Computer Networks Graduate Degree Program
Drive the future of connectivity & revolutionize the world through smart devices
What makes this program different?
Offering advanced training in communications networking, TMU’s computer networks graduate program empowers students to influence and lead the evolution of new technologies like software-defined networking (SDN), network security, virtualization and cloud computing.
Degree
MASc, MEng
Program
Computer Networks
Fee range
Domestic: $10,584 - $11,834
Options
12 or 15 m FT, 24 m PT
Sophisticated state-of-the art facilities
Our students gain invaluable technical experience using industry-grade equipment, and develop skills that can be immediately applied to industry or research.
Learn and be mentored by renowned faculty researchers & experts
Learn from cross-disciplinary experts in networking, computer science, and electrical and computer engineering.
Research and professional development options
Pursue a career in academic or industrial research through our MASc (Master of Applied Science), or elevate your expertise through our course-based MEng with a major project.
Fund your studies and business ideas
Explore scholarships, awards, and more opportunities to finance your studies.
If you have an innovative idea or startup, you may also qualify for Esch Award funding, or engage with the DMZ, an incubator for tech startups.
Explore your journey
MASc
Ideal for engineers, computer scientists or mathematicians with an undergraduate degree who wish to work in research and development environments.
MEng
Ideal for professionals with a background in engineering, computer or math who want a course-based path of study and to pursue a practical career in the computer networks industry.
Grade requirements:
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Application requirements:
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Graduate courses in computer networks provide students with hands-on experiential learning through lab-based exercises and projects. From foundational courses in LAN and WAN switching, through network security or cloud computer, students in both the research-intensive or course-based streams benefit from full-scale equipment, the latest technology and faculty with the right combination of expertise to prepare them for exciting careers.
Visit the graduate calendar for full course descriptions and see which courses are offered this academic year.
Students in Computer Networks program learn from fundamental networking concepts and protocols, to advanced topics in cloud computing, network security, and virtualization technologies and more. It is a unique and selective program focusing on hands-on experiential learning through lab-based exercises and projects along with rigorous curriculum including design, analytical and evaluation tools. Our instructors are academics and industry experts in their fields, delivering innovative and quality learning with emphasis on practical knowledge. Students will graduate with in-depth, specialized and transferable skills and experience in an ever-growing field with limitless employment opportunities.
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Grade requirements: If a course mark is less than B- (2.67/4.33 or 70%) for both MASc and MEng, and less than B - (2.67/4.33 or 70%) you must repeat the course or alternate with another. Failure to maintain an acceptable academic standing could result in your being asked to withdraw from the program. Failure in more than one course will be considered grounds for dismissal.
Enrich your learning through research, labs & community
TMU’s computer networks courses take full advantage, supplementing theory with experiential learning through extensive hands-on lab exercises.
The program’s production-grade private data center and private cloud environment, CN cloud, boast an aggregate capacity of 11 terabytes (TB) of memory, 570 virtual central processing units (vCPUs) and more than 300 TB storage with 80 gigabit per second (Gbps) core capacity. Students can access CN cloud from anywhere at any time for conducting labs and projects.. In addition, a dedicated research cloud, RC4, hosts VMs for research purposes. Its infrastructure includes DellM1000e chassis and Dell PowerEdge m620 blade servers.
Additionally, physical point-of-delivery modules, or PODs, can be booked for students to practice routing and switching, voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP), security, server networks, storage networks and wireless networks on real-time devices. Learn more about labs specific to this program below.
Through this facility, students gain hands-on experience with local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) routing and switching technologies. The lab covers ethernet LAN switching, virtual LAN (VLAN), trunking, multicasting, Layer 2 virtual private networks (VPNs) and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), with additional focus on pseudowires and virtual private LAN service. Students also examine Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) within a cloud-based software-defined networking environment.
In routing, you’ll explore network design, routing techniques and end-to-end communication setup. It also includes intra-domain routing protocols, route redistribution, 6to4 tunneling and multicasting. The design and implementation of large-scale networks encompasses border gateway protocol (BGP) for inter-domain routing and applications of MPLS on VPNs. The lab includes Cisco and Juniper routers, Cisco Catalyst switches, and Juniper EX 3200 switches.
