Master of Science (Information Technology)

Program Introduction

Duration of Study

The normal duration of this program is 2 years,and the maximum duration is 3 years.
Teaching Approach

Face-to-face Teaching
Teaching Language

Chinese/English
Academic Field

Information Technology
Course Introduction
This program is designed for students to pursue their studies in the areas of information technology and computer science after receiving their first degree. The program puts emphasis on both theoretical and technical aspects. Students will be prepared for the positions for IT related R & D in enterprises, government organizations, or academic institutes and schools.
The objective of this postgraduate program is designed to:
1. Enhance students understanding of information technology theories;
2. Broaden students’ scope of professional knowledge;
3. Introduce to students the latest developments and research areas of information technology; and Supervise students in the writing of a successful thesis based on theories and practice.
Students may select their academic concentrations based on their research interest and their supervisors' areas of research. There are three majors in this program:
Computer and Information Systems
This major provides students with the training in the area of computer and information systems. Students are expected to acquire an in-depth understanding of computer architecture, principles of software engineering, database systems, and network and information security. This major will solidate their foundation for conducting research in computer and information systems.
Communication Engineering
This major provides students with the training in the area of communication engineering. Students are expected to acquire an in-depth understanding of modern communication systems, especially mobile communication systems, and design and analysis of communication systems. This major will solidate their foundation for conducting research in communication engineering.
Space Information Technology
Space information technology is a multidisciplinary major of information technology and space science. This major provides students with the training in the area of space information technology. Students are expected to acquire an in-depth understanding of methods for analyzing of space science data, and remote sensing.This major will solidate their foundation for conducting research in space information technology.

Study Plan

Admission Requirements

Hold a bachelor's degree in IT or related fields. (Applicants with color blindness are rejected)

(Applicants must submit proof of English proficiency)

Research Area

Computer and Information Systems, Communication Engineering, Space Information Technology

Table 1: Core Courses (9 Credits)

Course Code	Course Title	Type	Credit
MIIZ41	Literature Reading and Seminars	Compulsory	3
MIIZ42	Research Methods in Information Technology	Compulsory	3
MIIZ43	Analysis and Design of Algorithms	Compulsory	3

Table 2: Major Courses (Totally 24 credits, students must earn 15 credits from the major core courses and 9 credits selected from the elective courses)

(The University has the ultimate right to decide which course or whether the course will be opened for all elective subjects.)

Computer and Information Systems

Course Code	Course Title	Type	Credit
MIIZ11	Software Engineering	Compulsory	3
MIIZ12	Telecommunication Networks	Compulsory	3
MIIZ13	Computer Architecture	Compulsory	3
MIIZ14	Database Systems	Compulsory	3
MIIZ15	Cryptography and Information Security	Compulsory	3
MIIE01	Advanced Topics in Information Technology	Elective	3
MIIE02	Digital Image Processing	Elective	3
MIIE11	Distributed Systems	Elective	3
MIIE12	Network Programming	Elective	3
MIIZ22	Wireless and Mobile Networks	Elective	3
MIIE13	Data Warehouse and Data Mining	Elective	3
MIIE14	Computer Graphics and Visualization Technology	Elective	3
MIIE15	Security Management in Information Systems	Elective	3
MIIE16	Information Service Management	Elective	3

Communication Engineering

Course Code	Course Title	Type	Credit
MIIZ21	Mobile Communications	Compulsory	3
MIIZ22	Wireless and Mobile Networks	Compulsory	3
MIIZ23	Digital Signal Processing	Compulsory	3
MIIZ24	Digital Communication Systems	Compulsory	3
MIIZ12	Telecommunication Networks	Compulsory	3
MIIE01	Advanced Topics in Information Technology	Elective	3
MIIE02	Digital Image Processing	Elective	3
MIIE11	Distributed Systems	Elective	3
MIIE12	Network Programming	Elective	3
MIIZ15	Cryptography and Information Security	Elective	3
MIIE21	Multimedia Signals and Systems	Elective	3
MIIE22	Information Theory	Elective	3
MIIE23	Telecommunications Systems Management	Elective	3
MIIE24	Stochastic Processes	Elective	3

Space Information Technology

Course Code	Course Title	Type	Credit
MIIZ23	Digital Signal Processing	Compulsory	3
MIIZ24	Digital Communication Systems	Compulsory	3
MIIZ14	Database Systems	Compulsory	3
MIIZ31	Planetary Sciences	Compulsory	3
MIIZ32	Introduction to Remote Sensing Technology	Compulsory	3
MIIE01	Advanced Topics in Information Technology	Elective	3
MIIE02	Digital Image Processing	Elective	3
MIIE13	Data Warehouse and Data Mining	Elective	3
MIIE14	Computer Graphics and Visualization Technology	Elective	3
MIIE31	Space Plasma Physics	Elective	3
MIIE32	Numerical Simulations in Space Science	Elective	3
MIIE33	Celestial Mechanics	Elective	3

Table 3: Thesis

Course Code	Course Title	Type
MIIZT1	Thesis	Compulsory

Course Description

Literature Reading and Seminars (3 credits)

This course is designed for graduate students to broaden the knowledge and to understand the development trends in Information Technology. This is a necessary preparation for master thesis. Students need to read certain literatures and attend some seminars in this course, and their achievement will be evaluated by the supervisors.

