Masters Degrees

Students Admitted Fall 2009 and Beyond

• Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 (Grades below a "C" cannot be counted towards the degree). 
• Students MUST complete a degree plan during the first semester in the Program.
• Upon advisor approval, ITP will allow the transfer of course credits from other graduate schools. ITP allows select credit transfers from other Programs, Schools, or Departments within the University of Colorado System.  See Transferring Courses.
• FA-24 Students receive transfer credit for TLEN 5310, 5330, 5430, 5700 and 5710 which may be used towards their degree requirements.

Students Admitted Fall 2004 to Spring 2009

• Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 (Grades below a "C" cannot be counted towards the degree). 
• Students MUST complete a degree plan during the first semester in the Program.
• Upon advisor approval, ITP will allow the transfer of course credits from other graduate schools. ITP allows select credit transfers from other Programs, Schools, or Departments within the University of Colorado System. See Transferring Courses.

The Interdisciplinary Telecommunications and the Engineering Management (EMP) programs are complementary in that the Engineering Management program greatly enhances practical management and business skills for technical professionals, while the Interdisciplinary Telecommunication Program provides particular technical skills and an overarching framework of technology, business, and policy to professionals in telecommunications. Both programs are committed to providing substantial access to their curricula to distance education students. The combined program allows students to apply certain courses against both degrees, reducing the total number of credits required to earn both degrees.

Requirements differ depending on whether the student is first admitted to to ITP or first admitted to EMP.

Primary Program ITP, also Pursuing ME in Engineering Management

A student who is pursuing the MS, Telecommunications degree and wishes to also obtain an ME in Engineering Management, must complete the following additional requirements.

1. Be admitted to the Engineering Management Program (annotating the application with "Joint with ITP").
2. If EMEN 5050/TLEN 5050 (Leadership and Management), EMEN 5900 or EMEN 5825/TLEN 5750 (Research Techniques), and EMEN 5020 (Finance and Accounting for Engineering Managers) have been successfully completed as part of the Telecommunications degree, an additional 15 hours of engineering management course work are required consisting of the following five courses:
   • EMEN 5010 Introduction to Engineering Management
   • EMEN 5030 Project Management Systems or EMEN 5031 Software Project Management
   • EMEN 5040 Quality, Strategy, and Value Creation
   • EMEN 6805 Capstone Preparation and EMEN 6810 Capstone completion
   • An elective Engineering Management course drawn from the remaining EMEN courses.
3. EMEN 5050/TLEN 5050 (Leadership and Management), EMEN 5900/TLEN 5750 (Research Techniques) or EMEN 5825 Entrepreneurial Business Plan Preparation, and EMEN 5020 (Finance and Accounting for Engineering Managers) have to be successfully completed as part of either the Telecommunications or Engineering Management degree programs. If not completed as part of the Telecommunications degree, then they will need to be completed as part of the Engineering Management degree. Hence, the total additional credit hours required for an engineering management degree will range from a minimum of 15 to a maximum of 24 credit hours.
4. No courses may be transferred from other graduate schools or other programs, schools, and departments at the University of Colorado at Boulder, except as approved by the Engineering Management Faculty Director.
5. A minimum GPA of 3.0 with no grades less than a C in ITP courses and a C+ in EMP courses.

Primary Program EMP, also Pursuing MS in Telecommunications

A student who is pursuing the ME, Engineering Management degree and wishes to also obtain a MS, Telecommunications, must complete the following additional requirements.

