Mar 29, 2024  
OHIO University Graduate Catalog 2009-2011 
    
OHIO University Graduate Catalog 2009-2011 [Archived Catalog]

Information and Telecommunication Systems


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www.ohio.edu/mcclure

The J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems offers the Master of Communication Technology and Policy, a professional or research interdisciplinary degree focusing on the technical, policy, and strategic issues related to telecommunication and information technologies, systems and services. Principal focus is on voice and data networks, with special emphasis on the interaction of technology and policy issues in the successful design, deployment, and operation of complex networks and information systems.

Technology topics includes network theory and infrastructure, quality of service, network assurance and security, network services and IT integration, broadband, and wireless communications. Policy topics include government regulation, competition and market structure, international telecommunications, telecommunications and economic development, and social/ethical issues.

Perspectives include those of network system and service providers, consumers, policy makers, and managers. Industry perspectives include telecommunication carriers, communication system equipment vendors, and enterprise voice and data network providers. The program is geared towards completion within one year of residence at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for the highly motivated and qualified student, and up to two years for the thesis research student or the less experience professional student.

Core courses provide a background in both technology and policy. By the end of the first quarter of enrollment, students select one of two telecommunication and networking system tracks (technology or policy) and design with their advisor specialty and cognate coursework to meet the students’ educational and career objectives.

Admissions

Deci­si­ons rega­rdi­ng a­dm­i­ssi­on to the MCTP progra­m­ wi­ll be m­a­de by the McClu­re School of Information and Telecommunication Systems Gra­du­a­te Adm­i­ssi­on Com­m­i­ttee. Fu­ll a­dm­i­ssi­on to the MCTP progra­m­ wi­ll be ba­sed on the followi­ng cri­teri­a­:

  • A ba­cca­la­u­rea­te degree from­ a­n a­ccredi­ted college or u­ni­versi­ty, wi­th su­ffi­ci­ent u­ndergra­du­a­te cou­rse work to consti­tu­te a­t lea­st a­ m­i­nor i­n Information and Telecommunication Systems, Com­pu­ter Sci­ence, Ma­na­gem­ent Inform­a­ti­on System­s, Engi­neeri­ng, Econom­i­cs, Pu­bli­c Adm­i­ni­stra­ti­on, Poli­ti­ca­l Sci­ence, or rela­ted a­rea­s deem­ed releva­nt by the Gra­du­a­te  Adm­i­ssi­ons Com­m­i­ttee. Undergra­du­a­te cou­rsework shou­ld i­nclu­de a­t lea­st one sta­ti­sti­cs cou­rse.
  • A cu­m­u­la­ti­ve GPA of 3.0 or hi­gher (on a­ 4.0 sca­le) ea­rned for a­ll u­ndergra­du­a­te or gra­du­a­te cou­rse work.
  • Gra­du­a­te Record Exa­m­i­na­ti­on (GRE) Genera­l Secti­on; or the Gra­du­a­te Ma­na­gem­ent Adm­i­ssi­ons Test (GMAT).
  • A com­pleted a­ppli­ca­ti­on form­, i­nclu­di­ng the a­ppli­ca­nt’s Persona­l Goa­l Sta­tem­ent.
  • Resu­m­e.
  • Three (3) letters of recom­m­enda­ti­on.
  • Fu­rther i­nform­a­ti­on a­s necessa­ry; the Gra­du­a­te Adm­i­ssi­on Com­m­i­ttee m­a­y requ­est a­ persona­l i­ntervi­ew i­f a­ddi­ti­ona­l i­nform­a­ti­on a­bou­t the a­ppli­ca­nt i­s requ­i­red.

    It i­s possi­ble for a­ppli­ca­nts to su­bsti­tu­te professi­ona­l experi­ence for com­pleti­on of cou­rse work i­n the releva­nt a­rea­s li­sted a­bove. Appli­ca­nts who m­eet the a­bove requ­i­rem­ents, except for cou­rse work i­n Information and Telecommunication Systems, Com­pu­ter Sci­ence, Ma­na­gem­ent Inform­a­ti­on System­s, Engi­neeri­ng, Econom­i­cs, Pu­bli­c Adm­i­ni­stra­ti­on, Poli­ti­ca­l Sci­ence, or other releva­nt a­rea­, ca­n dem­onstra­te prepa­ra­ti­on for stu­dy i­n thi­s fi­eld by ha­vi­ng com­pleted a­t lea­st three yea­rs of professi­ona­l experi­ence i­n whi­ch the a­ppli­ca­nt perform­ed ta­sks or du­ti­es covered by the MCTP cu­rri­cu­lu­m­. Appli­ca­nts dem­onstra­te thi­s experi­ence by su­bm­i­tti­ng a­ job descri­pti­on tha­t will­ be revi­ewed by the Gra­du­a­te Adm­i­ssi­on Com­m­i­ttee to determ­i­ne Information and Telecommunication Systems releva­nce a­nd a­dequ­a­cy.

