Introduction
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Sharjah has developed a Master of Science program in Computer Engineering that will prepare its graduates to confidently confront the challenges of the information technology revolution and prepare them for highly rewarding careers by providing advanced knowledge and skills. The Department aspires to have well-recognized engineering programs involving excellence in teaching and research.

Program Objectives
The overall objective of the Master of Science in Computer Engineering is to strengthen the academic and professional knowledge of its students. The program is also intended to provide students with depth in their chosen area of focus. The specific objectives of the program are to:

1. Educate graduate students with the advanced knowledge and skills required to solve research oriented technical problems in computer engineering.
2. Provide graduate students with an advanced grasp of theories and the insight required to enhance their professional careers and/or to pursue further higher education and lifelong learning.
3. Fulfill the future needs of the Research and Development (R&D) for various industries and establishments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the region as a whole. 

Promote a sense of leadership with emphasis on scholarship and professional ethics.

Program Structure & Requirements
Program Components

The program requirements for the MSCPE program comprises of 9 credits of basic courses (3 courses) required of all students and 15 credits of elective courses (5 courses) in the following specializations areas of:

• Information and System Security
• Computer Architecture and Embedded Systems
• Computer Applications
• Computer Networks
• Microelectronics and VLSI

So, to be awarded the MSCPE degree, a student has to complete 33 credit hours distributed as given in Table 1.

Table 1 - Program Components

Requirements	Credits
3 Basic Courses	9
5 Elective Courses	15
Thesis	9
Total	33

I. Basic Courses

Table 2 – CPE Portfolio of Basic Courses

Department Requirements - Basic Courses	​	​	​
Course No.	Course Title	Credits	Prerequisite
0402502 / 1502502	Optimization Methods in Engineering	3	Grad Standing
0402500 / 1502500	Applied Mathematics for Engineering	3	Grad Standing
0402501 / 1502501	Engineering  Research Methodologies	3	Grad Standing

 
II. Elective Courses

Table 2 – CPE Portfolio of Elective Courses

Index	Course No.	Course Title	Pre-requisite
1	1502520	Computer Architecture	Grad. Standing
2	1502522	Distributed Systems and Cloud Computing	Grad. Standing
3	1502525	Reconfigurable Computing	Grad. Standing
4	1502529	Special Topics in Computer Architecture	Grad. Standing
5	1502530 0402534	Robust Feedback Control	Grad. Standing
6	1502534 0402535	Neural Networks and Applications	Grad. Standing
7	1502539	Special Topics in Computer Applications	Grad. Standing
8	1502540	Computer Networks	Grad. Standing
9	1502542 0402565	Multimedia Networking and Communications	Grad. Standing
10	1502543	Network Security and Cryptography	Grad. Standing
11	1502544	Computer Networks Design and Performance	0403540
12	1502549	Special Topics in Computer Networks	Grad. Standing
13	1502550 0402554	Integrated Circuit Fundamentals	Grad. Standing
14	1502552	Logic Synthesis of Digital Systems	Grad. Standing
15	1502554 0402551	Analog IC Design	Grad. Standing
16	1502559	Special Topics in Microelectronics and VLSI	Grad. Standing
17	1502575	Independent Studies in Computer Engineering	Grad. Standing
18	0402540	Communication Systems Engineering	Grad. Standing
19	1502630	Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering	Grad. Standing
20	1502631 0402633	Robotics	Grad. Standing
21	1502640 0402643	Mobile Computing	Grad. Standing
22	1502642 0402663	Computer Vision	Grad. Standing

 

Course Description

0402502/1502502	Optimization Methods in Engineering	(3-0:3)
Formulation, solution and implementation of optimization models such as linear programming, dynamic programming, integer programming, quadratic programming, convex programming, geometric programming and unconstrained optimization for analyzing complex systems problems in industry. ​ ​

 