1. Be admitted to the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (annotating the application with "Joint with EMP").
2. An additional 24 credit hours of course work in total.  Credits accumulated fulfilling requirements (4)-(9) below all count toward this total.
3. TLEN 5300, Telecom Theory and Applications, unless waived by advisor or the student has completed EMEN 5000 Engineering Analysis.  Note that this course does not count towards the 24 credit hour requirement of (2).
4. TLEN 5310 Telecommunication Systems and TLEN 5330 Data Communications 1.
5. A total of at least 12 credit hours of TLEN technology courses, including those taken under requirement (4).
6. At least 3 credit hours of TLEN policy and law courses.
7. At least 3 credit hours of programming courses.
8. At least 1 credit hour of TLEN 5600 Telecommunications Seminar.
9. Either the Capstone or Thesis option.
   • Capstone Option. TLEN 5700 Research Methods (1 credit hour) and TLEN 5710 Capstone 1 (2 credit hours). Students who have taken EMEN 5900 or another research methods course may request to audit TLEN 5700 (which will not count towards the total credit hours required of the dual degree program).
   • Thesis Option. TLEN 5750 or EMEN 5900 Research Techniques or another research methods course approved by the advisor. A combined total of 7 credit hours of research methods and thesis credits.
10. A minimum GPA of 3.0 with no grades less than a C in ITP courses and a C+ in EMP courses.
11. No courses may be transferred from other graduate schools or other programs, schools, and departments at the University of Colorado at Boulder, except as approved by the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program Faculty Director.

The two degrees are awarded simultaneously. Students should consult with the ITP advisor for more information or consult the dual degree's defining document: ITP and EMP Dual Degree Program.

A course of study in which some courses can apply against both the JD and the MS, Telecommunications.

The student is required to be admitted both by ITP and the University of Colorado Law School and to complete all requirements for the MS in Telecommunications degree in addition to all of the requirements for the Juris Doctor. The Law School allows students to count up to twelve credits of TLEN course work towards the JD degree providing each course has a "B" or higher grade. Students must complete their first year in the Law School as a unit (without taking any telecom courses during that year) but this year may be either before or after the student has begun taking telecommunications classes.

A course of study in which some courses can apply against both the MBA and the MS, Telecommunications.

The University of Colorado at Boulder is one of the few universities in the nation to offer a dual degree awarding an MBA and an MS in telecommunications. The Denver/Boulder region provides an ideal location in which to study these two disciplines together, as it is the home to global information leaders such as Qwest Communications and Level 3 Communications.

The student is required to be admitted both by ITP and the Leeds School of Business and to complete all requirements for the MS in Telecommunications degree in addition to all of the requirements for the MBA degree. The Business School allows students to count up to twelve credits of TLEN course work towards the MBA degree. Students must complete their first year in the Business School as a unit (without any telecom courses) before taking the 12 ITP credits that they want to count to their MBA. However, this year can follow the student's having taken other ITP classes towards the MS Telecommunications degree.

For a brief overview of this program, please refer to the MBA/MS Telecommunications information sheet.

A course of study in which some courses can apply against both the BS, Information Management and the MS, Telecommunications.

Students entering this program receive their BS in Information Management from the Leeds School of Business and their MS from the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP) and the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The student is required to be admitted both by ITP and the Leeds School of Business and to fulfill all requirements a BS in Information Management from the Leeds School of Business. Once the student has completed 60 hours in Business School courses, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, he or she may apply to the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Department. The student must fulfill all requirements for the MS in Telecommunications Degree. The following required Business School courses will count towards both degrees:

1. MGMT 4120/5120 Managing Business Processes. This class counts as a programming class in the MS, Telecommunications degree requirements.
2. MGMT 4230/5230 Design of Usable Business Systems. This class counts as an economics or business class in the MS, Telecommunications degree requirements.
3. MGMT 4850 IT-Enabled Competitive Advantage. This class counts as a technology class in the MS, Telecommunications degree requirements.

Note: All ITP students who wish to take MBA classes from the business school must petition the MBA program. Students are expected to have similar qualifications to those they would require for admission to the MBA program. In most cases, students in the BS Information Systems/MS, Telecommunications joint degree program do not yet have these qualifications and so are not eligible to take MBA classes.

Application Supplement Required for Concurrent Degree Seeking Students