ECE Advising

Electrical and Computer Engineering Programs

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department administers the following degree programs.

• Electrical Engineering (EE)
• Computer Engineering (CpE)
• Computer Engineering and Analytics (CEA)

The CEA program is administered primarily at the Katy location in Katy, TX.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Advising Team

ECE Undergraduate Advising

• Cullen College of Engineering — Undergraduate Programs
• I want to major in Engineering

 

General Advising Information

• University of Houston Policies
• Cullen College of Engineering Policies
• TCCNS Course Number Updates
• UH Course Catalog 

The UH Course Catalog link will take you to all ECE courses. There you will find requisite information for all courses, as well as brief course descriptions.

 

Schedule Planning and Curriculum Flowcharts

Requisites are enforced in the ECE Department. Therefore, students in all ECE programs need to be familiar with the curriculum flowcharts found below, as well as the requisites for the courses they want to register for.

Curriculum Flowcharts

The flowcharts show many of the important requisites. Requisites for all ECE courses may be found in the UH Course Catalog.

Legend: An arrow from course "A" coming into the top of the box showing course "B" indicates that "A" is a prerequisite for "B". For example, ECE 2201 is a prerequisite for ECE 2202. An arrow from course "A" coming into the side of a box showing course "B" indicates that course "B" must be taken concurrently with course "A", or that course "B" must be satisfactorily completed.

• Electrical Engineering  (PDF)
• Computer Engineering (PDF)
• Computer Engineering and Analytics (PDF)

Courses in the ECE base shown in the first two years are taught every fall and spring semester, as are some third year courses. A few of the second and third year courses may be offered over the summer.

Electives for EE and CpE students are generally taught once per year. To find out when elective courses are offered, see the Expected Future Course Offerings link.

The Language, Philosophy & Culture link, and the Creative Arts link show courses approved for theses core curriculum requirements.

• UH Course Catalog
• Expected Future Course Offerings
• Language, Philosophy & Culture and Creative Arts

 

Degree Plan for EE and CpE Students

EE students choose a Concentration Area and corresponding electives in their third year. CpE student choose electives to be taken in the third or fourth year. EE and CpE students make these choices using the Degree Plan Form. CEA students do not need to file a Degree Plan Form.

In March or October, the ECE department will contact students in ECE 3355, 3337, and/or 3436 with instructions to submit degree plan forms. These forms are found below.

• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Engineering

 

Prerequisite and Corequisite Waivers

All students are expected to be familiar with, and to follow, the course prerequisite structure. Most requisites for required ECE courses can be found in the flowcharts (see Curriculum Flowcharts above). Complete prerequisites can be found in the UH Course Catalog. The links to the UH Course Catalog above take you directly to the ECE course catalog. Other departmental catalogs can be accessed from there.

There are relatively few cases in which ECE course requisites are waived. To do so requires permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. To request such permission, fill out a Prerequisite Waiver Form here. For requisite waivers specifically involving ECE 2201, please see the information below.

 

Enrollment Exceptions for Requisites in Progress or Completed at Another Institution

Students who are blocked from enrolling in ECE classes because they have pre- or co-requisites either completed or in progress at another institution may still be able to enroll by filing an ECE Enrollment Exception Form found below. When filing this form, be sure to include the 5-digit section number as well as the 4-digit course number for the course in which you want to enroll.

ECE 2201 requires a passing grade (C- or better) in University Physics I and the corresponding lab (PHYS 2325 & PHYS 2125), and Credit for or Registration in (CFORI) University Physics II and the corresponding lab (PHYS 2326 & PHYS 2126). ECE 2201 also requires a passing grade (C- or better) in Calculus I and II (MATH 2413 & MATH 2415), CFORI Calculus III (MATH 2415), and CFORI Engineering Math (MATH 3332).

Note that the physics labs PHYS 2125 and 2126 are separate laboratory courses, and are not part of PHYS 2325 and PHYS 2326.

Currently Enrolled in Co-requisite Physics or Calculus Course at a Community College
If you are enrolled at a community college in a co-requisite physics course or lab, or in a co-requisite math course, and you want to enroll in ECE 2201, you may submit an ECE Enrollment Exception Form. If all other requisites are met, you will be notified that you have been given permission to enroll in the course. Be sure to indicate which section of ECE 2201 you want to enroll in.

When you have completed the course, you must email Ms. Amanda Zabaneh (azabaneh [at] central.uh.edu) with your unofficial transcript showing that you have passed the course. You must also initiate the transfer credit process (see Transfer Credit below).