0402500/1502500	Applied Mathematics for Engineering	(3-0:3)
Solution of linear equations. Eigenvalue eigenvector decomposition. Special functions. Complex analysis. Fourier analysis. Laplace transform. Introduction to partial differential equations. Various examples from engineering disciplines. ​ ​

 

0402501 /1502501	Engineering  Research Methodologies	(3-0:3)
Overview of methodological approaches to research; Basics of research design (e.g., hypothesis formulation); The research process: documenting research, sources of information, research funding, creativity and intellectual discovery; Guidelines and a framework for efficient development of research; legal and ethical issues; protecting and exploiting research; Intellectual Property rights; Managing a research project: supervision, planning and organization; problems and pitfalls. ​ ​

 

1502520	Computer Architecture	(3-0:3)
Fundamentals of computer design, Instruction set design principal Pipelining, Instruction-Level Parallelism, Dynamic Scheduling Multi-processor, Thread-level Parallelism, Memory-Hierarchy Design, Virtual memory, Buses, I/O and RAIDs ​ ​

 

1502522	Distributed Systems and Cloud Computing	(3-0:3)
Parallel algorithms, Multi-processing,  Process level multiprocessors, interconnection, and processing elements, Task partitioning & allocation, Inter-process communication, Message passing protocols, Performance evaluation measures, Scalability and maintainability, Proto-types & commercial distributed systems, Cloud Computing & Virtualization concepts, Cloud architecture & Components, Cloud infrastructure, Cloud Services, Cloud Controllers, User interface & Cloud Dashboard, OS images, Cloud Data Storage and Management ​ ​

 

1502529	Special Topics in Computer Architecture	(3-0:3)
Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of computer systems architecture. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered. ​ ​

 
 

1502530	Real-time Embedded Systems	(3-0:3)
The course introduces the architecture of real time embedded systems, design and construction of instruction set of embedded system, selected case study: Design software/hardware of MIPS processor, and the task scheduling algorithms. ​ ​

 

1502525	Reconfigurable Computing	(3-0:3)
The course reviews the main components of the VHDL, introduces the reconfigurable architecture such as FPGAs, explains how to use the IP cores to implement the reconfigurable Computing applications. In addition to reconfigurable case studies. ​ ​

 

1502630	Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering	(3-0:3)
Concepts, design, implementation of computational intelligence involving integration of different methodologies: intelligent database management systems, rule-based systems, neural-type systems and fuzzy systems for heuristic problem solving, diagnostics, risk analysis and decision support; decision trees, reasoning techniques. ​ ​

 

1502631	Robotics	(3-0:3)
Methods for designing and operating robotics systems for advanced automation, on-line identification and description of 3-D objects by digitized images, off-line collision-free path planning, on-line collision avoidance traveling using artificial intelligence. ​ ​

 

1502642	Computer Vision	(3-0:3)
Image formation, image representation and display, image processing (smoothing, enhancement, edge detection, filtering), convolution, Gaussian masks, scale, space and edge detection, Feature extraction, Hough transforms, stereoscopic vision and perspective projection, motion, active contour models. ​ ​

 

1502543	Network Security and Cryptography	(3-0:3)
Theory and practice of cryptographic techniques used in computer security. Topics include Encryption (secret-key and public-key), Digital signatures, Secure authentication, Electronic commerce, Key management, Cryptographic hashing, Internet voting systems, Zero knowledge protocols. ​ ​

 

1502539	Special Topics in Computer Applications	(3-0:3)
Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of Computer Applications. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered. ​ ​

 

1502540	Computer Networks	(3-0:3)
Network technologies, Packet switching, Cell switching, Switching and routing, Packet switch architectures, Internet routers, Network interface, Protocol processing, Network control, Traffic management, Congestion control. ​ ​

 