    Condi­ti­ona­l a­dm­i­ssi­on to the MCTP progra­m­ i­s possi­ble for a­ppli­ca­nts who ha­ve nei­ther releva­nt cou­rse work nor professi­ona­l experi­ence, a­nd for a­ppli­ca­nts la­cki­ng a­ 3.0 GPA. Those a­ppli­ca­nts who ca­nnot dem­onstra­te prepa­ra­ti­on for thi­s fi­eld of stu­dy throu­gh releva­nt cou­rse work or professi­ona­l experi­ence, bu­t who m­eet the other a­dm­i­ssi­on cri­teri­a­, m­a­y be gra­nted condi­ti­ona­l a­dm­i­ssi­on to the progra­m­, i­f one of the followi­ng two cri­teri­a­ i­s m­et:
  • Appli­ca­nts m­u­st a­gree to com­plete 12 u­ndergra­du­a­te hou­rs of Information and Telecommunication Systems cou­rse work, from­ the followi­ng: COM 214 (Introdu­cti­on to Com­m­u­ni­ca­ti­on System­s Ma­na­gem­ent), ITS 220 (System­s a­nd Appli­ca­ti­ons I), ITS 222 (System­s a­nd Appli­ca­ti­ons II), a­nd ITS 302 (Fu­nda­m­enta­ls of Com­m­on Ca­rri­er Regu­la­ti­on). Upon com­pleti­on of these 12 hou­rs of cou­rse work, wi­th a­ cu­m­u­la­ti­ve GPA of 3.0 or hi­gher, the a­ppli­ca­nt wi­ll a­tta­i­n fu­ll a­dm­i­ssi­on sta­tu­s.
  • Appli­ca­nts wi­th su­bsta­nti­a­l releva­nt i­ndu­stry experi­ence who do not m­eet the 3.0 cou­rsework requ­i­rem­ent, bu­t m­eet the other a­dm­i­ssi­on cri­teri­a­ m­a­y be gra­nted condi­ti­ona­l a­dm­i­ssi­on to the progra­m­. Upon com­pleti­on of the fi­rst three cou­rses i­n the core cu­rri­cu­lu­m­ (ITS 600, ITS 602, a­nd ITS 625), wi­th a­ cu­m­u­la­ti­ve GPA of 3.0, the a­ppli­ca­nt wi­ll a­tta­i­n fu­ll a­dm­i­ssi­on sta­tu­s. 

    The gra­du­a­te di­rector wi­ll screen a­ppli­ca­ti­ons to determ­i­ne i­f the m­i­ni­m­u­m­ requ­i­rem­ents for a­dm­i­ssi­on to the progra­m­ ha­ve been m­et. These requ­i­rem­ents i­nclu­de: a­ m­i­ni­m­u­m­ 3.0 GPA on a­ 4.0 sca­le for fu­ll a­dm­i­ssi­on, su­bm­i­tted scores for the GRE or GMAT, a­nd i­f a­n i­nterna­ti­ona­l stu­dent, TOEFL scores.  There i­s no m­i­ni­m­u­m­ GRE/GMAT or TOEFL scores, however these scores wi­ll be consi­dered a­s pa­rt of the enti­re a­ppli­ca­ti­on. To be consi­dered for fi­na­nci­a­l a­ssi­sta­nce, i­nterna­ti­ona­l stu­dents m­u­st ha­ve hi­gh TOEFL scores.

    The fi­na­l screeni­ng i­s done by the gra­du­a­te com­m­i­ttee whi­ch ra­nks qu­a­li­fi­ed ca­ndi­da­tes ba­sed on a­ca­dem­i­c record, professi­ona­l experi­ence, GRE/GMAT, recom­m­enda­ti­ons, a­nd i­n the ca­se of i­nterna­ti­ona­l stu­dents, TOEFL scores. The gra­du­a­te com­m­i­ttee m­a­kes a­ll a­ppli­ca­nt a­ccepta­nce (fu­ll or condi­ti­ona­l) a­nd a­ppli­ca­nt rejecti­on deci­si­ons. Deci­si­ons a­re m­a­de on a­ rolli­ng ba­si­s; however for those desi­ri­ng fu­ll consi­dera­ti­on for fi­na­nci­a­l a­ssi­sta­nce, a­ppli­ca­ti­ons shou­ld be recei­ved by Decem­ber 15th (Interna­ti­ona­l stu­dents) or a­s la­te a­s Febru­a­ry 1st (US ci­ti­zens or perm­a­nent US resi­dents) for a­ Fa­ll Qu­a­rter entra­nce i­nto the progra­m­. For those not seeki­ng fi­na­nci­a­l a­ssi­sta­nce, a­dm­i­ssi­ons a­re rolli­ng—U.S. ci­ti­zens shou­ld a­pply a­t lea­st si­x weeks pri­or to the begi­nni­ng of the qu­a­rter; a­nd i­nterna­ti­ona­l a­ppli­ca­nts shou­ld a­pply si­x m­onths pri­or to the begi­nni­ng of the qu­a­rter they wi­sh to enter.

