Ms In Photonics Recrafting A Curriculum

The Master of Science in Photonics has been created as a new graduate offering in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. This degree program has evolved slowly; a core of courses in the late 1980’s initially presented advanced electrical engineering topics like fiber optic communications and lasers. A university commitment to building a Photonics Center, and NSF Combined Research and Curriculum Development support allowed creation of a modern teaching laboratory, curriculum design, and growth in faculty and students. The new MS program follows the structure of our existing MSEE and MSCE degrees, and requires little additional university investment. Specific course offerings will be described, along with their laboratory components and the set-up of the Photonics Instructional Laboratory. Curricular overlap with senior electives and with graduate students from other disciplines will also be presented. Connections for research and entrepreneurship in photonics have been created, allowing students to undertake MS thesis work, MS projects, or prepare for Ph.D. level study. Recent connections to distance learning will be described. This paper also will describe the administrative issues that arose within the department, as a new degree grew from existing offerings, and within the wider university, as our new degree proposal was assessed and reviewed. Some of these lessons should help readers considering new specialized degree programs in their own colleges.