Electrical and Computer Engineering

Admission Requirements Degree Requirements

Mailing Address:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (MC 154)
851 South Morgan Street
Chicago, IL 60607-7053

Campus Location: Department Office 1020 SEO; Student Affairs Office 1020 SEO
Program Codes: 20FS1200MS (MS); 20FS1200PHD (PhD)
Telephone: (312) 413-2291 or (312) 996-4325
E-mail: grad-info@ece.uic.edu
Web Site: http://www.ece.uic.edu/
Head of the Department: Mitra Dutta
Director of Graduate Studies: Derong Liu

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers graduate programs leading to the Electrical and Computer Engineering degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels. Updated information about the curriculum, requirements, policies, courses, faculty, and staff is found on the ECE home page http://www.ece.uic.edu.

The department offers a comprehensive range of courses in the field of electrical engineering and computer engineering. Major research areas include bioelectronics and biomimetics, computer engineering, electromagnetics, device physics and electronics, and information systems.

Research facilities in ECE include the Nanotechnology Core Facility, a versatile MEMS/Nano facility, which also contains a microfabricaton laboratory with a 3,000 square-foot Class 100/1000 clean room that enables a broad spectrum of innovative multidisciplinary research, and, a microfluidics center for studying properties of nanodrops; Andrews Electromagnetics Laboratory; Communication and Sensing Laboratory; Computational Intelligence Laboratory; Computer Vision and Robotics Laboratory; Design Automation, Reconfiguration and Testing Laboratory; Laboratory for Energy and Switching Electronics Systems; Multimedia Communications Laboratory; Machine Vision Laboratory; Multimedia Systems Laboratory; Nanoengineering Research Laboratory; Signal and Image Research Laboratory.

Admission Requirements

Applications for admission are individually evaluated by the Graduate Admissions Committee. A complete set of transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work is required before an application is evaluated for admission. In addition to the application requirements of the Office of Admissions and Records and the policies set by the Graduate College, applicants should meet program requirements for admission. Meeting minimum requirements does not, however, guarantee admission. Program requirements are given below:

Master of Science

  • Baccalaureate Field Electrical or computer engineering, or other closely related curriculum.
  • Grade Point Average At least 3.20/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study is expected.
  • Tests Required All international applicants should report general test scores of GRE. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution are not required to provide GRE scores; however, GRE scores may improve prospects for financial aid.
  • Minimum English Competency Test Score
    • TOEFL 550 (paper-based); 213 (computer-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based), OR,
    • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores.
  • Letters of Recommendation Not required for admission unless specifically requested by the Graduate Admissions Committee after reviewing academic and other credentials.
  • Personal Statement Not required.
  • Deadlines The application deadline is the same as the Graduate College deadline for each term.

Doctor of Philosophy

  • Prior Degrees Applicants must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering or a related field. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree and an outstanding academic record are encouraged to seek admission directly to the PhD program.
  • Grade Point Average At least 3.50/4.00.
  • Tests Required All international applicants should report general test scores of GRE. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution are not required to provide GRE scores; however, GRE scores may improve prospects for financial aid. Graduates of non-English-speaking countries who seek appointment as Teaching Assistants are encouraged to submit a TSE score (minimum acceptable score is 50).
  • Minimum English Competency Test Score
    • TOEFL 550 (paper-based); 213 (computer-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based), OR,
    • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores.
  • Letters of Recommendation Three required.
  • Personal Statement Not required.
  • Other Requirements No limited-status admissions.
  • Deadlines The application deadline is the same as the Graduate College deadline. It is recommended that all application materials should be submitted by January 1 for admission in fall semester of that year in order to get full consideration for financial aid. University fellowship nominations are due in the first week of February and department financial aid decisions (RA/TA/TFW) are made about the middle of March.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

