Main Graduate Courses

The WCL offers a number of fundamental and specialized graduate courses during the fall and spring academic semesters. The specialized courses often vary from year to year reflecting the current research interests of the various WCL faculty. The fundamental courses, listed below, are intended to provide the basics necessary to pursue higher studies in the form of more advanced graduate courses or cutting-edge research.

The courses being offered during the current academic semester can be found at http://courses.tamu.edu.

ELEN601 - Linear Network Analysis
Signal theory treatment of continuous and discrete signals and systems; vector spaces, projection and sampling theories, transform theory: Fourier, Laplace, Hilbert and Z transforms

ELEN604 - Channel Coding for Communication Systems
Channel coding for error control, finite field algebra, block codes, cyclic codes; BCH codes; and convolutional codes; Trellis coded modulation, including Ungerboeck codes and coset codes; performance on Gaussian and Rayleigh channels; applications to communication systems.
Prerequisites: Approval of instructor and graduate classification

ELEN644 - Discrete-Time Systems (Advanced DSP)
Linear discrete-time systems analysis using time domain and transform approaches; digital filter design techniques with digital computer implementations.
Prerequisite: ELEN 601

ELEN646 - Statistical Communication Theory
Concepts of probability and random process theory necessary for advanced study of communications, stochastic control and other electrical engineering problems involving uncertainty; applications to elementary detection and estimation problems.
Prerequisite: Registration in ELEN 601 or approval of instructor

ELEN647 - Information Theory
Entropy, relative entropy, and mutual information; Asymptotic equipartition property (AEP); Entropy rates of a stochastic process; Lossless data compression (Huffman, Ziv-Lempel, Arithmetic, Shannon-Fano codes): Kraft inequality, Shannon's source coding theorem; Channel capacity: jointly typical sequences, Fano's inequality, Shannon's channel coding theorem and its converse; Differential entropy; Gaussian channels; Rate-distortion theory: Shannon's source coding theorem relative to a fidelity criterion.
Prerequisite: ELEN 646 or approval of instructor

ELEN660 - Optical Communication Systems
Design and analysis of Optical Communications Systems; characteristics of the Optical Channel; Direct-Detection and Heterodyne-Detection Systems; emphasis on receiver design, modulation and synchronization for both the fiber optic and free-space channel.
Prerequisite: ELEN 646

ELEN661 - Modulation Theory
Optimum receiver principles and signal selection for communication systems with and without coding; system implementation, and waveform communication using realistic channel modes.
Prerequisite: ELEN 646

ELEN662 - Estimation and Detection Theory
Probabilistic signal detection theory and parameter estimation theory; Neyman-Pearson, UMP, and locally optimal tests; discrete-time Markov processes and the Kalman and Wiener filters; bayesian, maximum likelihood and conditional mean estimation methods.
Prerequisite: ELEN 646

ELEN663 - Data Compression with Applications to Speech and Video
Characterization and representation of waveforms; digital coding and waveforms including PCM, delta modulation, DPCM, tree/trellis coding, runlength coding, sub-band coding and transform coding; rate distortion theoretic performance bounds.
Prerequisites: ELEN 601 and 646

ELEN689 - Special Topics
A number of timely courses on various subjects of advanced and specialized aspects of communications are offered. The current list of courses are found on the individual WCL faculty web pages or at http://courses.tamu.edu.

ELEN691 - Research
Research for thesis or dissertation.

Back to top

Fundamental Undergraduate Courses

The following senior level courses allow undergraduate students to obtain a strong foundation in communication theory and systems. The courses being offerred during the current academic semester can be found at http://courses.tamu.edu.

ELEN444 - Digital Signal Processing
Digital Signal Processing; discrete-time signals and systems, linear shift-invariant systems, the discrete Fourier transform and fast Fourier transform algorithm, and design of finite impulse response and infinite impulse response filters.
Prerequisite: ELEN 314

ELEN445 - Digital Speech Analysis, Synthesis and Coding
Digital Speech Analysis, synthesis and coding including word and speaker recognition, speaker verification, voice-response and speech coding for communications.
Prerequisite: ELEN 444

ELEN448 - Real-Time Digital Signal Processing
Features and architectures of digital signal processing chips; assembly language programming; software development tools; real-time implementation of FIR filters, IIR filters, and the FFT algorithms; signal processing project.
Prerequisite: ELEN 444 and familiarity with C programming

ELEN451 - Antenna Engineering
Introduction to antenna theory and design; includes antenna performance parameters, analysis of radiation from sources using Maxwell's equations, theory, and design of wire antennas, arrays and frequency independent antennas; computer methods for antenna design.
Prerequisite: ELEN 322

ELEN455 - Digital Communications
Transmission of signals in digital form over existing communication channels; structure and composition of digital communication networks; baseband transmission of digital signals; modems-analog representation of digital signals; system performance-probability of error calculations; introduction to existing optical communications systems.
Prerequisite: ELEN 456

ELEN456 - Communication Theory
Frequency domain and time domain response of linear systems; analog modulation methods including amplitude modulation, frequency modulation and phase modulation; signal and noise modeling using probabilistic descriptions; narrowband random processes and the performance of analog modulation techniques in the presence of noise; design of communication links.
Prerequisite: ELEN 314

ELEN462 - Optical Communication Systems
Principles of optical communication systems; characteristics of optical fibers, lasers and photodetectors for use in communication systems; design of fiber-optic digital systems and other optical communication systems.
Prerequisite: ELEN 314,322

ELEN485 - Directed Studies
Problems of limited scope approved on an individual basis intended to promote independent study.
Prerequisites: Approval of department head.

ELEN489 - Digital Communications Lab
Selected topics in an identified area of electrical engineering

Back to top