Master of Science in Computer Networking via Distance Education

The Master of Science online degree program in Computer Networking is designed for individuals who cannot attend on campus classes because of employment or geographical constraints. This degree has a non-thesis option, does not require on campus attendance, and may be used in preparation for further graduate study or employment in an industrial research, development or design environment.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

The program is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Green card holders), United States military personnel serving overseas, and foreign nationals residing in the U.S. on qualifying non-student visas.

Although there is no fixed deadline to apply for this distance education degree, applicants are admitted for their desired term only if sufficient time remains for full clearance and enrollment when an admission decision is made.

Admission

The MSCN DE program is jointly managed by the Computer Science Department and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Admissions are handled separately by the two departments. In order to allow the corresponding admission committees to better appreciate the qualifications of the applicants, we strongly encourage the students to apply to the department closest to their undergraduate degree. For example, if your undergraduate degree is Electrical Engineering, apply through the ECE Department. For details and deadlines please check Department of Computer Science if you plan to apply through the Computer Science Department or Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering if you plan to apply through the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Admission Criteria

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or (Tele)communications Engineering and GRE general test.

Students who do not have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or (Tele)communications Engineering are required to take the following courses before they apply:

• Τhree semesters of calculus (MA 141, MA 241, and MA 242)
• One semester of probability/statistics (ST 370, or MA 421 (preferred))
• Two semesters of an object-oriented language (CSC 116 and CSC 216)
• Data structures (CSC 316)
• One semester of computer organization (CSC 236)
• One semester of signals and systems or discrete mathematics. (ECE 200 or CSC 226)

Visit the desired department website for full application procedure details.

Degree requirements

A minimum of 31 credit hours is required for all students. A minimum of 9 credits should be taken from a group of Core Networking courses, and a minimum of 3 credit hours should be taken from a group of Theory courses. Also, a 1-credit hour graduate orientation course is required of all students.

The remaining 18 credits could be taken from a list of courses which have been grouped into the following four tracks:

• Networking Design
• Network Hardware
• Network Software
• Networking Services
• Internet of Things

These tracks are for guidance purposes and students may choose to focus in one of these tracks or may take courses from one or more tracks.

At least 3 credits of the minimum 31 credits required for graduation should be 700-level courses.

Subject to approval by the student’s advisor, other courses from the pool of CSC and ECE courses not listed in the four tracks and also courses from other departments can be taken. Also, up to 3 credits can be taken from a list of Business courses, and up to 6 credits of additional Business courses can also be taken with approval by the student’s advisor.

For the non-thesis option, take a minimum of 18 credits as described above. You may substitute up to 3 credits with an independent study (CSC 630 for CNC students, and ECE 634 for CNE students).

For the thesis option, you may substitute up to six credits with thesis work (CSC 695 for CNC students, and ECE 695 for CNE students).

Special topics

For the MSCN students admitted through the ECE department (CNE students) prior approval from Dr. Sichitiu is required if you plan to take an ECE special topics (ECE 592/792) course or a CSC special topics (CSC 591/791) course and have it counted towards graduation.

For the MSCN students admitted through the CSC department (CNC students) , prior approval from Dr. Dutta is required if you plan to take an ECE special topics (ECE 592/792) course and have it counted towards graduation.

On-line courses

All the online engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering courses are administered by the Engineering Online unit within the College of Engineering. Visit the Engineering Online (EOL) web site at to see a listing of online courses to be offered each semester and to register for an online course in this program. You cannot register through MyPack Portal for EOL courses.

Please note that not all courses will be offered via EOL, but enough courses will be offered so that students can complete their degree. Also, DE students can take on-campus courses if they would like to, but the fee structure is more costly.

Advising

If you are admitted through the Computer Science program, your advisor is Dr. Dutta (hp@ncsu.edu), and if you are admitted through the Electrical and Computer Engineering, your advisor is Dr. Sichitiu (mlsichit@ncsu.edu)