Academic Year:
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Telephone: (302) 831-2406
http://www.ece.udel.edu
Faculty Listing: http://www.ece.udel.edu/people/faculty.php
Program Overview
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering. In conjunction with the Computer and Information Sciences department, the Electrical and Computer Engineering department offers a Master of Science in Software Engineering degree.
Active areas of research in electrical and computer engineering include bioengineering, clean energy, communications, signal processing and controls, computer and sensor networks, computer systems, electromagnetics and photonics, and materials devices nanoelectronics.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is housed in Evans Hall and DuPont Hall. The Department maintains excellent facilities for teaching and research, including supercomputing and distributed computing systems, and class 10 and class 1000 clean rooms equipped for epitaxial crystal growth, semiconductor device fabrication, and nanofabrication. Additional laboratories are well-equipped for electronic, microwave, and optical measurements, signal and image capture and processing, antenna, electromagnetics, and communications studies, and biomedical signal capture and investigations. Complementing these facilities are Government funded major Research Centers supporting the focus areas, including the Solar Power Center, Nanotechnology Center, and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute.
General computing facilities include state-of-the-art servers from Sun Microsystems, with a variety of workstations from Sun, SGI, HP, IBM and others. The Department maintains a state-of-the-art Intranet connecting all rooms, labs, and offices, as well as connecting the Department with the rest of campus and the Internet. Several computing laboratories are available with workstations, PCs, and a variety of software to support teaching and research with 24x7 access. Many labs contain specialized computing and networking equipment to aid research in specific areas.
Graduate students are expected to actively participate in research, including the development of presentations and publications detailing their research contributions.
Requirements for Admission - Masters and/or Doctoral Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering
The requirements for admission to the master's and/or doctoral program in electrical and computer engineering are:
- Applicants normally will have a B.S. in electrical or computer engineering. However, admission may be granted to applicants with an undergraduate degree in another engineering or related field, such as math, physics, or computer science.
- All applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. The Department requires a combined score of the verbal and quantitative sections in excess of 1050, with a quantitative score in excess of 600.
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for students whose first language is not English and who have not received a degree from a college or university in which English is the sole language of instruction. The ECE department requires the following minimum scores:
- TOEFL Paper-based test (PBT) the minimum requirement is 550 for admissions and 600 to be considered for a teaching assistantship.
- TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT) the minimum requirement is 79 for admissions and 100 to be considered for a teaching assistantship.
- An alternative to the TOEFL test is IELTS (International English Language Testing System). The minimum requirement is 6.5 for admissions and 7.5 for a teaching assistantship.
- Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) in engineering, science, and mathematics courses of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. International students who have questions calculating their GPA should contact the Graduate Admissions Office for a chart.
Admission is selective and meeting the minimum requirements of the Department does not guarantee admission. The number and quality of other applicants as well as the availability of faculty supervision and laboratory space affect the number of students offered admission. The Department may find it appropriate to consider admitting an applicant who does not meet all of the admission requirements as stated if it is clear that other strengths identified in the applicant's admission information outweigh the stated minimum requirements for admission.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREES
Master's Degree - Thesis Program
The thesis master's degree program is designed for individuals who want to broaden their electrical and computer engineering foundation knowledge while also conducting an in-depth research project. All master's degree students receiving financial aid, at any point in their program, must take the thesis option.
Credit Requirements: The master's program requires 30 credit hours including at least 24 graduate course credits and at least 6 credits for master's thesis (ELEG 869).
The 24-credit course program of each student must include:
- Six (6) credits of electrical and computer engineering Foundation courses.
- Eighteen (18) credits of advanced technical courses (level 600 or above) related to the student's area of interest. At most twelve (12) credits of these can bear non-ELEG/CPEG numbers and at least three (3) credits must be of 800 level electrical and computer engineering courses.
Thesis Requirement: All students in the thesis master's degree program will carry out original publishable research in collaboration with their advisor and, possibly, other collaborators. Masters's candidates must write a thesis describing their contributions to this research. Theses must follow the University's rules and those accepted in the profession for the presentation of original work. Master's theses will have two faculty readers, the advisor and one additional reader approved by the faculty advisor and Graduate Committee. The Department Chair, upon recommendation of the readers, approves theses.
Master's Degree - Non-Thesis Program
This program is intended to satisfy the continuing education needs of working engineers and recent graduates who want to broaden their electrical and computer engineering foundation before starting an industrial career. y Financial aid is not available to students taking this program. Students receiving financial aid, at any point in their program, must enroll in the thesis master's degree program.
