Electrical Engineering Major, MS

Admission

Applicants for admission to the MS program for electrical engineering are expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering with an average of at least 3.0 out of 4.0, both overall and in the senior year. Applicants are required to submit scores from the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within the past three years and to have these scores sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Applicants whose native language is not English, including those who have earned degrees at U.S. institutions, must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 on the written exam or 80 on the Internet-based Test to be considered for admission to the program. The score must be no more than two years old from the requested date of entry. Applicants who have received a degree from an accredited U.S. institution within the past two years are exempt from the TOEFL requirement. Applicants who hold the bachelor’s degree in other fields of engineering, computer science, mathematics, or the physical sciences are also expected to have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 and a minimum senior year average of 3.0 in that field. The department will require that selected undergraduate courses be taken as determined by the applicant’s prior education and experience. The student will be admitted under non-degree status until the required undergraduate courses are successfully completed with a 3.0 average. An international student may not enroll as a non-degree student.

Requirements

Students may choose between a thesis option, a non-thesis course-only option, and a non-thesis project option. All students must file a Master’s Program Plan with the departmental graduate committee specifying which option they have selected, a semester-by-semester schedule of the courses they intend to take, and the members of the student’s master’s committee. Students may change between options one time by filing an amended Master’s Program Plan and with approval of the departmental graduate committee. A student who receives financial support under a research assistantship is enrolled in the thesis option by default. Students who have held a research assistantship will require approval from the departmental graduate committee to change to one of the non-thesis options.

Thesis Option (30 hours)

Non-Thesis Courses Only Option (30 hours)

Non-Thesis Project Option (30 hours)

Six semester hours of mathematics at the 400-level* or above, approved by the graduate committee; or 6 semester hours of Electrical and Computer Engineering courses at the 500-level or above; or 6 semester hours of non-Electrical and Computer Engineering courses approved by the student’s master committee and the graduate committee. An additional 21 semester hours of 400-level* or above work in electrical engineering or computer engineering, with 15 of the hours at the 500-level or 600-level. Of the 15 hours required at the graduate level, at least 6 must be in each of two areas of electrical and computer engineering and an additional 3 hours of work outside of the two areas. ECE 501 (Project in Lieu of Thesis) with a minimum grade of B. This course will be administered by the student’s master’s committee. A written project proposal describing what the student will do in the course must be submitted in advance for the student’s master’s committee approval. A written final report and oral presentation is required and one copy of the final draft must be submitted to the graduate committee. A final written and oral examination covering the project and related course work.

*Note: At least two thirds of the minimum required hours must be taken in courses numbered at or above the 500 level.

Undergraduates