Spectrum Engineering Graduate Certificate

Project Overview:

The College of Engineering and the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (ECEE) propose a Spectrum Graduate Certificate on the Coursera platform. This certificate will follow the protocols of the currently approved degree programs on Coursera in Data Science (MS-DS), Engineering Management (ME-EM), and Electrical Engineering (MS-EE). The certificate will be stackable, and the credits can be applied to the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MS-EE) degree on Coursera.

  • Access to mobile communications is essential to thrive in a modern society....a fundamental right
  • By 2025 >97% Internet connections will be wireless
  • Broadband/mobile comms direct GNP relationship (all countries)
  • Radars are critical to national defense, civilian aviation, and (increasingly) cars
  • Earth observation satellites monitor weather, agriculture, pollution, fires, ...
  • Radio Astronomy requires passive sensing of the spectrum for evolution of the universe scientific research
  • New services and applications are driving demand for RF spectrum - e.g., streaming media, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile AR/VR

  • No spectrum available for new services
  • Spectrum sharing is increasingly required to meet demand
  • Increasingly higher frequenceies are being exploited
  • Need to provide RF spectrum access to existing (incumbent) services
  • It is a national strategic imperative to enable professional workforce development in Spectrum Engineering
  • Spectrum science (e.g., electromagnetics (EM), RF propagation measurement/modeling, ...)
  • RF engineering (e.g., devices, antennas, ...)
  • Computer science (e.g., software engineering, data structures and algorithms, HPC)
  • Applied mathematics (e.g., optimization, approximation, computational mathematics)
  • Data analytics (e.g., analysis and optimization, graphics, ...)
  • Economics of spectrum (e.g., incentives, economic effects, ...)
  • Policy and regulatory issues (e.g., spectrum sharing regimes, enforcement, ...)
  • NIST and NTIA have both identified difficulties in recruiting talent
  • NSF issued (May 2022) a Dear Colleague Letter addressing workforce development:
    • “...a critical need to train a future workforce with proficiency in the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that enable further development of the electromagnetic spectrum as a resource (hereafter, "spectrum STEM"). This workforce must also have an awareness of interconnected spectrum-related technical, policy, regulatory, management, economic, and application issues needed to make effective decisions in abroad range of occupations.â€Â 
  • The Department of Defense (DoD) has budgeted $2.5B to the National Spectrum Consortium for the development of 5G with a mandate to accelerate the development, adoption and deployment of next-generation technologies
  • The ITU has composed similar professional development resources
  • The curriculum in the proposed Spectrum Engineering Graduate Certificate provides learners with a strong foundation in Signal Fundamentals, Spectrum Engineering Fundamentals, types of Spectrum Dependent Systems, Spectrum Management and Policy, and the value of the resources via Spectrum Economics.

Spectrum engineering credentials provided by the proposed Spectrum Graduate Certificate will increase a student’s employability, whether they are current graduate students pursuing the full Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree on Coursera or are a non-master’s professional looking to strengthen their resume. Graduates of the certificate will be well-prepared to apply engineering, management and policy, and economics analysis to the unique problems in the national and international spectrum domains, to communicate effectively with a non-technical audience; structure effective meetings and projects using collaboration skills; and act ethically in the role of professional spectrum engineer. 

As a result of completing the SPECTRUM certificate, learners will be able to: 

  • Understand the importance of spectrum as a resource.
  • Engineering I: Be able to identify all common spectrum services managed nationally and internationally.
  • Engineering II: Understand how spectrum dependent systems – both active and passive – access and utilize the spectrum.
  • Identify the organizations that manage policy and how they do it.
  • Explain how economists think, communicate, and solve problems, and then apply to spectrum economics and policy.
  • Be able to assess the economics and policy and understand tradeoffs for the spectrum market which is spectrum allocation on a regional basis and understand market failure - how does one decide how to allocate spectrum as a resource?
  • Have a big picture understanding, including complex national and international issues.
  • Clearly communicate the importance and primary characteristics of spectrum to a non-technical audience.

Students generally begin the program at the start of a typical academic year. We anticipate students can complete the program in 3 semesters, including a summer session. A typical course plan is outlined below:

Semester 1 (FA): 3-6 CR

  • Introduction to Spectrum Systems Specialization, ECEA 5453-5455, (3 CR)
  • Spectrum Engineering Fundamentals Specialization, ECEA 5450-5452 (3 CR)

Semester 2 (SP): 6 CR

  • Spectrum Systems and Applications Specialization, ECEA 5456-5458 (3 CR)
  • Spectrum Management and Policy Specialization, ECEA 5459-5461 (3 CR)
  • Economics for Telecom Managers Specialization, ECEA 5462-5464 (3 CR)

The proposed Spectrum Engineering Graduate Certificate will appeal to individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, RF engineering, applied mathematics, data analytics, economics, policy, and regulatory issues, including: 

  • Individuals looking to gain spectrum engineering skills to advance their careers.
  • Individuals looking to strengthen their organization’s decision making.
  • Individuals looking for flexible and convenient learning opportunities that fit into their busy professional and personal lives.
  • Individuals looking for practical skills that they can apply immediately.

Consisting of four 3-credit hour courses from the MS-EE on Coursera master’s degree program, the Spectrum Engineering Graduate Certificate is an affordable way for learners to gain new skills and earn an industry-recognized credential. The Spectrum Engineering Certificate is a valuable credential on its own while also preparing students for future graduate study. It can be stacked toward the full MS-EE degree.

Spectrum engineering skills are in high demand: Government and industry lack a pipeline of spectrum engineers. 

NIST and NTIA have both identified difficulties in recruiting talent. NSF issued (May 2022) a Dear Colleague Letter addressing workforce development “...a critical need to train a future workforce with proficiency in the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that enable further development of the electromagnetic spectrum as a resource (hereafter, "spectrum STEM"). This workforce must also be aware of interconnected spectrum-related technical, policy, regulatory, management, economic, and application issues needed to make effective decisions in a range of occupations abroad.â€Â 

The Department of Defense (DoD) has budgeted $2.5B to the National Spectrum Consortium to develop 5G with a mandate to accelerate the development, adoption, and deployment of next-generation technologies. The ITU has composed similar professional development resources.

For Further Contact:

Contact Dr. Kevin Gifford at kevin.gifford@colorado.edu.