MSc Communications and Signal Processing with Extended Research

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £17,000 year 1, £8,500 year 2 (£25,500 on offer letter)
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £41,100 year 1, £20,700 year 2 (£61,800 on offer letter)

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding UK and international students each year.

The University of Manchester is committed to widening participation in master's study, and allocates £300,000 in funding each year. Our Manchester Master's Bursaries are aimed at widening access to master's courses by removing barriers to postgraduate education for students from underrepresented groups.

We also welcome the best and brightest international students each year and reward excellence with a number of merit-based scholarships. See our range of master’s scholarships for international students .

And, if you have completed an undergraduate degree at The University of Manchester, or are currently in your final year of an undergraduate degree with us, you may be eligible for a discount of 10% on tuition fees if you choose to study on a taught postgraduate course here. Find out if you're eligible and how to apply .

For more information on master's tuition fees and studying costs, visit the University of Manchester funding for master's courses website to help you plan your finances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT:

Signal Analysis

Fourier transform and its properties. Autocorrelation and power spectrum. Sampling of low-pass and band-pass signals. Applications to the analysis and simulations of band-pass communication systems.

Probability and Random Signals:

Probability and random variables. Common Probability models. Vector random variables. Stochastic process and their properties. Random signals and their spectral characteristics.  Response of linear System. Applications to communication systems and signal processing.

Estimation and Detection:

Estimation and linear estimators. Hypothesis testing. Applications to communication systems and signal processing.

Simulation of Communication Systems:

Monte-Carlo simulation techniques with applications to communication systems and networks.   

The course unit aims to:

• Develop mathematical and simulation tools essential for the design and analysis of modern communication systems and networks.
• Appreciate the links between the various theoretical models and their practical applications to solve contemporary communication engineering and signal processing problems. 
• Application of the probability models and statistical methods to solve signal processing and communication engineering problems.

All ILOs are developed and assessed.

ILO 1 - Apply the Fourier methods to signals and systems, and Infer the interplay between time and frequency domains

ILO 2 - Apply the Nyquist sampling theorem to low-pass and band-pass signals and systems.

ILO 3 - Appraise the importance of probabilistic models for the design and analysis of communication systems and apply them to predict and evaluate the performance of communication systems and networks.

ILO 4 - Apply Monte-Carlo simulation methods to model the random behaviour of communication systems and evaluate their average performance.

ILO 5 - Identify key properties of discrete and continuous stochastic processes and apply them to solve communication and signal processing problems.

ILO 6 - Apply statistical tools to derive optimal estimators and detectors for signal processing.

Lectures: 30 hours

Tutorials/problems classes: 6 hours

Coursework: Matlab-based Monte-Carlo simulation exercise on a communication problem.  Technical report that summarizes and criticises the simulation results. Worth 20% of the unit assessment.

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• Fundamentals of Communications Systems by Michael Fitz. Cengage Learning, 1980.
• A foundation in digital communication by Lapidoth, Amos. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
• Communication systems principles using MATLAB  by Leis, John. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2018. 
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• Communication systems: an introduction to signals and noise in electrical communication Carlson, A. Bruce, 1937- McGraw-Hill Higher Education 2010.
• Communication systems by Haykin, Simon S. John Wiley, 2010. 
• Modern digital and analog communication systems. by Lathi, B. P. (Bhagwandas Pannalal). Oxford University Press, 2010. 
• Probability and stochastic processes: a friendly introduction for electrical and computer engineers by Yates, Roy D. John Wiley & Sons, 2014. 
• Random Signals and Processes Primer with MATLAB by Dolecek, Gordana Jovanovic. Springer New York, 2013. 
• Introduction to probability models by Ross, Sheldon M. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 2019.
• Probability and random processes: with applications to signal processing and communications by Miller, Scott L. Academic Press, 2012. 
• Probability, random processes, and statistical analysis by Kobayashi, Hisashi. Cambridge University Press, 2012. 
• Probability, random variables, statistics, and random processes: fundamentals & applications by Grami, Ali. Wiley, 2020. 
• Fundamentals of applied probability and random processes by Oliver Chukwudi. Academic Press, 2014. 
• Introduction to probability by Bertsekas, Dimitri P. Athena Scientific, 2008. 
• Introduction to probability: models and applications by Balakrishnan, N. Wiley, 2019.
• Stochastic simulation by Ripley, Brian D. Wiley, 1987.