Electrical Engineering Major, MS

Concentrations (Optional) and Options Available

Power Electronics (Thesis Option, Project Option,  Coursework Only Without Comprehensive Exams Option)

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• Applicants for admission are expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree with an average GPA of at least 3.00 out of 4.00, both overall and in the senior year.
• A TOEFL score of 550 on the written exam or 80 on the Internet-based Test is required for non-native speakers of English, including those who have earned degrees at U.S. institutions.
  • 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 fields other than electrical or computer engineering will be required to take selected undergraduate courses 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 grade of B or better.
  • An international student may not enroll as a non-degree student.

Credit Hours Required

30 graduate credit hours

Required Courses

24 (thesis option) or 27 (project option) or 30 (Coursework only without comprehensive exams) credit hours of graduate coursework.

• At least two-thirds of the total credit hours must be at the 500-level or above.
• A maximum of 6 graduate credit hours outside the department chosen in consultation with major advisor may be applied toward the degree.

Option Specific Courses:

• Thesis Option: 24 credit hours graduate coursework, plus minimum 6 credit hours of  ECE 500 - Thesis
• Project Option: 27 credit hours graduate coursework, plus 3 credit hours (with a minimum grade of B) of  ECE 501 - Project in Lieu of Thesis

Non-Course Requirements

• Thesis Option: A final oral exam covering the thesis.
• Project Option: A written final report and/or oral presentation, as determined by the advisor and approved by the committee.

In consultation with their advisor, students may select the following concentration:

• Power Electronics concentration - Thesis Option, Project Option, Coursework Only Without Comprehensive Exams Option
• Concentration reflects research focus area and does not include specific course requirements

Select 4 courses from the following:

• ECE 581 - High Frequency Power Electronics
• ECE 582 - Power Electronic Circuits
• ECE 583 - Modeling and Control of AC Three-phase PWM Converters
• ECE 585 - Electric Vehicles
• ECE 586 - Wide Bandgap (WBG) Device Characterization
• ECE 625 - Utility Applications of Power Electronics
• ECE 682 - Power Electronics Technologies
• ECE 683 - Electric Drive System Control and Converter Design
• ECE 684 - Power Electronics Packaging
• ECE 686 - Solid State Power Semiconductors

• Or with faculty approval:

• ECE 599 - Special Topics
• ECE 692 - Special Topics

Five-Year BS/MS Program - Electrical Engineering Major, MS

The department offers a 5 year BS-MS program for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 credit hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UT. This program is designed for students attending UT 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 3.40 to be admitted to the program. Conditional admission may be granted after completing 64 credit hours of required coursework while full admission is granted after completing 96 credit hours of required coursework with a minimum overall GPA of 3.40 in required coursework.
• 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 by completing and submitting the Senior Requesting Graduate Credit form.
• Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School. See Graduate Admissions webpage to complete application.
• 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.