Communications track for systems engineering majors

The Weapons and Systems Engineering Department at the United States Naval Academy offers an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering (Controls) to approximately 100 midshipmen annually. Fourth year students are allowed to specialize by taking a two-course track chosen from several areas of interest. Our communications track is one of these areas. The communication track integrates signal analysis and processing methods, and modern communication systems operation principles through hands-on laboratory experience and computer simulation. The uniqueness of this track is that it is offered to students that do not have traditional electrical engineering background. The paper details our experience in teaching modern communication systems to undergraduate systems engineering majors.