alone items or as part of their degree program. For the former, they will be required to enroll in a certificate program; for the latter, since they are already enrolled in a degree program, they need only apply for the appropriate certificate after they have satisfied its requirements. The courses within the certificates are drawn directly from the MS in Telecommunications Program. If a student initially signs up only for a certificate program, it will be possible to transfer into the degree program later, with up to 12 credits transferring into the degree program. Students must therefore ensure they have transferred into the degree program prior to starting coursework beyond 12 credit hours in the certificate program to ensure that all credits from the certificate program may transfer into the degree program. A student who transfers from a certificate program into the degree program may earn both qualifications (certificate and degree) on satisfactory completion of both requirements. Applicable courses may count for both the certificate and the degree program. Examples of such combined certificate and degree programs are given at the end.
Section 2.1 gives the courses required for the certificate in Advanced Networking Protocols for Telecommunications and section 2.2 gives the courses required for the certificate in Telecommunications Forensics and Security. Section 3 gives the admission requirements and section 4 the registration procedures. Finally, section 5 gives examples of dual certificate/degree programs.
2.0 MS in TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVANCED
CERTIFICATES
2.1
Advanced Networking Protocols for Telecommunications (ANPT) Certificate
Objective
To provide an advanced understanding of networking
protocols that are used in telecommunications networks.
Mandatory Core Courses (9 credits from 12 credits)
TCOM 609 Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP)
TCOM 610 Border Gateway Protocols (BGP)
And either TCOM
509/519 (#) Internet Protocols/Voice
over IP
or TCOM 515 Internet Protocol Routing
Elective Courses (6 credits from 12
credits)
TCOM
509/519 (*) Internet Protocols/Voice over IP
TCOM
515 (*) Internet Protocol Routing
TCOM
611 Multi-Protocol Label Switching
TCOM
662 Advanced Secure Networking
(#) TCOM 504 Asynchronous Transfer Mode may
be substituted for TCOM 519
(*) TCOM 509/519 or 515 cannot be
taken twice for credit. Whichever
course(s) are taken in the core element cannot be taken again in the elective
element.
2.2
Telecommunications Forensics and Security (TFAS) Certificate
Objective
To
provide an advanced understanding of forensics and security in both networks
and digital storage media
Mandatory Core Courses (9 credits from 15 credits)
TCOM 548/556 Security Issues in
Telecom/Cryptography and Net. Security
or TCOM 515 Internet
Protocol Routing
TCOM
562 Network
Security Fundamentals
And
either TCOM 660 Network
Forensics
or TCOM 661 Digital Media Forensics
Elective Courses (6 credits from 12 credits)
TCOM
660 (*) Network
Forensics
TCOM
661 (*) Digital
Media Forensics
TCOM
662 Advanced
Secure Networking
ISA
662 Informations
Systems Security (formerly INFS 762)
(*)
TCOM 660 and TCOM 661 cannot be taken twice for credit. If either course is taken in the core
element, it cannot be taken again in the elective element.
3.0
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The advanced certificate programs, Advanced Networking Protocols for Telecommunications (ANPT) and Telecommunications Forensics and Security (TFAS), are open to all students who hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited university and meet the admissions requirements for the MS in Telecommunications degree. Students enrolled in the ANPT or TFAS certificates may transfer into the MS in Telecommunications degree program at any point, and will be able to transfer up to 12 credit hours of certificate courses currently completed in the ANPT or TFAS certificate programs, subject to the usual rules of a B minimum course grade on transfer.
4.0 REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
4.1 New Students
New students who are interested in the certificate programs should apply for admission in either degree or non-degree status. A box on the admission forms permits the certificate option to be selected.
