Telecommunications engineering lies at the heart of most information exchange, including telephone communications, broadcasting and the Internet. Our program provides a blend of knowledge from electrical engineering and computer science, focusing on communications networks and systems.
Telecommunications engineering is a dynamic and rapidly developing field as a result of today’s heavy reliance on the Internet, cellphones, broadband, wireless networks, broadcasting and satellite applications. Telecom engineers design, implement and manage systems for processing and transmitting information, finding career opportunities in such areas as:
Telecommunications engineers also find employment in broader areas such as electronic engineering, instrumentation engineering, computer engineering, systems analysis and control engineering.
Engineering education requires strong high school preparation. Pre-engineering students should have high school preparation of at least one semester of trigonometry and at least one year each in elementary algebra, intermediate and advanced algebra, plane geometry, chemistry, and physics, thus developing their competencies to the highest possible levels and preparing them to move immediately into demanding college courses in calculus, calculus-based physics, and chemistry for science majors. It’s also essential that pre-engineering students be able to read rapidly and write clearly.
The telecom engineering program is based on a solid foundation of science and mathematics coursework. Students learn to extend their abilities to analyze and solve complex problems and to design new uses of technology to serve society. The program provides an integrated educational experience directed toward the development of the ability to apply pertinent knowledge to the identification and solution of practical problems in electrical and telecommunications engineering. The design experience, which includes both analytical and experimental studies, is integrated throughout the curriculum in a sequential development leading to advanced work.
The Erik Jonsson School operates one of the largest internship and cooperative education programs of its kind, averaging more than 500 student placements a year at Dallas-area high-tech companies, including Texas Instruments, Research In Motion, Raytheon, Alcatel-Lucent and Tektronix.
The Fast-Track Program enables exceptionally gifted undergraduate students to include master’s level courses in their undergraduate degree plans. When Fast-Track students graduate with a bachelor’s degree, they are automatically admitted to graduate school at UT Dallas. The hours required to complete the master’s degree are reduced by the number of Fast-Track graduate hours completed. So a Fast-Track undergraduate who passed 12 hours of graduate coursework would have only 21 hours of graduate coursework left in order to complete a master’s degree.
Strategically located in the Telecom Corridor, home of the second-largest high-tech economy in the U.S., the Jonsson School recently completed a major public-private initiative that greatly expanded its capabilities and included construction of a new state-of-the-art 192,000-square-foot interdisciplinary research building.
With more than 130 faculty, 4,000 students, and $47 million in research funding, the Jonsson School has six academic departments:
In addition, the school recently added a minor in nanoscience and technology.
Bachelor of Science: Biomedical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, telecommunications engineering
Master of Science: Biomedical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, systems engineering and management, telecommunications engineering
Doctor of Philosophy: Biomedical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, telecommunications engineering
Research efforts under way at the school involve such cutting-edge technology as:
Read what recent Jonsson School graduates think about their education and how it prepared them to be successful in their subsequent careers:
Telecommunications Engineering Program
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, EC-33
The University of Texas at Dallas
800 West Campbell Road
Richardson, TX 75080-3021