Wireless Communications (Graduate)

Course Description

EEL6509 — Wireless Communications (Graduate) is a graduate-level (6xxx) course in Florida's M.S. Electrical Engineering programs offering deeper coverage of wireless communication theory and current research topics. Building on undergraduate communications and signals/systems coursework, the graduate course addresses: rigorous derivation of channel capacity for fading and MIMO channels; advanced multiple access (NOMA); advanced multi-user MIMO; massive MIMO; cell-free networks; mmWave and beam-management; full-duplex communications; integrated sensing and communications (ISAC); machine learning for wireless; current 5G-Advanced and 6G research topics.

This course is offered at Florida State University System institutions with M.S. or Ph.D. Electrical Engineering programs, including UF, FSU, USF, UCF, FIU, FAU, and FAMU/FSU. The course typically serves graduate students pursuing communications/wireless specialization and may also be elected by advanced undergraduates with permission.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of EEL6509, students will be able to:

• Apply information theoretic analysis to wireless channels: channel capacity for AWGN, fading, and MIMO channels; outage capacity; ergodic capacity.
• Apply advanced multi-user techniques: NOMA (power-domain and code-domain); SCMA; rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA).
• Apply multi-user MIMO and massive MIMO: zero-forcing precoding; regularized zero-forcing; channel estimation in massive MIMO; pilot contamination.
• Apply mmWave wireless: hybrid beamforming; analog and digital beam combining; codebook-based beam management.
• Apply cell-free MIMO: distributed beamforming; user-centric clustering; backhaul considerations.
• Apply full-duplex communications: self-interference cancellation; antenna design considerations; capacity benefits.
• Apply integrated sensing and communications (ISAC): joint waveform design; performance trade-offs.
• Apply machine learning for wireless: deep learning for channel estimation, beam selection; reinforcement learning for resource allocation.
• Critically read and discuss current research literature in wireless communications.
• Conduct an independent research project applying course concepts to a current research problem.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Advanced Channel Theory: Capacity of AWGN, fading, and MIMO channels; outage and ergodic capacity; capacity with channel state information at transmitter (CSIT) and receiver (CSIR); broadcast channel and multiple access channel capacity regions.
• Advanced Multiple Access: NOMA fundamentals; successive interference cancellation; SCMA; RSMA; comparison with OMA approaches.
• Multi-User MIMO: Linear precoding (zero-forcing, regularized zero-forcing, MMSE); dirty paper coding; THP; downlink/uplink duality.
• Massive MIMO: Channel hardening; pilot contamination; favorable propagation; energy efficiency; deployment considerations.
• mmWave and Beam Management: Path loss at mmWave; hybrid beamforming architectures; analog beam combining; beam search and management; beam failure recovery.
• Cell-Free MIMO: User-centric clustering; distributed precoding; centralized vs. distributed processing; backhaul-limited operation.
• Full-Duplex Communications: Self-interference cancellation (analog and digital); capacity gains; practical limitations.
• Integrated Sensing and Communications: Joint waveform design (e.g., OFDM-based ISAC); sensing-communications tradeoffs.
• Machine Learning for Wireless: Deep learning for physical layer (channel estimation, demapping, decoding); reinforcement learning for resource allocation; federated learning in wireless networks.
• Current Research Topics: 5G-Advanced (Release 18/19); 6G research themes (terahertz, holographic surfaces, semantic communications, AI-native).

Resources & Tools

• Andrea Goldsmith Wireless Communications (Cambridge)
• David Tse and Pramod Viswanath Fundamentals of Wireless Communication (Cambridge)
• Current research papers from IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications; IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications; IEEE Communications Magazine; and major wireless conferences (ICC, GlobeCom, IEEE INFOCOM)
• 3GPP technical specifications (current Release)
• MATLAB Wireless Toolbox; Python (NumPy, PyTorch) for ML applications

Career Pathways

EEL6509 supports advanced careers in wireless research and development:

• Wireless Research Engineer at Florida defense contractors (L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies) developing advanced communication systems.
• Industry R&D Engineer at telecommunications equipment manufacturers and operators.
• Academic Researcher at Florida universities (continuing toward Ph.D.).
• Standards Engineer for 3GPP and IEEE participation.
• Professional advancement and Ph.D. programs in electrical/communications engineering.

Special Information

Course Format

Typically 3 credits, 45 contact hours (lecture/seminar). Substantial out-of-class research reading and project work expected; total student effort typically 9–12 hours per week.

Graduate-Level Status

EEL6509 is graduate-level (6xxx) and is restricted to students admitted to an M.S. or Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering at the offering institution. Advanced undergraduates may take with permission of instructor and graduate program director.

Project Component

Most graduate sections of this course include a substantial independent project — either a research literature review, simulation study, or original research contribution suitable for conference submission.