Electrical Engineering, MS

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Requirements

The department offers thesis and non-thesis programs for the Master of Science (MS) degree. These programs include common core courses, major depth concentration, and breadth in electrical engineering.

Admission

To be considered for admission, candidates must have earned a bachelor of science degree (or equivalent) in electrical engineering or a closely related discipline from an ABET-accredited program, a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted beyond sixty (60) semester hours of undergraduate study, and a combined score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE of at least 1000. International candidates must have earned a bachelor of science degree (or equivalent) in electrical engineering from a recognized non-U.S. academic institution, a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all work beyond the equivalent of sixty (60) semester hours of undergraduate study (as evaluated by the admissions office), a combined score of at least 1000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE, and a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if English is not their native language.

Students with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than electrical engineering may be required to complete a department-designated sequence of undergraduate courses with grades of “B” or better prior to attempting graduate electrical engineering work.

Thesis

All Master of Science thesis program students must complete a written thesis. Upon completion of the thesis, an oral defense is required, which consists of a public presentation of the student’s work to the department and the student’s supervisory committee. Students must register for EEL 8976 Master’s Thesis Defense (0) , before the defense presentation.

Course Work and Thesis Requirements (Thesis Program)

All MS thesis degree students must complete a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours of course work to satisfy the Master of Science in electrical engineering (MSEE) degree requirements. Twelve (12) semester hours are required from the student’s depth area, twelve (12) hours in supplemental electives and a minimum of six (6) semester hours are required for the thesis (EEL 6971r). A minimum of three (3) semester hours of supplemental electives must include a course in advanced mathematics, typically a 5000 level course, or a departmental approved substitute. The master’s degree candidate may take up to six (6) semester hours of S/U credits with the approval of the faculty advisor and the ECE graduate coordinator. A master’s degree candidate may also take one to two 4000-level courses for letter grade credits beyond those required for a baccalaureate degree with approval of the ECE graduate coordinator.

Students must select their major professor by the end of the first semester of course work and are required to submit a plan of study by the time they have completed twelve (12) semester hours of graduate studies. The plan of study must be approved by the ECE graduate coordinator and the student’s major professor. The student’s major professor will also assist the student in forming the student’s supervisory committee.

All Master of Science (MS) thesis program students are required to register for EEL 8976 Master’s Thesis Defense (0) , and at least one (1) semester hour of EEL 6971 Master’s Thesis , in the semester they plan to graduate.

Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee for a master’s degree thesis student consists of a minimum of three (3) members of graduate faculty who hold master’s directive status. At least half of the committee members must be faculty members from the ECE Department.

Master’s Thesis Defense Announcement

It is the student’s responsibility to post the thesis defense announcement within the department and the College of Engineering at least one week prior to the defense. The announcement should include: thesis title; student’s name; student’s department; major professor and committee members; date; time and location of the defense.

Course Work and Exam Requirements (Non-Thesis Program)

All students in the non-thesis MS degree program must submit a formal request to obtain an official approval from his/her advisor (if there is one) and the ECE graduate coordinator to be exempt from the thesis program requirement.

The non-thesis option requires a student to complete a minimum of thirty-three (33) credit hours of graded coursework beyond those required for the student’s baccalaureate degree. A minimum of three (3) credit hours must be a course in advanced mathematics, typically a 5000-level course.

The non-thesis option student must register and successfully pass the required EEL 8966 Master’s Comprehensive Examination . A non-thesis option student may attempt to take one Master’s Comprehensive Exam in each calendar year. A maximum of three (3) attempts will be permitted.

Graduate Seminar Requirement

All M.S. candidates are required to enroll in the graduate seminar, EEL 6932 , for each semester that they are enrolled in the graduate program. The details of the seminar are given below under course descriptions.