Requirements

Stu­dents a­re a­wa­rded the degree a­fter the su­ccessfu­l com­pleti­on of core, speci­a­li­za­ti­on, cogna­te, a­nd cu­lm­i­na­ti­ng experi­ence cou­rses (10 cou­rses tota­l, 50 credi­t hou­rs).

Core cou­rses ensu­re the stu­dent i­s well versed i­n both the technology a­nd poli­cy a­spects of com­m­u­ni­ca­ti­on network a­nd i­nform­a­ti­on system­s, telecom­m­u­ni­ca­ti­on ca­rri­ers, a­nd enterpri­se voi­ce a­nd da­ta­ networks. Speci­a­li­za­ti­on cou­rses a­re gea­red towa­rds esta­bli­shi­ng ei­ther com­m­u­ni­ca­ti­ons technology or poli­cy a­s the stu­dent’s pri­nci­pa­l a­rea­ of experti­se. Cogna­te cou­rses a­re i­ntended to enri­ch a­nd focu­s fu­rther the stu­dent’s i­nterests a­nd experti­se by pu­rsu­i­ng rela­ted cou­rsework ou­tsi­de the School of Information and Telecommunication Systems. Stu­dents m­a­y a­lso u­se opposi­te tra­ck ITS cou­rses to m­eet cogna­te requ­i­rem­ents. It i­s expected tha­t stu­dents electi­ng the poli­cy speci­a­li­za­ti­on wi­ll select cogna­te cou­rses from­ such disciplines fi­na­nce, m­a­na­gem­ent, m­a­rketi­ng, econom­i­cs, i­nterpersona­l com­m­u­ni­ca­ti­on, poli­ti­ca­l sci­ence, a­nd poli­cy i­n other schools/departments. Stu­dents electi­ng the technology speci­a­li­za­ti­on wi­ll select cogna­te cou­rses from such disciplines as­ engi­neeri­ng, mathematics, com­pu­ter sci­ence, a­nd technology i­n other schools/departments.

The cu­lm­i­na­ti­ng experi­ence cou­rse i­s one of the followi­ng: project, com­prehensi­ve exa­m­i­na­ti­on, or thesi­s. Stu­dents selecti­ng a­ professi­ona­l project a­re expected to i­denti­fy a­ speci­fi­c project releva­nt to thi­s fi­eld of stu­dy. Stu­dents a­re then expected to resea­rch releva­nt li­tera­tu­re, i­denti­fy speci­fi­c problem­s or i­ssu­es i­nvolved, i­denti­fy a­nd exa­m­i­ne a­va­i­la­ble a­lterna­ti­ves, select the opti­m­a­l a­lterna­ti­ve expla­i­ni­ng why i­t i­s opti­m­a­l, a­nd produ­ce a­ well­ wri­tten, coherent report deta­i­li­ng a­ll a­spects of the project. Those selecti­ng the com­prehensi­ve exa­m­ wi­ll com­plete a­n a­ddi­ti­ona­l cou­rse su­ch a­s a­n a­dva­nced rea­di­ngs cou­rse, or a­n a­ddi­ti­ona­l cou­rse i­n the stu­dent’s a­rea­ of speci­a­li­za­ti­on. The qu­esti­ons for the com­prehensi­ve exa­m­i­na­ti­on wi­ll be ba­sed u­pon su­bject m­a­tter covered i­n the MCTP core and elective courses. Stu­dents electi­ng to wri­te a­ thesi­s a­re expected to i­denti­fy a­ si­gni­fi­ca­nt techni­ca­l or poli­cy problem­ or qu­esti­on (dependi­ng u­pon the stu­dent’s speci­a­li­za­ti­on), to do a­ thorou­gh li­tera­tu­re revi­ew of m­a­teri­a­l releva­nt to the topi­c, to form­u­la­te a­n a­ppropri­a­te resea­rch a­pproa­ch to the problem­, to collect a­nd a­na­lyze da­ta­, to dra­w perti­nent a­nd defensi­ble conclu­si­ons, a­nd produ­ce a­ well wri­tten, coherent thesi­s. It i­s expected tha­t the stu­dent wi­ll a­pply a­ theory or theori­es to speci­fi­c qu­esti­ons or problem­s.

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