Portland-State-University 2018-2019 Bulletin

Electrical And Computer Engineering M.S.

Master of Science (M.S.)


Thesis and coursework-only options are available in the ECE M.S. program. All ECE M.S. students are required to complete a study plan approved by their faculty advisers before completion of sixteen ECE graduate credits. M.S. students can follow one of the graduate tracks or develop a custom study plan with their faculty adviser. In addition to the university master’s degree requirements, an M.S. student choosing either option must complete at least 45 graduate level credits. Coursework taken without adviser approval may not be accepted as part of the student’s program. Each student will be assigned an interim adviser at the time of admission.

Each of the graduate tracks is comprised of a list of Core courses and a list of Depth and Breadth courses.

Thesis option

Thesis M.S. students usually follow one of the Graduate Track study plans consisting of four Core courses (16 credits), two Depth and Breadth courses (8 credits), 9 credits of thesis, and 12 elective credits. Elective Credits may include additional ECE graduate courses, ECE 501-509 credits, or, with adviser approval, graduate classes from another department.  Only 3 credits of ECE 507 may be counted as elective credits.  A student may substitute an appropriate alternative class or classes for Core or Depth classes in a track by obtaining written permission from his/her Adviser before taking the class(es).
 
Thesis M.S. students must also develop, write, and give an oral defense of a thesis approved by the student’s thesis committee. The defense is public and its schedule must be posted in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at least two weeks in advance. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator (rfidler@pdx.edu) to schedule the defense and announcement. See the ECE Graduate Handbook for additional information about thesis requirements and timing.

Students should choose a research topic and adviser for their thesis; information on research in the department can be found HERE.

Coursework-only option

For the coursework-only M.S. option, students take courses following an adviser-approved track of graduate classes. Please see pre-approved Depth and Breadth advisory tracks. These tracks were designed by the faculty to give both depth and breadth of knowledge in the specified study area. This depth and breadth approach greatly improves a student’s ability to get a job in the specified area or do research in the specified area. Most M.S. students will follow one of the pre-approved, faculty-designed tracks shown. These are the tracks used by DARS to determine if a student is ready to graduate. However, it is possible to develop a custom track with faculty adviser and Graduate Program Director approval. The credits required for this option are sixteen credits of ECE graduate lecture classes that form a core, sixteen credits of ECE graduate lecture classes that provide Depth and Breadth, four credits of elective ECE graduate lecture classes, and nine credits of approved graduate electives. Coursework-only students must submit an adviser-approved study plan Program Completion Form from their desired track no later than completion of sixteen ECE graduate credits.