Previous Degree Requirements for MSEE, Non-thesis Program

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE, Non-thesis) Program

To receive the degree, Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, non-thesis, a student must complete, on a part-time or full-time basis, a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of approved graduate courses. There is no thesis requirement. A maximum of two courses (i.e., a maximum of 6 hours of coursework) taken from Course Categories A (Core) and B (Electives) can be replaced by an approved project to be completed under the supervision of a faculty member from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Specifically:

• Core. A minimum of 18 hours of course work from 6000-level or higher ECE courses.
  • A maximum of 6 hours of 6000-level courses equivalent to 5000-level courses is allowed in this category.
  • All the courses in this category must be chosen from one of the four specialization areas, as described below.
  • Other courses may be used in this category only with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

• Electives. Three to six hours* of course work offered in the College of Engineering or in the College of Business Administration.
  • The non-ECE courses must be graduate level.
  • Courses in ECE must be at the 6000 level or higher.
  • In all cases, no credit will be given for courses that are equivalent to courses used in the student’s undergraduate degree.
  • Business courses should be selected from the approved list (see below).
  • Other courses may only be used in this category with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
• Breadth. Six to nine hours* of course work outside of your chosen specialization area in the College of Engineering or in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM).
  • NSM courses must be at the graduate level and should be selected from the approved list (see below).
  • Other courses may only be used in this category with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

*Elective and Breadth course hours must add up to 12 hours.

Special Projects

Special projects are sometimes initiated by an advisor or by the graduate director. These projects require a committee consisting of at least two regular, tenure-track, ECE faculty, one of which will serve as project advisor. A student desiring to complete a special project needs to identify a project advisor and committee member(s). The student should prepare a project description and secure approval from the committee members. A Special Project Proposal form should be filed, along with a description of the project, well in advance of the start of the semester in which the special project will take place. Once the Director of Graduate Studies has approved the project proposal and committee, the student may enroll in ECE 6393.

At the end of the semester, the student must prepare a written report, which must be successfully defended in the presence of the committee. If desired, and warranted by the progress made, the student may request to enroll in ECE 7393 for another semester to continue work on the project. This request should be petitioned by a general petition, accompanied by the approved progress report and a statement of work. Such requests must be made at least three weeks before the start of the semester.

Please use the special project request form.

Approved List Of Non-ECE Courses

• College of Engineering
  • All courses at the 6000 level or higher unless approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • All Graduate level courses, with the exception of the following:
    • COSC 6301, 6302, 6303, 6304, 6305, 6306, 6308, 6309, 6310
    • GEOL 6321, 6322
    • MATH 5310
    • PHYS 5311, 5312, 5397

• College of Business Administration:
  • All courses at the 6000 level or higher, with the exception of any courses in General Business Administration (GENB).
  • Reminder: course(s) that do not receive a letter grade, but are graded S, U, or W will not be counted towards the degree plan.

Table of Specialization Areas in the MSEE Non-thesis Program