NUWC-URI Master of Science Program
in
Distributed Network Systems (DNS)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The University of Rhode Island will offer a three year, part time Master of Sciences Program to NUWC employees with an emphasis on the technologies associated with Distributed Networked Systems (DNS) starting in September 2007. Core courses (four) will be taught on-site at NUWC (CCRI Newport) with the remaining classes taken at URI. Thesis research topics will be in areas closely aligned with NUWC’s DNS initiatives. NUWC employees will be admitted into and graduate from an existing degree program of their choice in either Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Ocean Engineering. Students can take up to two classes in a non-matriculated status (i.e. prior to admission into a degree program) and still use those credits toward their Program of Study.
The on site MS program will be coordinated by the URI-NUWC Center of Excellence in Undersea Technology (COEUT) (www.coeut.org).
Date last revised: February 11, 2008
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Point of Contact: Bud Vincent, Ocean Engineering, 214 Sheets Laboratory, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, Tel: 401-874-6139, email: bud@oce.uri.edu
Vision: Provide NUWC with a 3 yr on site MS program to train its entry level engineers with focus in systems engineering and distributed network systems.
Target Audience: 20 to 25 entry-level engineers
Location: On site, CCRI Newport Campus, core courses and any course with NUWC enrollment above 15 will be on site, other courses will be at URI. Alternate location: NUWC, Bldg 990.
Class Time Slot: 4-7 PM, once or twice per week
Start Date and Duration: September 2007, 3 years
Repetition Cycle: Every 2 yrs
Admissions: Applicants will apply to the URI program of interest using the existing application and admissions decision-making procedure. Applications are due by July 15, 2007 for fall admission (November 15, 2007 for spring admissions). In the event that students don’t complete their applications by the July 15 deadline they can take the first course in the program as a non-matriculated student, apply for admissions for the spring and then transfer the first course to their program of study.
Advising: Each student in the program will be assigned an advisor by the department to which he/she applies. The advisors will be selected to match the student’s area of interest. In addition, COEUT will provide an advisor to all students in the program to facilitate coordination among the various departments.
- 30 credits thesis/non thesis option, offered over 3 yrs, one course (3 or 4 credits) per semester, one course or thesis credits during summer, ability to accelerate to two courses per semester/summer and finish program earlier.
- MS degrees in OCE, ELE, CSC, ISE, and MCE thesis or non thesis options (selected by student), all students take 9 credits of core courses (three from the list of four below), with 9-12 credits of department or program based disciplinary courses, and 6-9 credits of MS thesis research or 3 credits for research project for non thesis option
- Four core courses (12 credits) required of all students, focused on systems engineering approach to distributed network systems in coastal waters, one of which must be OCG5XX. The core courses from which students can select and the tentative dates of offer are provided below:
CSC 512 Topics in Distributed Systems (4) (Spring 2009)
- Thesis (thesis option) or research project (non-thesis option) topics must be selected from a list prepared by COEUT, in consultation with NUWC and URI faculty engaged in the program.
Instructors: URI faculty in Engineering, Computer Science and Statistics, and Oceanography; Adjunct Faculty (NUWC senior staff) with interest in graduate education.
MS Degree Requirements by Department or Program (Non thesis and thesis):
Ocean Engineering:
Non thesis option: total- 30 credits, with a minimum of 18 credits in ocean
engineering, 12 credits of graduate level course work, 3 credits of which will be independent research with paper, written comprehensive examination.
Electrical Engineering:
Thesis: total- 30 credits, with minimum of 16 credits in electrical engineering, 5 to 8 credits of graduate level course work, and 6 to 9 credits for thesis research.
Non- Thesis: total- 30 credits, with minimum of 16 credits in electrical engineering, 5 to 8 credits of graduate level course work 3 credits of which will be independent research with paper, written comprehensive examination.
Thesis option: total- at least 30 credits, including a course from each of 3 core CS areas, 2 courses in CS electives, 3 other graduate courses, 2 credits of Computer Science Seminar Series, and 8 credits of thesis.
Non-thesis option: at least 30 credits, including a course from each of 5 core CS areas, 2 courses in CS electives, 3 other graduate courses. At least one course must have a substantial written project. Passing a written comprehensive examination.
Thesis Option - 30 credits including 6 to 9 credits of thesis, 12 credits of course work in systems engineering, and 9 to 12 credits of approved graduate level course work.
Non-Thesis Option - 30 total credits including 12 credits of course work in systems engineering, 3 credits of independent research in systems engineering with a term paper, 15 credits of approved graduate level course work, and a comprehensive examination.
Mechanicl Engineering:
Non-Thesis Option - 30 total credits including one course in each department core area and one special problems course requiring independent study; a comprehensive examination.
Core Courses
Computer network architectures, data link control and access protocols
for LANs, internet protocols and applications, software and hardware issues in
computer communication, delay analysis, and current research in computer networking.
Advanced topics in distributed systems. Networking; standard distributed
computing environments and middleware. Distributed computing algorithms.
Concurrency and threading. Real-time computing, scheduling, concurrency
control, load allocation.
OCE 550 Ocean Systems Engineering (3)
Design of systems for use in the ocean environment with emphasis on interaction of various subsystems disciplines to achieve total system performance characteristics.
Examples will include mobile, fixed, autonomous, distributed and networked sensors.
Position and time measurement strategies including Global Positioning System, Underwater Acoustic Positioning (Long Baseline, Short Baseline, Ultra-Short Baseline), wireless (acoustic) communication, remote time transfer and synchronization.
Modeling and simulation of typical mechanical, thermal, fluid and electromechanical elements found in mechanical engineering systems. Time and frequency response characteristics. Feedback control concepts. Pre: graduate standing or permission of instructor.
IME/CSC 525 Systems Simulation (3)
Simulation of random processes and systems. Continuous and discrete simulation models. Data structures and algorithms for simulation Generation of random variates, design of simulation experiments for optimization and validation of models and results. Selected applications including computer and communication systems.
