Program Overview

Introduction to the Master's Program

The Master's program offered by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Purdue provides students with a comprehensive education in electrical and computer engineering. The program allows students to create their own plan of study, which defines their academic program and helps them achieve their professional objectives.

Research Areas and Core Courses

The ECE program offers seven research areas, each with its own core course. Students must select one of these areas as their primary area and take the corresponding core course. The research areas and core courses are:

• Automatic Control (AC): ECE 60200, Lumped System Theory
• Communications Networks and Signal and Image Processing (CS): ECE 60000, Random Variables and Signals
• Computer Engineering (CE): ECE 60800, Computational Models and Methods
• Fields and Optics (FO): ECE 60400, Electromagnetic Field Theory
• Microelectronics and Nanotechnology (MN): ECE 60600, Solid State Devices I
• Power and Energy Devices and Systems (PE): ECE 61000, Energy Conversion
• VLSI and Circuit Design (VC): ECE 55900, MOS VLSI Design

MS Curriculum Options

The ECE program offers several curriculum options:

1. Thesis
2. Professional Master's Program: Project track or implementation track
3. Course-only
4. Online
5. 4+1 BS/MSECE (for qualifying Purdue ECE undergraduates)

Master's Degrees

The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers one Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE) degree. To be eligible for the MSECE degree, students must have graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering or a related field.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete 30 credit hours of an approved combination of coursework, thesis research, or project. At least 15 of the credit hours must be Purdue ECE graduate-level credit hours. All course credit hours must appear on the plan of study approved by the student's advisory committee or faculty advisor.

MSECE Thesis Degree Requirements

• Core Course Requirement: Students must successfully complete a minimum of two core courses, one of which must be the student's primary area core course.
• Math Requirement: A minimum of three approved math credit hours are required for the thesis MSECE.
• Graduate Seminar Requirement: Thesis MSECE students are required to take ECE 69400, Graduate Seminar.
• Research Credit Requirement: Thesis MSECE students are required to register for ECE 69800 research (thesis) credits.

Professional Master's Program: Project Track

• Core Course Requirement: Students must successfully complete the core course in their primary area.
• Math Requirement: A minimum of three approved math credit hours are required for the project track.
• Concepts to Innovation Courses: All students in the project track must complete 9 credit hours of specific coursework, including Concepts to Innovation I & II.
• Waiver of Graduate Seminar Requirement: ECE 69400, Graduate Seminar, is not required for the project track.

Professional Master's Program: Implementation Track

• Curriculum requirements:
  • Math: Two math courses (6 credits)
  • ECE coursework: Minimum of 15 credit hours of ECE coursework
  • Implementation/professional development coursework: Minimum of 9 credits from an approved list of courses
  • Allowed ECE 69600 (Advanced EE Projects) or ECE 69700 (Directed Reading EE) credit hours: Up to 3
  • ECE 69400, ECE Seminar (0 credits)

Course-Only Degree Requirements

• Core Course Requirement: Students must successfully complete a minimum of two core courses, one of which must be the student's primary area core course.
• Math Requirement: A minimum of six approved math credit hours are required for the course-only MSECE.
• Graduate Seminar Requirement: Course-only students are required to take ECE 69400, Graduate Seminar.
• Research Credit Requirement: Research is not required for the course-only MSECE.

Online MSECE Degree Requirements

• Core Course Requirement: Students must successfully complete a minimum of two core courses, one of which must be the student's primary area core course.
• Math Requirement: A minimum of six approved math credit hours are required for the online MSECE.
• Waiver of Graduate Seminar Requirement: ECE 69400, Graduate Seminar, is not required for the online MSECE.
• Research Credit Requirement: Research is not required for the online MSECE.

4+1 BS/MSECE Requirements

• Purdue ECE undergraduates who qualify may earn an MSECE degree in two academic semesters (Fall and Spring) after their BS graduation.
• Students accepted into this program may double count up to 12 credit hours of graduate-level courses toward both BS and MS degree requirements.

Master's Major Professor or Faculty Advisor

• Thesis MSECE: Major Professor and Advisory Committee
• Professional Master's Program, Course-Only, Online, and 4+1 BS/MSECE: Faculty Advisor

Master's Degree Plan of Study

• All Master's students must file a plan of study (POS).
• The plan of study must be approved by the student's advisory committee or faculty advisor and the ECE Associate Head of Graduate and Professional Programs.

Course Registration

• First-Semester Registration: Incoming students must complete the online ECE orientation to obtain their registration PIN.
• Subsequent Semester Registrations: Students must register and pay their tuition and fees during the registration period.

Master's Thesis and Final Examination

• For students in the thesis MSECE, a thesis must be prepared according to a preset format and processed following specified procedures.
• The student must present and defend their work in a Final Examination.

Continuation for the ECE PhD

• To continue graduate work toward a doctorate degree after completion of the Master's degree, a student must be admitted to the ECE PhD program.
• Admission is based on evaluation of the student's potential for success at the PhD level.

Petitions to the Graduate Committee

• All graduate students have the right to petition for exceptions to any existing rule if they feel that the circumstances are sufficiently unusual to warrant special consideration.

Mathematics Requirement

• The following courses have been approved for meeting the mathematics requirement:
  • Any 500- and 600-level math courses (MA), except seminar courses and teacher training courses
  • Any 500- and 600-level statistics courses (STAT), except seminar courses
  • CS 51400, Numerical Analysis
  • CS 51500, Numerical Linear Algebra
  • CS 52000, Computational Methods in Analysis
  • CS 61400, Numerical Solution of Ordinary Differential Equations
  • CS 61500, Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations
  • Phys 60000, Methods of Theoretical Physics I
  • Phys 60100, Methods of Theoretical Physics II

Preapproved Undergraduate Courses

• ECE 43700: Computer Design and Prototyping, with a grade of B- or better.

English Requirement

• Any one of the following methods may be used to fulfill the English requirement:
  • Score a four or higher on the GRE Writing Assessment.
  • Score 22 or higher on the Writing section of the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT).
  • Score 6 or higher on the Writing section of the IELTS.
  • Pass ENGL 62100, Written Communication for International Graduate Students, offered at Purdue University, with a grade of Pass (“P”).
  • Successfully complete a one-semester-long composition course equivalent to ENGL 62100 or ENGL 10600 or 10800 from an English-medium university with a grade of B or better.

Completing the Master's Plan of Study

• The plan of study must be completed and submitted through myPurdue.
• The plan of study must include all coursework, research credits, and other requirements for the degree.

Master's Thesis and Final Examination

• Students in the thesis MSECE must follow the steps below for their final examination and to submit their thesis:
  1. Schedule the final examination with your advisory committee members.
  2. Reserve a room for the final examination.
  3. Submit Form 8 in myPurdue to officially schedule the final examination.
  4. Schedule a thesis format appointment with the Thesis Office.
  5. Deliver a copy of your thesis to all committee members at least two weeks before the exam.
  6. Following your final examination, submit the Thesis Acceptance Form (Form 9) through myPurdue.
  7. Deposit your thesis.