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Postgraduate Course

MSc 5G and Emerging Communication Systems

MSc 5G and Emerging Communication Systems
The details
5G and Emerging Communication Systems
October 2025
Full-time
1 year
Colchester Campus

5G and emerging communications systems will be the future of a modern life. 5G is the latest mobile technology that the UK's leading network operators are rolling out across the country, which can connect almost everything in the world with much higher speeds and capacity.

Starting from the concept of a signal, on this course you'll cover the fundamentals of how signals are acquired, processed and transmitted over a wide range of media — electronic, optical and radio. You'll learn how these principles are put into practice and you'll improve your software development skills through lectures, exercises and assignments.

Building on this, we explore a number of state-of-the-art topics in detail, including:

  • Modern digital transmission systems
  • Wireless communication systems
  • Computer security and cryptography
  • Complex electronic circuits
  • Networked systems

Our School is a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development. Today's telecommunications 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.

This course is also available on a part-time basis.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.

Why we're great.
  • Acquire robust software development skills through a number of learning methods
  • Through laboratory work explore the fundamentals of signals – electronic, optical and radio
  • We are ranked 6th in the UK for research power in computer science (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

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.

Our Communications and Networks Research Group (COMNET) specialises in 5G/6G and next generation wireless communication systems. COMNET has a long history of collaborating with other research institutions and industries including almost all the Tier-1 operators in Europe such as British Telecom (BT) and major telecom vendors such as Ericsson. Impactful patents and proposals to standardisation bodies have been generated out of these collaborations.

Specialist facilities

We are one of the largest and best resourced computer science and electronic engineering schools in the UK. Our work is supported by extensive networked computer facilities and software aids, together with a wide range of test and instrumentation equipment.

  • 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
  • All computers run either Windows 10 or are dual boot with Linux
  • Software includes Java, Prolog, C++, Perl, Mysql, Matlab, DB2, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Project
  • Students have access to CAD tools and simulators for chip design (Xilinx) and computer networks (OPNET)
  • 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

Our COMNET research group also encompasses a number of associated research laboratories to support design and development of 5G networks and modern communication systems.

Your future

Our graduates work in major telecommunications companies around the world. Over 25 years we have educated over a thousand communications specialists.

Our recent graduates have progressed to a variety of senior positions in industry and academia. Some of the companies and organisations where our former graduates are now employed include:

  • Elitecore Technologies Ltd
  • Juniper Networks
  • Cisco Systems
  • Incendio Technologies

We also work with the university's Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Read more about computer science and electronic engineering career destinations.

We also offer a range of postgraduate research degrees (such as a PhD) in areas of computer science and electronic engineering, and computational finance.

"Studying at a top university in the UK for computer science will allow me to work with and learn from prominent lecturers in the field of 5G and communication systems. The opportunity to be considered for a Chevening scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime honour that will propel my career to the next level and improve my ability to assist developing countries in providing technological solutions for the betterment of our nations. I firmly believe that, for my country and other developing nations to align with the global pursuit of economic development, we must first focus on addressing and strengthening our technology sector."

Ushindi Matabaro, MSc 5G and Emerging Communication Systems

At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.

Find out more

The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications. The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

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