Program Overview

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (Thesis Option)

The Department offers a thesis program for the Master of Science (MS) degree in Electrical Engineering.

Admissions

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 Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET)-approved program, a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted beyond 60 semester hours of undergraduate study.

• International candidates must also obtain at least:
  • 80 points on the internet-based TOEFL exam or 550 points on the paper-based TOEFL exam,
  • 6.5 points in the IELTS,
  • 55 points in the Pearson's PTE academic examination,
  • 77 points in the MELAB examination.

Application Deadlines

The ECE department application deadlines are March 1st for the Summer, July 1 for the Fall, and November 1st for the Spring semester.

• International students are encouraged to apply earlier so that they can have sufficient time to get their visa.
• To be considered for department financial assistance such as Teaching Assistantships, the last date for receiving a complete application is March 1 for the Fall term.

Course Work Requirement

The students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work to obtain the degree.

• The 30 credit hours should satisfy:
  1. 6 credit hours should be from the list of core courses.
  2. At least 3 credit hours should consist of a course in advanced mathematics, typically a 5000 level course or above, or a departmental approved substitute.
  3. At least 6 credit hours of EEL 6971 (MS thesis).
  4. At least 15 credit hours should be from letter grade courses.

Graduate Seminar

All full-time MS degree candidates are required to enroll in the graduate seminar, EEL 6932, for each semester that they are enrolled in the graduate program.

Advisor and Supervisory Committee

Each student must identify an adviser (also called major professor) by the end of the first semester of course work and is required to submit a plan of study by the time he or she has completed 12 credit hours of graduate studies.

• The plan of study must be approved by the departmental Graduate Coordinator and the student's adviser.
• The student's adviser also will assist the student in forming the Student's Supervisory Committee (also called thesis committee).
• The Supervisory Committee of a master's degree thesis program student must have at least three faculty members from the student's home department with Graduate Faculty Status (GFS).

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, during the semester the student plans to graduate.
• The thesis should be in the hands of the major professor and the examining committee at least ten days before the date of the oral examination.

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.

Transfer of Credits

A maximum of 6 credit hours of graduate courses not counted toward a previous degree from another regionally accredited graduate school may be transferred from another academic institution(s) to the student's current master's degree program, with the approval the ECE Departmental Graduate Committee.

• A grade of B or better is required on all transfer credits.