Completed Physics or Calculus Course at a Community College
If you have completed a required physics or math course at a community college but the credit has not been transferred to your UH account, you may submit an ECE Enrollment Exception Form with an unofficial transcript showing proof of completion. Be sure to initiate the transfer credit process (see Transfer Credit below) if you have not done so already.

Getting in to a UH Physics Lab Section
All requests for closed physics lab sections must be made with the Physics Department by submitting a closed enrollment request here. You will receive an email with further information as soon as the Physics department can enroll you in the lab. 

Petition to Temporarily Waive a Physics Lab 
If you have not been able to enroll in a required physics lab, but still want to enroll in ECE 2201, you must submit a prerequisite waiver to Dr. Trombetta to discuss waiving the lab temporarily. Please use the Prerequisite Waiver here.

If all other requisites are met, the waiver may be approved. If the waiver is approved, you must enroll in the lab as soon as possible. Continued delay in completing the physics labs will result in your being blocked from further ECE courses. 

A waiver for a physics lab will not be approved in a semester in which you require both physics labs, and you are not enrolled in either one.

Other Requisite Issues
You may be able to enroll in ECE courses for which requisites have been completed at another institution by filing an ECE Enrollment Exception Form.

 

Transfer Credit

To transfer credit from another institution, you must submit official college transcripts to the UH Admissions Office from all colleges or universities attended. Ask your transfer college or university registrar to send your transcript data electronically through an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) system, e.g. Speede.

Transferred coursework may receive a direct equivalency, that is, it may substitute for specific UH course. Alternatively, a course that does not have a direct UH equivalent may be assigned general elective credit (GENR ELEC) or elective credit (ELEC) in a particular subject area. Upper division and out-of-state credit may be transferred in this way.

Students may view their Transfer Credit Summary (a summary showing direct equivalency as well as ELEC credit) on their myUH account. To petition to have GENR ELEC or ELEC credit transferred as an ECE course, you must complete a Transfer Credit Petition eForm, which is also available on the myUH account. The application of transfer credit to a degree at the university cannot be determined until the transcripts have been evaluated and a degree plan is chosen. 
  

How to submit and view the Transfer Credit Petition eForm

For more information about transfer credits, please visit UH Admissions Transferring Credit.

 

ECE 5397/5197 Course Offerings

ECE 5397 courses are Special Topics courses offered by ECE instructors. These courses may be admissible for credit in the EE or CpE degree plans. Information about special topics courses is not listed in the current catalog, but can be found here.

It is important to include section numbers when searching for these courses, since all are titled ECE 5397 — Selected Topics.  Section numbers are subject to change and will be advertised as they become available.  You can find out when these courses are being offered by checking our Expected Future Course Offerings.  

For more information about the course information and requirements, please reach out to the instructor. 

Special Topic Offerings — Fall 2022

• ECE 5397 - Introduction to Machine Learning 
  • Instructor: Hien Nguyen (hvnguy35 [at] central.uh.edu)
• ECE 5397 - Advanced Telecommunications
  • Instructor: Zhu Han (zhan2 [at] uh.edu)
• ECE 5397 - Advanced Imaging Tech
  • Instructor: Xiaonan Shan (xshan [at] central.uh.edu)

 

Senior Design

All ECE students take a two-semester design sequence ECE Capstone Design (ECE 4335/4336 or CEA 4335/4336). Students do not self-enroll in ECE 4335 or CEA 4335. Instead, they are required to attend an information session, and will be enrolled by the department. More information is available at the ECE Senior Design website. Go to Prospective ECE 4335 Students: Learn More.

 

Seniors Planning to Graduate

Here is some important information for graduating seniors:

• Check Your Advisement Report
• University Commencement Updates

Here is how to apply for graduation:

• Log into MyUH.
• Click on “Degree Process/Graduation” under the menu in the top left.
• Click on “Apply for Graduation” and follow the steps.

 

Degree Plan FAQS

Information on the Power & Renewable Energy Concentration Area

What counts as a "lab"?

All 4-credit ECE courses include a lab. All 1-credit courses are lab courses.

Any lab courses taken from a Concentration or ECE elective will count toward the three lab requirement. If an ECE course with a lab is taken as the Technical Elective, this course counts toward the lab requirement as well.

Is the 1-credit lab required?

Some lecture courses that have one credit labs connected with them require that the lab be taken along with the lecture course. Whether the lab is required or not can be determined by looking at the course catalog* for the lecture course. If an elective has a required lab, you must take the lab, even if you have already satisfied the three-lab requirement.

Other info…

• MECE 3400 does not count as a lab course.
• COSC 1430 counts as a lab course for Computer and Embedded Systems majors only. COSC 2430 does not count as a lab course.
• If you choose your electives such that you have three extra lab courses (six total), you may use those three lab courses to count as an ECE elective course.