Credit Requirements: The non-thesis master's program requires 30 credit hours of course work.
The 30-credit course program of each student must include:
- Six (6) credits of electrical and computer engineering foundation courses.
- Twenty-four (24) credits of advanced technical courses (level 600 or above) related to the student's area of interest. At least six (6) credits of these must be 800 level electrical and computer engineering courses and at most twelve (12) credits can bear non-ELEG/CPEG numbers.
Master of Science: Software Engineering (MSSE)
This program is intended to prepare students for a professional career as a practicing software engineer. Graduates of this program can expect to have expanded career options and responsibilities involving any or all aspects of software engineering.
Admissions Requirements
- Criteria: General requirements for admission:
- A bachelor’s degree at a recognized four-year college or university with a minimum grade average of 3.0 is required.
- All applicants are expected to have scholarly competence in mathematics and computer programming. Applicants without a degree in computer science or computer engineering or a related area, are expected to know the material and have the skills covered by at least one undergraduate course in each of the following topics:
- structured high-level language programming
- data structures
- analysis of algorithms
- discrete mathematics
- The following minimum scores are expected on the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) test:
- Quantitative: 650
- Verbal + Quantitative: 1150
- Analytical Writing: 4.0
- No GRE subject test is required.
- For applicants whose first language is not English, and who have not received a degree at a U.S. college or university, a TOEFL score of 100 or better on the Internet test, or 250 or better on the computer test, or 600 or better on the old paper test is required. In addition, for applicants who have not graduated from an institution whose principal language of instruction is English, the Test of Spoken English is required.
- Three letters of recommendation are required from professors, employers, or others who have had a supervisory relationship with the applicant and are able to assess the applicant’s potential for success in graduate studies.
- The applicant will apply to the MSSE program with the understanding (as reinforced during the application process) that this is an "interdisciplinary graduate program" overseen by the Joint Graduate Committee on Software Engineering (JGCSE). The student will remain in the "interdisciplinary graduate program" matriculation until later in the program, when the practicum project is defined and a faculty advisor is designated for the practicum. At that time, the student's matriculation will be changed to match the college of that practicum faculty advisor.
- Transfer Policy
- Up to 9 relevant UD graduate credits can be taken as a CEND or Graduate/Non-degree student prior to application/admission to the degree program. In addition, a maximum of 9 credits can be transferred from other institutions with the approval of the Joint Graduate Committee on Software Engineering.
Credit Requirements: The Master of Science - Software Engineering program requires 30 credit hours of course work. The 30-credit course program of each student must include:
- Fifteen (15) credits of core requirement courses.
- Twelve (12) credits of a specialization track courses.
- Three (3) credits of practicum.
The core courses may be taken in any order. However, all core courses must be completed before the student begins the practicum. The specialization courses may be taken at any time and in any order, as long as all course pre- and co-requisites are respected.
The core courses are:
The specialization track is determined by the student's interests and must be approved by the student's advisor. The selected courses should form a coherent whole, giving the student a degree of expertise in a single area. Examples of specialization tracks may be found on the program website.
The practicum (CISC 691/CPEG 691) will be guided by the individual student's interests. It must be arranged with, and approved by, a CIS or ECE faculty member. The student will contribute to a significant software engineering project either on campus or in association with an off-campus organization such as a private business or government agency.
PhD Degree
The PhD degree program is designed for individuals interested in fundamental research on novel aspects of electrical and computer engineering. The degree is intended for individuals planning to pursue academic research and/or industrial research and development careers. All students pursuing the PhD degree are initially entered in pre-candidacy. Formal entry into the PhD program, or candidacy, is granted following the successful completion of the PhD Qualifying Examination and approval of the student's Research and Study Program.
The PhD is a research degree. Each PhD candidate must carry out a program of substantial original publishable research on a topic agreed upon by his/her committee and prepare a written dissertation. Candidates must also satisfy the following general requirements:
Candidates are required to complete one continuous academic year of full-time study as a residency requirement.
Candidates must complete the course requirements for the thesis master's degree, or have been awarded a master's degree in electrical or computer engineering or closely related field.
Candidates must take at least two foundation courses outside their area of concentration.
Candidates must take at least 9 credits of Doctoral Dissertation (ELEG 969).Concentrations
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students and others who use the Catalog should note that the policies, rules, regulations,
requirements for graduation, course offerings, and other materials reproduced in the Catalog change
from time-to-time and that these changes may alter the information contained in this Catalog.
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