4.2 Students already enrolled in the
MS in Telecommunications Program
Students who are currently enrolled in the MS in Telecommunications program
and who wish to take advantage of a certificate within their degree program
while pursuing their master's degree may complete an application for a
certificate once the appropriate fifteen credit hours have been satisfied with
the required grades in each course. Students who have taken advantage of an
accelerated BS/MS in TCOM program may count graduate level courses taken
towards their master's degree while in undergraduate status towards their
certificate. For courses taken at
4.3 Transfer Students
Students may transfer 3 credit hours of courses earned at another university into any of these certificate programs provided the grade earned in that course was a B, or above. No transfer course may be used towards the certificate GPA calculation. Students who have been admitted as certificate-seeking students within the MS in Telecommunications program may apply to transfer to regular masters status in the MS in Telecommunications program at any time. If they are admitted into the regular masters program, a maximum of 12 credit hours may be carried into that regular masters program from their certificate program. Such students, like all students in the regular MS in Telecommunications program, may apply for the appropriate certificate at any time they have satisfied the fifteen-credit hour requirement of that certificate.
5.0 EXAMPLES of DUAL STUDY PROGRAMS
5.1 Student 1 enters Certificate Program - Transfers later to Degree
(regular status)
Student enters the Certificate in Telecommunications Forensics and Security
(TFAS) as a certificate-seeking student.
Fall 1: Takes TCOM 562 and TCOM 660
Spring 1: Takes TCOM 548/556 and TCOM 661
Student has completed the 9 credit hours required in the mandatory
certificate core and 3 credit hours in the elective element. The student now wants to go for an TCOM degree as well as a certificate and so submits an
application for the MS in Telecommunications degree program by April 1st
and is admitted into regular MS degree status by the start of the fall
semester.
Fall 2: Takes TCOM 500 and TCOM 501/502
Spring 2: Takes TCOM 662 and TCOM 521
Student has now satisfied the 15 credit hour requirements for the TFAS certificate and can apply for this certificate at any time. A total of 24 credit hours have been earned towards the MS in Telecommunications degree at this point.
Fall 3: Takes TCOM 514 and TCOM 750
Student has now completed the requirements for both an MS in
Telecommunications degree and for a TFAS certificate.
5.2 Student 2 enters the MS in Telecommunications degree program in regular status and decides after entry to also go for an ANPT certificate
Fall 1: Takes TCOM 500 and TCOM 501/502
Spring 1: Takes TCOM 509/519 and TCOM 521
Fall 2: Takes TCOM 515 and TCOM 610
Student has completed 9 credit hours in the core of the TCOM program [TCOM 500, TCOM 501/502, and TCOM 521] and has also completed 9 credit hours of the core and elective elements of the Certificate in Advanced Networking Protocols for Telecommunications [TCOM 509/519, TCOM 515, and TCOM 610] giving a total of 18 credit hours in the degree program.
Spring 2: Takes TCOM 609 and ISA 662
The student has now completed the ANPT certificate (TCPM 509/519, TCOM 515,
TCOM 609, TCOM 610, and ISA 662).
Student petitions to be permitted to use TCOM 515 in place of TCOM 514
in the core of the degree program. This
petition is approved. The student
therefore has satisfied 12 credit hours of the degree core (TCOM 500, TCOM
501/502, TCOM 521, and TCOM 515) and so needs 3 credit hours for the 15 credit
hour core to be completed. An additional
3 credit hours is required to complete the 15 credit hour elective element.
Fall 3: Student takes PUBP 726 to satisfy the remaining core course and TCOM 611 to complete the elective element of the degree.
Student has now completed the requirements for both an MS in Telecommunications degree and for a ANPT certificate
NOTES:
(a) Students must earn a B
grade, or above, in each course to allow those courses to transfer from
a certificate program to a degree program, if the student first enrolls in the
certificate program.
(b) Students are permitted to
carry one C grade in the certificate program, as per the
(c) Students, with prior
permission, may take substitute courses, should their required course not be
available in that particular semester to allow their certificate program to be
completed on schedule.
(d) Only 3 credit hours may be
transferred into a GMU graduate certificate program from another university.