Electrical Engineering Curriculum (Prior to Fall 2021)

Introduction

A list of the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century compiled by the National Academy of Engineering includes 10 achievements primarily related to the field of electrical engineering: electrification, electronics, radio and television, computers, telephone, the Internet, imaging, household appliances, health technologies, and laser and fiber optics. The remaining achievements in the list - automobile, airplane, water supply and distribution, agricultural mechanization, air conditioning and refrigeration, highways, spacecraft, petroleum/petrochemical technologies, nuclear technologies, and high-performance materials - also require knowledge of electrical engineering to differing degrees. In the 21st century, the discipline of electrical engineering continues to be one of the primary drivers of change and progress in technology and standards of living around the globe.

ABET accreditation: Program educational objectives and outcomes

The Importance of the First Year ECE Experience

First-year students take ECE 110, Introduction to Electronics, a three-credit-hour class combining theory, laboratory measurement, and design. Not only do beginning students get a substantive course in their major, they also gain a better appreciation for the basic science and mathematics courses that are taken during the first two years of study. Students gain first-hand experience in the activities of a professional electrical/computer engineer and are better able to make the important decision as to whether they have chosen the major best suited to them.

Intellectual Content of the EE Curriculum

Student involvement in the EE discipline increases during each year of the program. Most of the core electrical engineering courses are taken in the fourth and fifth semesters. During the last three semesters, the student chooses electives to define a curriculum to meet specific educational and career needs.

The electrical engineering core curriculum focuses on fundamental electrical engineering knowledge: circuits (ECE 110), systems (ECE 210), electromagnetics (ECE 329), semiconductor devices (ECE 340), computer engineering (ECE 120, ECE 220, ECE 385), and design (ECE 445). The rich set of ECE elective courses permits students to select from collections of courses in the seven areas of electrical and computer engineering: bioengineering, acoustics, and magnetic resonance engineering; circuits and signal processing; communication and control; computer engineering; electromagnetics, optics, and remote sensing; microelectronics and quantum electronics; power and energy systems.

Methods of Instruction and Design Experience

Instruction is given using a combination of lecture, discussion, laboratory, and project methodologies of the highest quality. The large number of laboratory courses and superb access to advanced computer facilities provide excellent practical experience in the field. Laboratory and design work are emphasized throughout the curriculum beginning with ECE 110, Introduction to Electronics. The sophomore year includes design experience in computer engineering (ECE 120 and ECE 220) and the Digital Systems Laboratory (ECE 385). During the junior and senior years, students gain further design experience in elective courses, including at least two laboratory courses, in their chosen subdiscipline. In ECE 445, Senior Design Project Laboratory, students learn to combine all phases of an engineering project including design, analysis, construction, teamwork, and reporting.

Honors Activity

Students wishing to do honors work are encouraged to apply to the James Scholar Program administered jointly by the College of Engineering and the ECE Department. In consultation with departmental honors advisers, students create and carry out honors activity contracts. They must also participate in the ECE Honors Seminar and are encouraged to participate in the yearly Undergraduate Honors Symposium. The department offers thesis courses and project opportunities for students wishing to graduate with Highest Honors.

Grade Point Average Requirements

A student must have a grade-point average of at least 2.0 (A=4.0) in ECE courses in order to remain in good standing and to graduate.

Junior Eligibility Rule (2.25 Rule)

To qualify for registration for the ECE courses shown in the third year of the curriculum, a student must have completed, with a combined 2.25 grade point average, the mathematics, chemistry, physics, computer science, and electrical and computer engineering courses shown in the first two years.

Overview of Curriculum Requirements

The curriculum requires 128 hours for graduation and is organized as follows:

Required Courses

Required courses total 66 hours.

Basic Sciences and Mathematics

These courses stress the scientific principles upon which the engineering discipline is based.

Electrical Engineering Core

These courses stress fundamental electrical engineering concepts and basic laboratory techniques that encompass the common intellectual understanding of all electrical engineering.

Other Mathematics

This course lays the ground work for understanding problems ranging from communications engineering to data analysis in diverse areas such as medicine and manufacturing.

Composition I

This course teaches fundamentals of expository writing.

Technical Electives

These courses are chosen from the departmentally approved list of technical electives. They include courses in ECE, other engineering departments, and the basic sciences and mathematics departments. The elective requirement gives each student freedom to define a technical course of study in electrical engineering of considerable breadth and focus. The Advanced Core ECE electives are introductory to major specialty areas of electrical engineering. Choices should be made with care, planning, and consultation with an adviser. Consult also the advising materials for all the subdisciplines of electrical engineering.

Note: Courses that are "same as" ECE courses are counted as ECE courses. GE 421 Intro to Robotics is “same as” ECE 470, so it counts as an ECE tech elective. However, CS 241 is specific: “Credit is not given for both CS 241 and ECE 391.” They are not the same course; you won‘t get any credit for CS 241.

Restrictions:

1. ECE/PHIL 316, Engineering Ethics, is a campus humanities course, which meets the Comp II requirement. It does not count as an ECE elective.
2. Some sections of ECE 198, 199, 298, 398, and 498 may not have technical content (for example, Professionalism and Ethics in Engineering). These sections will not count as ECE electives.
3. Specifically required ECE courses (e.g., ECE 329) do not count as electives.
4. Courses for non-majors (e.g., ECE 205) do not count except by permission.
5. Independent study courses that count as ECE elective hours: ECE 397 (Electrical and Computer Engineering Problems), ECE 396 (Honors Project). If in a different department, for example, in CS or PHYS, they can be approved for non-ECE tech elective hours.

Non-ECE tech elective hours: ENG 491, Interdisciplinary Design Projects, approved sections. For ECE credit or senior design credit, please visit advising in 2120 ECE Building. However, no student may take more than four hours of special problems with the same instructor, nor count more than a total of six hours toward graduation as a technical elective or a required advanced ECE course or lab.

1. ECE 297 may be repeated once for a total of two hours of ECE tech electives, but does not count as part of the six hours of independent study allowed for tech electives.

ECE Elective Laboratories

EEs admitted Fall 2014 and after must take at least three laboratories in addition to the required laboratories. At least one must be a hardware lab. More labs are allowed.

Social Sciences and Humanities

The social science, humanities, and liberal education courses, as approved by the College of Engineering, ensure that students have exposure in breadth and depth to areas of intellectual activity that are essential to the general education of any college graduate. Humanities, Social Sciences, and General Education Requirements.

Campus General Education Requirements

Students must select courses that satisfy both the college social sciences and humanities requirement and the campus requirements in social and behavioral sciences and in humanities and the arts. Careful choices will assure that these courses also satisfy the campus requirements in the areas of Western and non-Western cultures. Many of these courses satisfy the campus General Education Advanced Composition requirement, which assures that the student has the advanced writing skills expected of all college graduates. The campus requirements in Composition I, natural sciences and technology, and quantitative reasoning are met by required courses. Students must complete a third-level college language course. Most students satisfy this requirement by completing three years of high school instruction in a single language. Courses taken to satisfy campus requirements must be taken for a grade.

Free Electives

(12 hours) These electives give the student the opportunity to explore any intellectual area. This freedom plays a critical role in helping students to define minor concentrations in areas such as bioengineering, technology and management, languages, or research specialties. At least six hours must be taken for a letter grade.  Check the College of Engineering Advising website for restrictions.

Suggested Course Sequence

Please review the catalog page for course suggestions.