This lab is a hardware and software facility for hands-on experience with quality of service (QoS) techniques in voice and video, the lab exposes students to IP collaboration signalling protocols – including H. 323, session initiation protocol (SIP), media gateway control protocol (MGCP) and skinny client control protocol (SCCP) – and data protocols, such as real‐time transport protocol (RTP). SIP infrastructure is implemented using IP-PBX (SIP server), and end clients (SIP clients) are configured. Additionally, extensions and call routing are configured to enable live calls. The lab includes IP Phones 7940/7960/7970, Cisco switches, and Cisco Unified Communications Managers.
The Wireless Lab is home to long-term evolution (LTE) and Wi-Fi networks for research and training. The lab utilizes Cisco AP350 Wi-Fi access points (APs), Cisco wireless LAN controller (WLC) and lightweight access point (LWAP) technologies with internal and external authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) servers.
The LTE lab setup is implemented with Huawei eCNS EPC core node network and DBS3900 E-UTRAN radio network. The core node elements, such as S-GW, MME, PCRF, P-GW and HSS, are installed in eCNS. Meanwhile, a radio access network (RAN) consisting of two cells is created with DBS3900 eNBs, connecting to baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs). Two LTE UEs and Cisco 891 4G LTE integrated service routers (ISRs) are LTE clients.
The Network Security Lab provides hands-on experience with firewall appliances, including Cisco ASA, FortiGate, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager and Palo Alto, as well as access to Google Cloud for cloud security experiments. Students will also configure network address translation, port address translation and secure tunneling protocols, such as IPsec over GRE.
In the Cloud Computing Lab, students design and deploy cloud infrastructure from the ground up using VMware and OpenStack platforms. This encompasses virtualization technologies at the computer (bare-metal and OS), storage and network levels. Students work with MDS storage, N5K and N7K data center switching appliances, and Cisco UCSM server networks for building storage area network (SAN) and data center environments. The experiments conducted in the lab also cover operations and management of public cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure and GCP.
Whether you’re looking to join a student group, advocate for your peers in student government, challenge yourself and others at our graduate symposium, or just looking for support, we encourage you to make the best of your experience at TMU.
What can you do with this degree?
Career possibilities
Computer networks graduates emerge with an unparalleled understanding of the past, present and future of computer networking, and the ability to help shape that future in an ever-evolving, exciting field that’s growing each day. Many pursue careers as system engineers, cybersecurity analysts, cloud architects, network consultants, devops engineers and more, and play critical roles in almost every company and industry in our technologically-reliant world.
Possible employers:
- Cisco
- Fortinet
- NetBrains
- Telus
- AT&T
- Bell Mobility
- Shopify
- Rogers
- And more …
Ricky L. Tsui
Director SP & GTM Acceleration - Catalyst WAN Product & Marketing at Cisco
“Computer networks provided me with the fundamental engineering skills to land my first job at AT&T, but what really elevated my career was the creative problem-solving skills I learned through practical labs. The program simulated real-world scenarios and rewarded out-of-the-box thinking in a team environment.”
Computer Networks ’06
Maryam Rezaei
Senior Network Automation DevOps Engineer at TELUS
“My time in Computer Networks program at TMU was instrumental in launching my career. The program kept me up-to-date with essential technologies and industry practices, and the skills I gained helped me land an incredible opportunity with TELUS as a Network Automation DevOps Engineer right after graduation. I’m deeply grateful for the strong foundation and the invaluable relationships I built at TMU, both of which continue to shape my professional journey”
Computer Networks ’17
Waqas Siddiqui
Director, Network Engineering at CentriLogic
“The unique design of the program’s labs has transformed my thinking and taught me the art of research and troubleshooting. The hands-on experience has enabled me to work independently, find creative solutions to complex problems and advance my career.”
Computer Networks ’05
With numerous scholarships and awards available for graduate students, particular to each person’s circumstance, we are helping students meet the financial demands of higher education. There are a number of scholarships and awards available specifically for graduate students in the computer networks programs including:
Academic Performance Award ($2000)
Each year, awards are allocated to the master of engineering students with the top-ranked GPAs within FEAS. Awards are granted at the end of the academic year.
TMU Graduate Development Award (TMGDA)
This non-merit-based award provided to eligible MASc students has no maximum value and is tenable for one year but may be renewed for subsequent years at the program’s discretion. There is no deadline, as all eligible students applying to graduate programs at TMU will be considered for the TMGDA. For more information, visit the TMGDA page.
TMU Graduate Fellowship (RGF) ($4,000 to $12,000)
Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to full-time MASc students. All eligible students applying to graduate programs at TMU will automatically be considered for the RGF. For more information, visit the TMU Graduate Fellowships page.