The MSE in ECE is a thesis-option program that enables students to conduct research under the guidance of graduate faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
A wide range of disciplinary domains are available to conduct research and acquire education in ECE topics. ECE MSE is designed to accommodate many such topics while ensuring that students acquire core knowledge from relevant disciplines to become effective and independent researchers that will be able to identify and formulate a problem statement, propose and implement a solution methodology for the problem, and validate and interpret the obtained results.
The time limit for completing all degree requirements is four years from the date a student begins his/her ME program. Throughout the degree program, the ECE student should maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. If a student’s GPA drops below the minimum, the student is put on probation and given one year to recover to the acceptable minimum GPA.
Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the MSE degree program in Electrical and Computer Engineering will:
- demonstrate expertise and proficiency in the discipline’s foundational areas including electrical circuit design, signal processing, computer networking and data transfer synchronization and timing, data analysis, and a disciplinary specialization relevant to Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
- create and advance the body of knowledge in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) topics by writing and submitting scholarly papers to peer-reviewed conference proceedings and journals.
- demonstrate research skills in terms of formulating a problem statement, implementing methods of research, and validating and interpreting results.
Admissions
Requirements for admission to the Graduate School includes English proficiency.
In addition, applicants for the Master of Science program in ECE must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in the United States or from a recognized institution in another country. A Master of Science applicant who has earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a closely related discipline must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. Each application must include a personal statement describing the applicant’s interests and career objectives, plus three letters of reference. Prospective applicants may be interviewed via video-conferencing technology. All applicants should submit GRE scores; however, a waiver may be given to applicants per request of the department. Admissions will be led by the graduate program advisor, but with input from a committee of faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Undergraduate applicants with more than 12 hours (four courses) of deficiency are not eligible for admission. Applicants with fewer than 12 hours (4 courses) of deficiencies in electrical and computer engineering course work may be admitted conditionally to the Master of Science program, but they will be required to remove those deficiencies by taking prescribed undergraduate courses and obtaining a grade of B or better in each deficiency course as soon as possible and within the first year. A complete list of the electrical and computer engineering undergraduate deficiency courses is available from the ECE department.
At the time of admission, MSE students who indicate that they need support in order to attend TU will also be notified of an offer of assistantship. Typically, students will be admitted with support for at least the first year, renewable for up to four years based on performance and funding availability. It is recognized that external funding may not have been formally secured for the following academic year. Nonetheless, faculty who make a good-faith projection that they will have an opening and are confident that funding will be secured can offer support to students. TU will guarantee the terms of the assistantship for the first year. In the event that funding falls through, the faculty agrees to work to find alternative funding for the student, externally (preferred) or through an internally funded assistantship.
Residency Requirements
An ECE MSE student with full-time employment may begin his/her study program as a part-time student while enrolling in courses.
Advising
Upon admission, students who have been matched to an advisor for a research assistantship will have them serve as the faculty advisor to the student. The graduate program advisor will also be listed as a secondary advisor. For other students (e.g., those on a TA), they will be initially advised by the graduate program liaison unless a faculty member volunteers based on mutual interest for potentially advising the student on research in the future. Students awarded TA positions must be enrolled in the MSE program.
MSE Thesis and Final Defense
The thesis, course ECE 7983 , is the final and the most important component of the series of academic goals which culminate in the awarding of the MSE degree. The thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to address an intellectual problem and arrive at a successful conclusion.
The final oral examination is a defense of the thesis and is open to the public. The candidate will prepare and distribute reading copies of the thesis to each committee member two weeks prior to the oral examination. The thesis can only be accepted by the unanimous approval of the committee.
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