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As a student on the MSc in Communications Engineering, you will be provided with an in-depth understanding of the technology and architecture of computer communications, photonics and telecommunication networks, wireless telecommunications and related wireless information technologies.
The practical knowledge and skills you will gain as a student on the MSc Communications Engineering course include being presented with the essential element of modern optical communication systems based on single mode optical fibres from the core to the access, evaluating bandwidth-rich contemporary approaches.
The MSc Communications Engineering course also covers advanced networking topics including network performance and network security. This is supported with some practical knowledge and skills for project and business management principles.
As a student on the MSc Communications Engineering course, you will also be introduced to technologies underlying the compressions and transmission of digital video over networking platforms, gain knowledge on the channel models and associated impairments that typically limit the performance of wireless systems, and learn to design optimum digital communication receivers for some basic communications channel models.
The MSc in Communications Engineering is modular in structure. Communications Engineering students must obtain a total of 180 credits to qualify for the degree. This is made up of 120 credits in the taught element (Part One) and a project (Part Two) that is worth 60 credits and culminates in a written dissertation. Students on the Communications Engineering course must successfully complete Part One before being allowed to progress to Part Two.
Part-time MSc in Communications Engineering Delivery mode:
The part-time scheme is a version of the full-time equivalent MSc in Communications Engineering scheme, and as such it means lectures are spread right across each week and you may have lectures across every day. Due to this timetabling format, the College advises that the scheme is likely to suit individuals who are looking to combine this with other commitments (typically family/caring) and who are looking for a less than full-time study option.
Those candidates seeking to combine the part-time option with full-time work are unlikely to find the timetable suitable, unless their job is extremely flexible and local to the Bay Campus.
Timetables for the Communications Engineering programme are typically available one week prior to each semester.
Modules on the MSc Communications Engineering course can vary each year but you could expect to study:
RF and Microwave
Signals and Systems
Entrepreneurship for Engineers
Nanophotonics
Micro and Nano Electro-Mechnical Systems
Lasers and applications
Wireless Communications
Digital Communications
Optical Communications
Optical Networks
Communication Skills for Research Engineers
Research Dissertation
MSc Dissertation - Communications Engineering
Our new home at the innovative Bay Campus provides some of the best university facilities in the UK, in an outstanding location.
Engineering at Swansea University has extensive IT facilities and provides extensive software licenses and packages to support teaching which benefit students on the MSc in Communications Engineering course. In addition the University provides open access IT resources.
At Swansea University, Electronic and Electrical Engineering has an active interface with industry and many of our activities are sponsored by companies such as Agilent, Auto Glass, BT and Siemens.
This discipline has a good track record of working with industry both at research level and in linking industry-related work to our postgraduate courses. We also have an industrial advisory board that ensures our taught courses maintain relevance.
Our research groups work with many major UK, Japanese, European and American multinational companies and numerous small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to pioneer research. This activity filters down and influences the project work that is undertaken by all our postgraduate students.
The MSc Communications Engineering is suitable for those who have a career interest in the field of communication systems, which has been fundamentally changing the whole world in virtually every aspect, and would like to gain lasting career skills and in-depth knowledge to carry out development projects and advanced research in the area of communication systems.
Communications Engineering graduates can seek employment in wireless communication systems and network administration, and mobile applications development.
“I was fascinated by the natural beauty of Swansea before I came here. Swansea University is near the beach so you can walk around the beach at any time. This Master’s is very useful to enhance your ability and enrich your principle of the academic knowledge.”
Zhang Daping, MSc Communication Systems (now Communications Engineering)
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranks Engineering at Swansea as 10th in the UK for the combined score in research quality across the Engineering disciplines.
The REF assesses the quality of research in the UK Higher Education sector, assuring us of the standards we strive for.
World-Leading Research
The REF shows that 94% of research produced by our academic staff is of World-Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) quality. This has increased from 73% in the 2008 RAE.
Research pioneered at the College of Engineering harnesses the expertise of academic staff within the department. This ground-breaking multidisciplinary research informs our world-class teaching with several of our staff leaders in their fields.
With recent academic appointments strengthening electronics research at the College, the Electronic Systems Design Centre (ESDC) has been re-launched to support these activities.
The Centre aims to represent all major electronics research within the College and to promote the Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree.
Best known for its research in ground-breaking Power IC technology, the key technology for more energy efficient electronics, the Centre is also a world leader in semiconductor device modelling, FEM and compact modelling.
This one-year programme is designed to equip graduates and professionals with a broad and robust training on modern power engineering technologies, with a strong focus on renewable energy conversion and smart grids. It is suitable for recent graduates who wish to develop the specialist knowledge and skills relevant to this industry and is also suitable as advanced study in preparation for research work in an academic or industrial environment.
In semesters 1 and 2, the programmes comprises a mixture of taught courses, workshops and a group design project, led by leading experts in the field, covering the key topics in power systems, electrical machines and power electronics. The final part of the programme is an individual dissertation, which provides a good opportunity for students to apply their acquired skills to real problems in electrical power engineering.
