Computer Engineering Major, BS in Computer Engineering

Students may choose from a wide spectrum of courses covering various aspects of computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and related fields.

Progression Policies and Requirements

The department requires at least a C in every computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and mathematics course used for the undergraduate degrees.

Progression of departmental undergraduate students to the upper-division programs of the department is competitive and is based on the space available in the department. Factors considered in the decision include overall grade point average, grades earned in courses required in the lower-division curricula of the department and Tickle College of Engineering, and seriousness of purpose and interest in departmental programs as exemplified by regular and orderly progress through the prescribed curriculum without abuse of withdrawal and course repeat privileges.

uTrack Requirements

Universal Tracking (uTrack) is an academic monitoring system designed to help students stay on track for timely graduation. In order to remain on track, students must complete the minimum requirements for each tracking semester, known as milestones. Milestones include successful completion of specified courses and/or attainment of a minimum GPA. uTrack requirements only affect full-time, degree-seeking students.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Term 1	Hours	Milestone Notes
¹COSC 101	3	MATH 130 or MATH 131 or higher or one Arts and Humanities , Global Citizenship – US , or Global Citizenship – International , or Social Sciences Elective
EF 142 * or EF 151 * or EF 157 *	4
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118 ⁶* or ENGL 131 * or ENGL 198 *	3
MATH 132 * or MATH 141 * or MATH 147 *	3-4
Term 2
COSC 102	4	MATH 130 or MATH 131 or higher
EF 152 * or EF 158 *	4
ENGL 102 * orENGL 132 * or ENGL 290 * or ENGL 298 *	3
MATH 142 * or MATH 148 *	4
Term 3
COSC 202	4	EF 141 * and EF 142 , or EF 151 , or EF 157 , or PHYS 135 , or PHYS 137 *
ECE 201	3
ECE 255	3
PHYS 231 *	3
MATH 231 or MATH 237	3
Term 4
CHEM 122 * and CHEM 123 , or CHEM 128	4	EF 152 * or EF 158 or PHYS 136 or PHYS 138 *
ECE 202	3
MATH 241 or MATH 247	4
MATH 251 or MATH 257	3
ECE 256	3
Term 5
COSC 302 or COSC 307	4	CBE 201 or COSC 101 or COSC 102 or COSC 111 * or ME 202 or MSE 201
²Global Citizenship – US Elective*	3
ECE 351 or ECE 357	3
ECE 335	3
ECE 395 *	1
ECE 313 or ECE 317	3
Term 6
²Arts and Humanities Elective*	3	No milestones
COSC 311 or COSC 317	3
COSC 360 or COSC 367	4
ECE 315	3
ECE 356 or ECE 358	3
Term 7
²Expanded Perspectives Elective*	3	No milestones
ECE 401 *	2
^3,5Core Elective	3
²Social Sciences Elective*	3
^4,5Senior Electives	6
Term 8
²Global Citizenship – International Elective*	3	No milestones
ECE 402 *	3
²Expanded Perspectives Elective*	3
If necessary, ²Engaged Inquiries * (Note student may try to choose courses from Expanded Perspectives * or Electives that also meet Engaged Inquiries *)	0-3
^3,5Core Elective	3
^4,5Senior Elective	3
TOTAL	127-130

*	Meets Volunteer Core Requirements .
¹	Beginning students who have had high school computer science and/or who have had significant programming experience (e.g. summer institute study, special research projects, home laboratory) are invited to apply during the summer to the head of the department for permission to take a proficiency examination for COSC 101 - Introduction to Programming . If a satisfactory grade is made on the examination, credit will be allowed for COSC 101 . The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science also gives credit in COSC 102 to students who receive a score of 3 or better on the Computer Science Advanced Placement A Examination.
²	Chosen from the Volunteer Core list. Students should try to select courses that satisfy approved areas and Engaged Inquiries category. Students must have a minimum of 9 credit hours in at least two subject areas for Engaged Inquiries .
³	Among the computer engineering core electives, you must choose two courses from within the following list: COSC 340 , COSC 361 , COSC 366 , ECE 433 , ECE 453 , ECE 455 . Other courses not currently listed may count as core electives only with departmental approval.
⁴	Choose 9 credit hours of computer engineering senior electives with advisor’s consent. Acceptable computer engineering senior electives are ECE 4xx and COSC 4xx courses that are not otherwise required, with the exception of COSC 422 , which is not allowed.
⁵	500-level courses are mentioned here as suggestions to students admitted into the Five-Year BS/MS program. Up to three COSC 5XX or ECE 5XX courses may count as computer engineering core and/or senior electives.
⁶	ENGL 118 * – Students receiving a passing grade below B in ENGL 118 * will complete the English Composition requirement by taking ENGL 102 . Students receiving a grade of B or above will complete their freshman English requirements by choosing ENGL 102 , a sophomore-level course in the English Department, or ENGL 355 *.

Computer Engineering – Honors Concentration

In addition to satisfying the requirements for the electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science major, candidates for the honors concentration must also complete the following requirements.

Maintain an overall GPA of 3.4.
Four 100- or 200-level honors courses* (14 hours minimum, at least two courses must be from Materials Science and Engineering, Engineering Fundamentals, Physics, Math, Chemistry, Biology, Statistics, or MSE 117 - Honors: Materials Chemistry or Materials Science and Engineering 207 ).
Two upper-division honors courses in computer science or electrical and computer engineering (COSC 307 , COSC 317 , COSC 367 , COSC 377 , COSC 427 or ECE 317 , ECE 347 , ECE 357 , ECE 358 , ECE 417 , ECE 427 , ECE 477 , ECE 478 , ECE 487 ).
Satisfy the Breadth Requirements for the Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program.

While most students fulfill this requirement with 100- and 200-level courses, students may substitute upper level courses on approval of the Honors faculty.

Computer Engineering Major – Five-Year BS/MS Program

The department offers a Five-Year BS-MS program for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. Significant components of the program are:

Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.4 to be admitted to the program. Conditional admission may be granted after completing 64 hours of required coursework while full admission is granted after completing 96 hours of required coursework with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4.
Students must at least have conditional admission before taking graduate courses for both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the departmental chair of the program. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit.
Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School. Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School.
Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.

Undergraduates

Graduate Students