THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Degree Types: MS, PhD

The Electrical Engineering (EE) division in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers programs leading to the MS and PhD degrees in EE.  Areas of study include Solid-State, Photonic, and Quantum Technologies (design, analysis, and proof-of-concept development of solid-state and photonic devices and systems) and Signals and Systems (communication networks, signal processing, and control).  When applying to the PhD or MS program, students should specify EE as the division which will represent their major field of study.

EE faculty also participate in other graduate programs on campus. For details and contact information, see the respective web sites for each program:

• Master of Science in Information Technology
• Master of Science in Robotics

Additional resources:

• Department website
• Program handbook(s)

Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

Common Requirements

Three plans are available, as shown below.  For all three plans, the following are required:

• A total of 12 units.
• All courses must be at the 300-level or higher.
  • Effective September 9, 2019, ELEC_ENG 302-0 Probabilistic Systems is considered a graduate-level course and can be counted.
• At least 9 courses from Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science.  Any courses taken outside ECE or CS must be approved by the student's advisor.
• At least 6 courses having the ELEC_ENG prefix, with the following exceptions: ELEC_ENG 499-0 Projects and ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research do not count towards these six, but COMP_ENG 303-0 Advanced Digital Design and COMP_ENG 391-0 CMOS VLSI Circuit Design do count towards these six.
• At least 3 courses at the 400-level or above, including ELEC_ENG 499-0 Projects but not including ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research.
• The only P/N course acceptable for the master's degree program is ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research.
• Additional requirements are listed in the ECE graduate study manual.

Plan 1: Thesis

Additional requirements:

• Up to three credits may be ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research.
• A written thesis is required, in a format specified by the thesis committee.

Plan 2: Project

Additional requirements:

• Up to two credits may be ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research.
• A project report is required, in a format specified by the project committee.

Plan 3: Course-only

Additional requirements:

• ELEC_ENG 590-0 Research may not be included in the 12 required units.

Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

The PhD program in Electrical Engineering is divided into two Programs of Study:

• Solid-State, Photonic, and Quantum Technologies
• Signals and Systems

There are requirements common to both Programs as well as additional requirements specific to each Program.

Common Requirements

Course Requirements

• EE requires a minimum of 15 graded courses that count for graduate (TGS) credit, not including ELEC_ENG 590-0.  The cumulative grade point average over these graded courses must be a B (3.0 GPA) or higher.  Courses that provide zero units of credit do not count toward these 15 units.
• At least 6 of these 15 units must be 400- or 500-level courses.
• At most 2 of these 15 units can be ELEC_ENG 499-0.  This course is reserved for projects that are not directly related to the research required for the PhD thesis or for readings in specific subjects for which the ECE Department has no regular courses. ELEC_ENG 499-0 is not intended to replace or augment the required units of ELEC_ENG 590-0.
• All PhD students are required to complete the zero-credit Responsible Conduct for Research Training (GEN_ENG 519-0) during their first year.
• A student's adviser may require more than the minimum number of courses. In such cases, the number of required ELEC_ENG 590-0 units will be reduced accordingly.

Other PhD Requirements

• Teaching Requirement
• Qualifying Examination
• Prospectus
• Dissertation
• Final Exam (dissertation defense)

Additional requirements and processes are detailed in the Electrical Engineering Graduate Study Guide.

Solid-State, Photonic, and Quantum Technologies

Course Requirements

Total Units Required: 15