Research Methods in Information Technology (3 credits)

This course will cover the research methods in information technology and skills for writing research papers. It will also review some mathematical topics in discrete mathematics, calculus, linear algebra, probability, and numerical analysis.

Analysis and Design of Algorithms (3 credits)

To design algorithms and give its complexity analysis is the core of computer science. The contents of this course mainly include: dynamic programming, greedy methods, divide and conquer, searching techniques, parallel algorithm, searching and sorting, and NP theory.

Major Courses

Computer and Information Systems

Software Engineering (3 credits)

This course is designed to introduce the state of the art of the methods for the software development and management as well as the software quality insurance. The main topics covered include: planning and management method of software systems, requirement analysis for software system, advanced technology for software design, programming methodology, testing and maintenance techniques for software, evaluation criteria of software quality, software tools, and software development environment.

Telecommunication Networks (3 credits)

This objective of this course is to introduce fundamental concepts and protocols of broadband networking. It will cover architectural and protocol concepts for integrating telephony (voice), Internet (data), cable (video), and wireless networks’ traffic into a scalable, high-speed optical networking infrastructure, and discuss the advanced topics on networking.

Computer Architecture (3 credits)

This course aims at the introductions of various techniques to enhance the performance of computer systems, the required EDA tools and the methods and tools for system debugging.

Database Systems (3 credits)

The course aims to provide a foundation in understanding of database design principles, implementation and management. Upon completion, students should be able to identify and execute the steps involved in the design of a database, implement the design via a relational database management system, maintain the goal of data sharing and consistency of database systems.

Cryptography and Information Security (3 credits)

Data security is of extreme importance in the network and information based society. Cryptography is an effective technology for keeping security. The main topics covered include: block cryptography, public key cryptography, stream cryptography, digital signature, personal identification, and verification techniques.

Advanced Topics in Information Technology (3 credits)

This course aims at the introduction of the state-of-art technology in information technology area, including new technology, new development methods, new tools and products etc. this course is organized as seminars on special topics. The contents can be updated in each year.

Digital Image Processing (3 credits)

This course will give lectures to introduce the principle, technique and application of digital image processing and pattern recognition, including digital image preprocessing, feature extracting and analysis; statistical pattern recognition and structural pattern recognition and their application in different areas. Students will be asked to select some special topics in the PRIP area based on the contents they have learnt from the course, search and read related papers, and then give a survey report on the topics selected.

Distributed Systems (3 credits)

The course will introduce the principles of distributed system. The main topics covered include: definition, goals and hardware of distributed system, Internet, Web and middle-ware, client-server model, distributed communication, process, synchronization, security, fault systems and tolerance, distributed object-based systems, and distributed file systems, etc.

Network Programming (3 credits)

This course will help students to construct a clear image of network programming and support them to develop network-based application more smoothly. Main topics covered include: OSI network model, socket, some commonly used protocols, non-blocking I/O, P2P and compression.

Wireless and Mobile Networks (3 credits)

This course will introduce the state-of-art technology in wireless and mobile networks, including wireless transmission technology, wireless PAN/LAN/MAN/WAN, Mobile IP, ad hoc networks, sensor networks, wireless mesh networks. This course will provide fundamental knowledge of wireless and mobile networks to students.

Data Warehouse and Data Mining (3 credits)

This course will introduce the principle, technique and application of Data warehouse and Data Mining, including Data Warehousing and On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP), data Preprocessing techniques (data cleaning, integration, transformation and reduction), Data Mining techniques (Data classification, prediction, correlation and clustering), their application and developing trends.

Computer Graphics and Visualization Technology (3 credits)

This course focuses on the 3D Computer Graphics including Representation and modeling of 3D objects; viewing pipeline for 3D objects; techniques for visible surface detection; illumination models; ray-tracing and radiosity methods; texture mapping techniques; real-time rendering techniques for photo-realism images; introduction to virtual reality.

Security Management in Information Systems (3 credits)

This subject will consider the security measures in place to protect a modern information system from attack both internally and externally. It will discuss the following methods: network arrangement for security, firewalls, trip-wire technology, virtual private network, encryption standards, encryption techniques, public key encryption, advanced encryption standard. Moreover it will consider ways in which a system could be under attack, e.g., spams, distributed denial of service attack. Furthermore, it will consider security policies, and their audit in modern enterprises.

Information Service Management (3 credits)

This subject seeks to introduce students to the idea of service as a science, in which service quality can be measured using various metrics. Then, students will be introduced to ideas of how to manage the performance of service science to a particular standard of performance measures.

Communication Engineering

Mobile Communications (3 credits)

This course will introduce the architecture, channel characteristics, modulation and coding, line access technology, anti-fading and anti-interference technology of mobile communication systems as well as the new applications in mobile communications.