1502542	Multimedia Networking and Communications	(3-0:3)
Multimedia applications and requirements, Multimedia traffic generations and characterization, Audio compression, Image and video compression standards, Advances in networking technologies and protocols for multimedia applications, LAN technologies, Broad-band services, Integrated service in the Internet, Audio-video conferencing standards, Data conferencing standards, Real-time streaming protocols. ​ ​

 

1502544	Computer Networks Design and Performance	(3-0:3)
Queuing models, Applications to the design and analysis of computer networks and data switches, Traffic/resource management, Distributed routing protocols and shortest path routing, High-performance routing, Connectivity, Reliability. ​ ​

 

1502549	Special Topics in Computer Networks	(3-0:3)
This course covers emerging and advanced topics in computer networks. The contents will vary depending on the topic. ​ ​

 

0402540	Communication Systems Engineering	(3-0:3)
Representation of signals. Spectral density and autocorrelation. PAM and PCM systems. Detection of binary and M-ary signals in Gaussian noise. Matched filter and correlator receivers. Pulse shaping. Band pass modulation and demodulation techniques. Error performance for binary and M-ary systems. Spectral analysis of digital signals. Communication link analysis. ​ ​

 

1502640	Mobile Computing	(3-0:3)
The course discusses the convergence of wide-area wireless networking and mobile telephony to support ubiquitous access to information, anywhere, anyplace, and anytime. Topics include Mobile-IP, Ad-hoc networks, Local connectivity, 3G- wireless networks, Approaches to building mobile applications (e.g., mobile client/server, thin client, proxy architectures, and disconnected operation) and mobile e-commerce. ​ ​

 

1502550	Integrated Circuit Fundamentals	(3-0:3)
Basic integrated circuit design & process technology, Design of simple analog & digital IC components in Bipolar & MOS technology. Modeling & simulation of integrated circuits, SPICE simulation, Fundamentals of Photo-lithography, Basic integrated circuit layout techniques, Applications & types of IC chips. ​ ​

 

0402551	Analog IC Design	(3-0:3)
The course serves as an advanced course for electronics students in analog integrated circuits (IC) design. The course will focus on conventional and modern analog building blocks for analog signal processing in BJT and MOS technology both in continuous time and discrete time applications. The course include analog multipliers, the op-amp applications in active filters, op-amp non-idealities, Nonlinearity cancellation of the MOS transistors, MOS-C Continuous time filters, Switched-C Circuits, and High frequency analog blocks ( ex: Current Conveyors and current feedback amplifiers). ​ ​

 

1502552	Logic Synthesis of Digital Systems	(3-0:3)
Detailed study of various problems pertaining to the logic-level synthesis of VLSI circuits and systems, including: two-level Boolean network optimization, multi-level Boolean network optimization, technology mapping for library-based designs and field-programmable gate-array (FPGA) designs, and state-assignment and re-timing for sequential circuits. The course will also cover various representations of Boolean functions, such as binary decision diagrams (BDDs), and discuss their applications in logic synthesis. ​ ​

 

1502559	Special Topics in Microelectronics and VLSI	(3-0:3)
Advanced and emerging topics are selected from the area of Microelectronics and VLSI. Contents of the course will be provided one semester before it is offered. ​ ​

 

1502575	Independent Studies in Computer Engineering	(3-0:3)
The student is expected to carry out an independent study on a current issue in a selected area of Computer Engineering. This study is to be supervised by a faculty member and requires the approval of the department. The student is required to produce a formal report, which will be evaluated by his instructor. ​ ​

 

1502590	Graduate Seminar
Students are required to attend seminars given by faculty members, visitors, and fellow graduate students. Each student is also required to present a seminar outlying the research topic of the master thesis. ​

 

1502599

Master Thesis

The student has to undertake and complete research topic under the supervision of a faculty member. The thesis work should provide the student with an in-depth understanding of a research problem in computer engineering. It is expected that the student, under the guidance of the supervisor, will be able to conduct research somewhat independently, and may also be able to provide solution to that problem. ​

 


Special Admission Requirements
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