This one year programme at the University of Edinburgh will immerse the students in the most current developments in the area of Electrical Power Engineering, through a combination of taught modules, workshops, a research dissertation, and a range of supporting activities delivered by internationally leading experts in the field. The programme develops through the year from advanced fundamental topics and research tools and techniques in electrical power engineering, to specialist courses on emerging technologies and advanced numerical methods for power engineering problems, and culminates in the summer dissertation project where the acquired skills in various areas are put into practice in application to an actual power engineering problem.
Topics covered within the individual courses of the programme, include (but are not limited to):
In addition, our MSc students actively engage in research as part of their dissertation projects either within the Institute for Energy Systems or with industry, with some joining our PhD community afterwards.
This programme is delivered over 12 months, with two semesters of taught courses, followed by a research project leading to the submission of a Master’s Thesis.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Research Project
The above courses correspond to 120 credits of taught material, plus 60 credits of a research project.
The main objective of the programme is to train the next generation of electrical power engineers who:
Governments worldwide are putting in place plans to decarbonise and modernise their electricity sector. A transition to a green economy will require a highly skilled workforce led by electrical power engineers with a solid academic background, an appreciation of the trajectory of the industry and an understanding of the challenges and implications brought about by the introduction of new power technologies.
According to the Institution for Engineering & Technology (IET): “The business of managing and distributing power in the UK is beginning to undergo revolutionary changes and [power] engineers are the people who will play a pivotal role in keeping the lights on”. This also holds true in many other developed and developing countries in the world.
Power engineers are employed in public/governmental organisations as well as in the private sector and cover areas spanning from generation, to conversion and transmission of electrical power, design and manufacturing of power components and systems, and energy policy and commerce. In the UK, experienced, chartered power engineers can earn around £45,000 a year on average*.
The programme will run in a close association with other activities within the broader Electrical Engineering programme within the School, including networking events, industrial presentations and seminars. It will benefit from the current strong connections with industry (coordinated by the Student Industry Liaison Manager, and existing research associations and consortia (such as the EPSRC Centre for Energy Systems Integration).
This programme for graduates in electronic engineering or similar subjects will prepare you to become a senior manager or entrepreneur in global companies, where understanding technology and managing innovation in business are key to success.
Jointly delivered by the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Leeds University Business School, the course allows you to tailor the programme of studies to your needs, selecting optional modules from three engineering themes and four business themes. A set of core modules provides the foundation of your knowledge and skills.
You’ll be taught by leading experts in technology and in business management, with practical lab classes and project work allowing you to gain hands-on experience investigating and applying topics from your lectures and tutorials to real-life engineering and business situations.
This joint programme offers a unique opportunity to enhance both your technical and managerial skills.
The School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering is an exciting and stimulating environment where you’ll learn from leading researchers in areas pertinent to emerging and developing technologies. These technologies include future wireless and optical communications systems, renewable energy systems, ultrasound and bioelectronics systems, as well as nano, terahertz, and quantum technologies.
Leeds University Business School is also a leading international business school, globally, in the top 1%. It has world ranked programmes and internationally recognised teaching. You'll leave as a graduate of one of the top ten universities targeted by key employers such as Google, HSBC, Rolls-Royce and the Civil Services.
A set of compulsory modules form the core of the programme, developing your understanding of the electronics and technology industries as well as fundamental business management topics.
You’ll study the principles of managing innovation and gain an understanding of risk perception, as well as operations and supply chain management. A dissertation will allow you to research and gain an in-depth understanding of key issues in developing technologies. Your research project will allow you to study how a new technology in electronic, electrical or communications engineering is being applied to a commercial environment.
To complete your studies, you’ll gain additional specialist knowledge through your choice of optional modules related to a range of different themes. You don’t have to choose modules from within the same themes – you can study topics as diverse or as specialised as you want to reflect your own interests or career plans.
Themes include healthcare technologies, energy, information management and other topics that reflect the research strengths of both Leeds University Business School and the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. We will expect you to take one or two optional modules offered by LUBS.
Want to find out more about your modules?
Take a look at the Engineering, Technology and Business Management module descriptions for more detail on what you will study.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have regular contact with staff who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with them through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings.
Independent study is also important to the programme, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including case studies, technical reports, presentations, in-class tests, assignments and exams. Optional modules may also use alternative assessment methods.
The combination of technical and business knowledge you’ll gain from this programme will leave you well-placed for senior roles in the electronics industry, with sectors including energy and power, telecommunications, consumer electronics and aerospace. Many such organisations need engineers with a deep understanding of business and management issues.
More and more graduates are also finding careers in a range of companies that are applying digital technologies to improve their business.
You’ll have access to the wide range of engineering and computing careers resources held by our Employability team in our dedicated Employability Suite. You’ll have the chance to attend industry presentations book appointments with qualified careers consultants and take part in employability workshops. Our annual Engineering and Computing Careers Fairs provide further opportunities to explore your career options with some of the UK’s leading employers.
The University's Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
