I just thought I'd update you on the TCOM 500
course, since you may be asked similar questions by others.
I met with the professor, Dr. Kassam (Director of TCOM), to get an
idea of the course. He emphasized that someone uncomfortable
with math may have a hard time with it. Specifically, he said that a background
in introductory probability would be necessary (although not enforced, he
said that he can tell in the work--and grades--of some of his students
that they lack the necessary background). The coursework of TCOM 500 is
entirely math problem sets and exams.
I then contacted the instructor of the Probability course that Dr. Kassam
told me is the required pre- (or co-) requisite; he let me know that the
textbook used in that class is called A First Course in Probability, Sixth
Edition by Sheldon Ross.
TCOM 500 looks like a lot of fun for anyone
who enjoys doing math problem sets. I think it would be useful to have a networking class on my resume/transcript,
albeit a non-"practical" one (I was assured that we won't be discussing how
to actually set up or administer networks. Instead, this is the science
and math behind networking and protocols. He likened it to a knowledge of
how electricity works--you don't need to understand it in order to use it).
I hope that a personal crash-course on Probability will be enough to allow
me to excel in this course.