Program Overview

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It’s hard to imagine a world without mobile networks, the internet, radio, or audio-visual appliances. Bringing together knowledge from both electrical engineering and computer science, communications engineers drive these communications systems which are so fundamental to the modern world; we can now easily make international calls, Skype our friends, and even communicate with satellites orbiting the planet. How could you influence what happens next? You study a wide range of topics in communications, including:

• Radio frequency circuits and systems
• The transmission of digital signals over analogue links
• The transfer of audio-visual information

Our School is a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development. Today’s communications engineers are creative people who are focused and committed, yet restless and experimental. We are home to many of the world’s top engineers, and our work is driven by creativity and imagination as well as technical excellence. You also cover traditional topics in electronics, including signal processing, circuit design, processors and software. You graduate prepared to move into relevant roles across almost every industry. Programming at Essex Teaching someone to programme is about opening a door. In your first year at Essex you will study a module that introduces you to programming using Python. We assess your ability to think in a programmatic way in the very first week of term and if you require additional support, we offer classes which will boost your skills and confidence with programming.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Why we're great.

• We are home to many of the world's top scientists and engineers in their field.
• Become part of the next generation of industry professionals and academic researchers to help drive the economy, and push the frontiers of knowledge.
• We are ranked 6th in the UK for research power in computer science (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

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Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

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Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement with an external organisation, as part of one of our placement year degrees . The learning outcomes associated with this programme focus on using the specialist technical skills acquired in the first two years of the course and developing communications skills with customers. Students are provided with support to secure a placement. Recent placements undertaken by our students have been with ARM, Microsoft, Intel, Nestlé, British Aerospace, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, as well a range of SME software and hardware companies.

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Our expert staff

We have been one of the leading electronics departments in the country throughout our history, and in recent years, our prolific research staff have contributed to some major breakthroughs. We invented the world's first telephone based system for deaf people to communicate with each other in 1981, with cameras and display devices that were able to work within the limited telephone bandwidth. Our academics have also invented a streamlined protocol system for worldwide high speed optical communications.

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Specialist facilities

• We have six laboratories that are exclusively for computer science and electronic engineering students. Three are open 24/7, and you have free access to the labs except when there is a scheduled practical class in progress
• Students have access to CAD tools and simulators for chip design (Xilinx) and computer networks (OMNet++)
• Software includes Java, Prolog, C++, Perl, Mysql, Matlab, DB2, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Project
• All computers are dual boot Windows 10 and Linux. Apple Mac Computers are dual boot MacOS and Windows 10
• We also have specialist facilities for research into areas including non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, intelligent environments, robotics, optoelectronics, video, RF and MW, printed circuit milling, and semiconductors.

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Your future

Demand for electronics and communications engineers is high; the IT and engineering sectors are growing at a rate that outstrips the supply of fresh talent. The profession offers a range of careers from design and development to marketing, management, production engineering and applications engineering. Graduates also find employment in other disciplines because of the highly numerate nature of the subject. Our department has a large pool of external contacts, ranging from companies providing robots for the media industry, through vehicle diagnostics, to electronic system design and circuit design and manufacture, who work with us and our students to provide advice, placements and eventually graduate opportunities. Read more about computer science and electronic engineering career destinations here. Many of our graduates have gone on to work with BT, whose research centre is located just 30 minutes from the Colchester campus. Other recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• National Instruments
• Circad Design Ltd
• McLaren Formula One Team
• B&W Group
• IBM
• Visa
• Google

We also work with our University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. “As an international student, I found it very easy to adjust to the new lifestyle as everyone is very friendly and helpful. My Masters degree has provided me with a very strong platform for career development, opening new research horizons and pathways that will help me achieve my goals.” Naveed Syed, MSc Telecommunications and Information Systems