M.Sc Computer Science - Networks & Distributed Systems

RichieD · 23-02-2011 04:46PM #1

Hey all,

Ive been looking into courses for next year and this course seems very interesting.

http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/courses/taught/coursepg.php?course_id=108

I've done a non-tech related M.Sc previously and im currently in DCU in the IT Graduate Diploma program while working full time.

Of all the areas I've covered in IT i've enjoyed networking the most and its pushed to get my CCNA recently.

Anyway im just wondering is anyone doing this course currently or previously?

How would you rate it in terms of

lecturer standards
course content being relevent to current technologies
CA workload
Class size

Any info would be greatly appreciated

RichieD · 07-03-2011 11:16AM

Anybody ?

cherrytaz · 07-03-2011 07:28PM

Hi

I did this for 4 weeks at the beginning of this year (September 2010) and switched to a different Masters (Civil Eng). I come from a Civil Eng background so probably not the best person to advise on the course but it is seriously tough.

I would have done programming for 2 years as an undergrad in the undemoninated engineering in TCD but my coding wouldn't be the best and this was what eventually forced me to switch.

There are only 8 in the course and I do be in regular contact with a number of them who say it is seriously tough going with little or no life outside the course. There are 4 exams at Christmas and a few more at the end of year and then the Thesis.

You really have to be comfortable with coding as there is an entire subject based on this (this year it was a helicopter booking system). I really was lost but again that's because of my background. Although there is a guy in the class at the moment who has never coded and he has picked it up. Suppose it just wasn't for me.

Just be prepared for a very tough year if you do decide to do it but I'm sure it's worth it in the end.

RichieD · 08-03-2011 02:53PM

cherrytaz wrote: »

Hi

I did this for 4 weeks at the beginning of this year (September 2010) and switched to a different Masters (Civil Eng). I come from a Civil Eng background so probably not the best person to advise on the course but it is seriously tough.

I would have done programming for 2 years as an undergrad in the undemoninated engineering in TCD but my coding wouldn't be the best and this was what eventually forced me to switch.

There are only 8 in the course and I do be in regular contact with a number of them who say it is seriously tough going with little or no life outside the course. There are 4 exams at Christmas and a few more at the end of year and then the Thesis.

You really have to be comfortable with coding as there is an entire subject based on this (this year it was a helicopter booking system). I really was lost but again that's because of my background. Although there is a guy in the class at the moment who has never coded and he has picked it up. Suppose it just wasn't for me.

Just be prepared for a very tough year if you do decide to do it but I'm sure it's worth it in the end.

Thanks cherry thats exactly what i wanted to know.

I wouldnt be looking for programming course specifically but i guess the distributed systems part would involve a project for a distributed web app or something, which I could probably fumble my way through.

Unfortunately cant find a link that shows the details of each module on the course.

tehjimmeh · 08-03-2011 03:38PM

http://www.scss.tcd.ie/postgraduate/mscnds/

There was a thread about it on this forum a while back. UTFSE.

shamrock2004 · 04-07-2011 10:53PM

RichieD wrote: »

Hey all,

Ive been looking into courses for next year and this course seems very interesting.

http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/courses/taught/coursepg.php?course_id=108

I've done a non-tech related M.Sc previously and im currently in DCU in the IT Graduate Diploma program while working full time.

Of all the areas I've covered in IT i've enjoyed networking the most and its pushed to get my CCNA recently.

Anyway im just wondering is anyone doing this course currently or previously?

How would you rate it in terms of
lecturer standards

course content being relevent to current technologies

CA workload

Class size

Any info would be greatly appreciated

Hi, I'm nearing the tail-end of this course at the moment, just working on my dissertation. Started it back in September last. You cover a lot of the theoretical material relating to network fundamentals, quite a bit more than you would cover on the CCNA (I did it before myself). The CCNA questions are of a more pragmatic guise. Notwithstanding, some (but not all!) of the material you cover with regards to networking is quite interesting. Anyhow, to answer your questions