Master of Science

  • Students must complete one of the two options.
    • I. Thesis option (36 hours total)
      • A. 28 hours course work
        • 1. 12 hours at the ECE 500-level
          • a. Excluding ECE 596, ECE 598, and ECE 599.
        • 2. Remaining 16 hours, at 400- or 500-level.
          • a. 12 hours must be in ECE rubric.
          • b. Up to 4 hours of non-ECE graduate course work, completed with prior department approval, may be applied toward the MS degree.
          • c. A Computer Engineering (CE) student may fulfill part of the 500-level ECE course requirement by completing up to 4 hours of graduate course work at the 500-level in the CS department, excluding CS 595, 596, 597, 598, and 599. CS course must be completed with prior department approval. This course does not count against the limit of non-ECE course work allowed.
      • B. 8 hours of ECE 598—MS Thesis Research
      • C. All students must enroll in ECE 595 at least one semester.
    • II. Course-Work-Only option (40 hours total)
      • A. 40 hours course work
        • 1. 16 hours at the ECE 500-level
          • a. Excluding ECE 596, ECE 598, and ECE 599.
        • 2. Remaining 24 hours, at 400- or 500-level.
          • a. 16 hours must be in ECE rubric.
          • b. Up to 8 hours of non-ECE graduate course work, completed with prior department approval, may be applied toward the MS degree.
          • c. A Computer Engineering (CE) student may substitute up to 4 hours of 500-level ECE course work with 400-level ECE course work if the student completes the same number of hours of non-ECE course work at 500-level in the CS department, excluding CS 595, 596, 597, 598, and 599. CS course must be completed with prior department approval. This course does count against the limit of non-ECE course work allowed.
      • B. All students must enroll in ECE 595 at least one semester
  • Credit earned in ECE 596 may not be applied toward the MS degree.
  • No graduation credit will be given for credit / no credit courses.
  • Comprehensive Examination None.
  • Thesis, Project, or Course-Work-Only Options Thesis or course work only. No other options are available.
  • Thesis: Thesis students must earn 8 hours in ECE 598; no more than 8 hours of ECE 598 may be applied toward the degree.

Doctor of Philosophy

  • Students must complete one of these two options.
    • I. PhD post MS (108 hours total, 32 hours transferred from MS). Credit for MS Degree: Those having an MS degree from an accredited institution will be awarded 32 semester hours of credit towards the PhD degree requirement.
      • A. 28 hours of course work
        • 1. 16 hours at the ECE 500-level.
          • a. Excluding ECE 596, ECE 598, and ECE 599
        • 2. Remaining 12 hours, at the 400- or 500-level. Non-ECE graduate course work, completed with prior department approval.
          • a. A Computer Engineering (CE) student may replace up to 4 hours of 500-level ECE course work with 400-level ECE course work if the student completes the same number of hours of non-ECE course work at 500-level in the CS department, excluding CS 595, 596, 597, 598, 599. This course does count against the limit of non-ECE course work allowed.
          • b. Any course that is nearly equivalent to one taken in master’s program earlier will not earn PhD credit.
      • B. 48 hours of ECE 599—PhD Thesis Research.
      • C. 32 hours transferred from MS degree
      • D. All students must enroll in ECE 595 in at least two semesters
      • Credit earned in ECE 596 may not be applied toward the PhD degree.
      • No graduation credit will be given for credit / no credit courses.
    • II. Direct PhD (108 hours total)
      • A. 52 hours course work
        • 1. 24 hours at the ECE 500-level
          • a. Excluding ECE 596, ECE 598, and ECE 599
        • 2. Remaining 28 hours, at the 400- or 500-level.
          • a. 12 hours must be in ECE.
          • b. Up to 16 hours of non-ECE graduate course work completed with prior department approval may be applied toward the PhD degree.
          • c. A CE student may substitute up to 8 hours of 500-level ECE course work with 400-level ECE course work if the student completes the same number of hours of non-ECE course work at 500-level in the CS department, excluding CS 595, 596, 597, 598, 599. This course does count against the limit of non-ECE course work allowed.
      • B. 56 hours of ECE 599—PhD Thesis Research.
      • C. All students must enroll in ECE 595 in at least two semesters
      • A student may apply to receive an MS degree upon passing the preliminary examination, provided course work required for MS degree under course-work-only option is completed.
      • If any one of the PhD degree requirements of passing the qualifying examination or passing the preliminary exam is not successfully completed, student may apply for transfer to the MS program for an opportunity to complete the MS degree requirements under the thesis option.
      • Credit earned in ECE 596 may not be applied toward the PhD degree.
      • No graduation credit will be given for credit / no credit courses.
  • Examinations Departmental Qualifying Examination: Required; written.
  • Preliminary Examination: Required; oral.
  • Dissertation Required. Candidates must earn ECE 599 credit of at least 44 hours beyond master’s degree and at least 52 hours beyond bachelor’s degree.

Financial Aid

There are several different forms of financial aid available to incoming graduate students: University Fellowship, Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and Tuition and Fee Waivers. Applicants may seek financial aid by completing the downloadable Application for Graduate Appointment and mailing it to the ECE Department at UIC. They will automatically be considered for all four forms of financial aid listed above. Additional information and the procedure to apply for financial aid can be found on the ECE home page http://www.ece.uic.edu by clicking on the Graduate Program link.

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