CUE 2007 Home >> Academic Programs >> ITP Celebrates 35th Year as Leader in Telecom Education

CUE 2007
Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program:
ITP Celebrates 35th Year as Leader in Telecom Education

ITP students attend new student orientation in August 2006.

CU-Boulder's Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP) celebrated its 35th anniversary this year. Current faculty and students were joined by many alumni and past faculty who visited the campus to celebrate ITP's history and reconnect with the program. 

In 1971, Frank Barnes of electrical and computer engineering and George Codding of political science translated a basic insight about telecommunications—that it calls for an interdisciplinary perspective—into action, founding the nation's first telecommunications program.  

Since its inception, ITP has taken a visionary and uniquely interdisciplinary approach to telecommunications, involving the study of engineering, law, politics, economics, and business. Over the course of the past 35 years, ITP has graduated over 2,000 alumni who now serve in various positions around the world as CEOs, government officials, and managers. ITP was the first interdisciplinary program of its kind and is now one of the most popular graduate programs in the nation.

Today's ITP is better and stronger than ever. The program has reviewed and renewed its curriculum to endow students with cutting-edge skills for today's interconnected world. The faculty, which consists of tenured professors from various departments and adjuncts from industry, continues to be regarded as the best in the world in the telecommunications discipline. As a result, ITP has experienced one of the highest job placement percentiles of any academic department. Students are receiving multiple, competitive offers, and alumni are reporting success as they "climb the ladder" within their organizations.

ITP also has made focused efforts to diversify its student body.  Associate Director Megan Marquez represented CU-Boulder on two ITP-sponsored recruiting trips to India to recruit top students in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai. As a result, applications and enrollments from India have doubled for ITP, and there has been a noted increase in other engineering programs as well. Not only has the number of international students increased, but the quality and caliber of our overall student body has been enhanced. 

ITP now has students representing 12 different countries, who speak several dozen languages. The program hopes to continue its diversification. Telecommunications is truly a global industry, and having such a diverse student body benefits students and their futures as leaders in this field.

For more information visit: http://itp.colorado.edu