Lecturer Standards - Very good. I found the lecturers very good overall, most of whom are revered within their respective areas of academia. Additionally, they are all very approachable. I could only fault one individual, but that's another discussion.
With regards to the course content, most of it is not technology related per se. You would expect this as there are a lot of fundamentals to cover. Take distributed systems for example. This module predominantly encompasses the core principals of distributed systems such as transactional properties, fault tolerance, messaging ... etc. The same applies for other modules within the course such as Network Management, Security of Distributed Systems, Data Comms I ... etc. However, there are some modules, such as Network Applications I, where you will have to design, deploy and evaluate a Facebook application; so you do get a good deal of hands on exercises.
The workload is very heavy. I don't want to sound like Captain Bringdown but this course will require your undivided attention, there is no in-between, so your social life will invariably suffer. If you have a job, you will most likely have to pack it in - I'm speaking from experience.
Class size is usually anywhere from 16 - 20 or so people. This year however was unusually small, perhaps the smallest class size to date. The class began with 10 people, but we ended with 7 people. You can see the past classes here, this will give you an idea of the class size.

I hope I have given you some useful information. Don't be deterred by my comments about the commitment however as it's probably one of the best computing M.Sc courses that you can do in the country. So, what I'm trying to say is that it's most definitely worth it

Check out the announcement at the top of this page. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

j_callanan · 06-07-2012 03:24PM

Hi,
I'm also thinking of applying to do this course and was v interested to read about Shamrock's experience. I hope you have successfully completed your MSc now - congratulations if you have! It sounds like a very intensive course. I was wondering if there were any "experienced professionals" on the course with 10+ years work experience rather than recent graduates? I was also wondering what programming skills were required to complete the projects/coursework. I have 10 years programming experience in languages like assembler, C and Pascal but no OO experience. Do you think this would be a major drawback? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

ethernet · 07-07-2012 10:13PM

It really is intensive. Can almost forget about holding down a part-time job. The project work involves developing using OO code - almost exclusively in my experience. OO concepts shouldn't be too hard to pick up especially when you already have programming experience. I'd recommend checking out a few online tutorials or books to help. Knowledge of OO will also help with the software engineering module. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

j_callanan · 07-07-2012 10:21PM

Hi Ethernet, Thanks for that. Do you think I should concentrate on trying to teach myself Java or would I need to have some C++ experience as well? Roughly how many hours a week do you think would be needed to complete the coursework etc.

ethernet · 08-07-2012 12:30PM

There was a Java assessment for people who hadn't used it before. Don't think it was too taxing but can't give more info as I didn't have to do it. I wouldn't worry too much about C++ - so long as you'd have the OO concepts, should be fine applying them to almost language, but Java in particular.

Coursework is heavy. Lectures make up roughly 20 hours a week. The second term felt a lot more relaxed than the first. There are many group projects (just one considerable individual project in fact) so you'll find yourself using any gaps between lectures and staying late most evenings trying to make progress on each project.

j_callanan · 08-07-2012 02:52PM

Ok, thanks again Ethernet. Better get cracking with the Java so!

chanianaus · 23-07-2012 11:43PM

Hi Ethernet,
Applied for this course and got accepted subject to interview, Did u guys go through interview? What did they ask?

Regards

ethernet · 24-07-2012 08:45AM

chanianaus wrote: »

Hi Ethernet,
Applied for this course and got accepted subject to interview, Did u guys go through interview? What did they ask?

Regards

Well done! I didn't have an interview. Did computer science for my undergrad so maybe that's why. Can only imagine it is to get an idea of where you're at with CS and to ensure you'd be up for the course. Best of luck with it

Neuman · 08-09-2012 11:26PM

Hi,

I would like to say thank you to shamrock2004 and ethernet, your information helped me a lot to finally chose to do this master's at TCD.

chanianaus, I didn't have an interview but maybe because I did a BSc in CS.

chanianaus · 09-09-2012 07:36AM

Neuman
Interview went good and was offered a place, will see u there in few wks.

Thanks Ethernet for information.

ethernet · 09-09-2012 06:06PM

Best of luck to you all!

Be sure to tell the course coordinator if there are any problems as she is very good at responding to them. Same with any feedback you may have about the course. From what I've heard, things we complained about this year are being addressed for you so the system works

It's bye-bye to the useless old computers that were in our labs. You have no idea how lucky you are!

anubhav · 19-02-2015 10:39AM

Hi,

I am also trying for this course this year, I already have 4 years of experience in software engineering (especially in distributed systems) and good hands on programming.

I have got an interview call, please let me know what sorts of questions they ask in interview.

Also it has been around 3 years since last post, please let me know if the reputation of the course has changed or not.

Regards

Anubhav

M.Sc Computer Science - Networks & Distributed Systems

Comments