Wireless and Mobile Networks (3 credits)

Digital Signal Processing (3 credits)

The objective of the course is to train students understanding the principle of digital signal processing. The course covers basic signal and system concepts; analysis of time domain, frequency domain, complex frequency domain, and z-domain of signals and systems; Fourier transform and its properties, sampling theorem, Laplace transform, Z-transform and its use in the analysis of discrete-time signal and systems.

Digital Communication Systems (3 credits)

This course will introduce the architecture, classification, communication methods, major performance indicators of the digital communication systems, including digital baseline transmission systems, digital frequency band transmission systems, multiplexing technology.

Telecommunication Networks (3 credits)

Advanced Topics in Information Technology (3 credits)

Digital Image Processing (3 credits)

Distributed Systems (3 credits)

Network Programming (3 credits)

Cryptography and Information Security (3 credits)

Multimedia Signals and Systems (3 credits)

This subject intends to introduce students to the notion of multimedia signals and their processing techniques. There are various methods for representing a multimedia signal, e.g., time domain, frequency domain, time-frequency domain, and eigen-domain. Such representations will be used to characterize multimedia signals. Moreover, filter designs for multimedia signals will be considered. Some adaptive processing techniques, e.g., hidden Markov models, random field models, state space models will be considered for modeling multimedia signals.

Information Theory (3 credits)

This course will introduce errors probability and decoding rules, relationships of coding methods. Students are required to master two typical decoding methods: Hamming distance and minimum distance and several simple error detection and correction coding methods.

Telecommunications Systems Management (3 credits)

This subject will consider aspects of telecommunication system management. Primary the main concern would be the management of the performance of the telecommunication systems, as a function of the transmission medium, the performance of protocols in the system, the interaction of the performance of the systems with different layers of the standard hierarchy of seven layers, and the tuning of parameters in different layers to optimize performance. Moreover, there will be some discussions on the regulation aspects by CCITT on the operation of telecommunication systems.

Stochastic Processes (3 credits)

Stochastic process is to study time-varying random phenomena. This course will introduce the basic theory and applications of stochastic processes from an engineering perspective, including basic concepts of stochastic processes, Possion processes, Markov chains, queuing theory.

Space Information Technology

Digital Signal Processing (3 credits)

Digital Communication Systems (3 credits)

Database Systems (3 credits)

Planetary Science (3 credits)

This course will introduce the origin and structure of the solar system, internal structure of planets, surface geology, creation mechanism of craters, planetary atmospheres and dynamics, structure of planetary rings, asteroids, classification and distribution of comets and dwarf planets.

Introduction to Remote Sensing Technology (3 credits)

This course will introduce the basic principles of remote sensing technology, including the physics of remote sensing, remote sensing image processing, remote sensing in Earth, Lunar, and other planets.

Advanced Topics in Information Technology (3 credits)

This course aims at the introduction of the state-of-art technology in information technology area; including new technology, new development methods, new tools and products etc. this course is organized as seminars on special topics. The contents can be updated in each year.

Digital Image Processing (3 credits)

Data Warehouse and Data Mining (3 credits)

Computer Graphics and Visualization Technology (3 credits)

Space Plasma Physics (3 credits)

This course will introduce space plasma physics, including single particle motion, fluid and kinetic models of plasma, waves in plasma, plasma instability, kinetic theory and nonlinear effects, and basic magneto hydrodynamics.

Numerical Simulations in Space Science (3 credits)

This course will introduce numerical simulations of magneto hydrodynamic, hybrid, and particle-in-cell models as well as their parallel implementations. These models can be used in simulating the solar wind interaction with solar system bodies.

Celestial Mechanics (3 credits)

This course will introduce the basic principles of classical mechanics, two-body problem, three-body problem, n-body problem, resonance, tides, orbital perturbations, and the numerical integration of long-term evolution of orbits.

Degree Requirements

Students are required to complete 8 core courses and 3 elective courses from Table (I.) and (II.) during the first 3 semesters, to gain 33 credits. Students are required to complete an original research master’s thesis and pass the thesis oral defense. Students are required to take the examination for each course through finishing seminar report, experimental report, quiz or open-book/closed book exam.

Learning Time

The duration for taking all courses is 18 months and the duration for thesis writing should not be less than 6 months. In general, classes will be arranged from Monday to Friday night.

Qualifications of Graduation

Upon approval from the Senate of the University, the Master Degree of Science (Information Technology) will be conferred on a student when he or she has: (1) Completed and met the requirements prescribed in the study plan of his or her program within the specific study period, and achieved a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or above (excluding thesis) (2) Abided by the regulations of the University (3) Cleared all fees and charges and returned all University’s property and equipment borrowed If students pass all courses required in Table (I.) and (II.) above with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above, but fail to submit or pass the final thesis oral defense during the specified period, he/she can only get a completion certificate. Note: All curriculums and study plans are based on the newest announcement of the Boletim Oficial da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau. Note: In case of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.

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