Thesis and coursework-only options are available in the ECE M.S. program. All ECE M.S. students are required to complete a Program Completion Form approved by their faculty advisers before completion of sixteen EE and ECE graduate credits. In addition to the university master’s degree requirements, an M.S. student 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.
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 EE and 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).
Students should choose a research topic and adviser for their thesis; information on research in the department can be found on the department’s web site. 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 to schedule the defense and announcement. See the department’s web site for additional information about thesis requirements and deadlines.
Coursework-only option
For the coursework-only M.S. option, students take courses following an adviser-approved track of graduate classes. Please see the pre-approved coursework-only tracks below. These tracks were designed by the faculty to give both depth and breadth of knowledge in the specified study area. It is also possible for students to develop a custom track with their faculty adviser and approval by the Graduate Program Director. The coursework-only option requires students to complete sixteen credits of EE and ECE graduate lecture classes that form a core specialization area, sixteen credits of EE and ECE graduate lecture classes that provide depth and breadth, four credits of elective EE and ECE graduate lecture classes, and nine credits of approved graduate electives.
Approved Tracks
In addition to completing the other requirements for the degree, all students will take the core courses (16 credits) within their selected track. The core courses for each track are listed below.
Students pursing the thesis option will take two courses (8 credits) from the depth and breadth course list. Students pursing the coursework-only option will take four courses (16 credits) from the depth and breadth course list. The depth and breadth course lists are available from the department.
Analog, RF, and Microwave Circuit Design
Core
| ECE 521 | Analog Integrated Circuit Design I | 4 |
| ECE 522 | Analog Integrated Circuit Design II | 4 |
| ECE 531 | Microwave Circuit Design I | 4 |
| ECE 532 | Microwave Circuit Design II | 4 |
Communications
Core
| ECE 518 | Linear System Analysis I | 4 |
| ECE 519 | Linear System Analysis II | 4 |
| ECE 561 | Communication Systems Design I | 4 |
| ECE 562 | Communication Systems Design II | 4 |
Computer Architecture and Design
Core
| ECE 585 | Microprocessor System Design | 4 |
| ECE 586 | Computer Architecture | 4 |
| ECE 587 | Advanced Computer Architecture I | 4 |
| ECE 588 | Advanced Computer Architecture II | 4 |
Design Automation Track
Core
| ECE 516 | Integrated Circuit (IC) Technologies | 4 |
| ECE 528 | VLSI Computer-Aided Design | 4 |
| ECE 529 | CAD for ULSI and Emerging Technologies | 4 |
| ECE 583 | Low Power Digital IC Design | 4 |
Design Verification and Validation
Core
| ECE 571 | Introduction to System Verilog for Design and Verification | 4 |
| ECE 585 | Microprocessor System Design | 4 |
| ECE 593 | Fundamentals of Pre-Silicon Validation | 4 |
| ECE 595 | Emulation and Functional Specification Verification | 4 |
Digital IC Design, Test, and Validation
Core
| ECE 525 | Digital Integrated Circuit Design I | 4 |
| ECE 526 | Digital Integrated Circuit Design II | 4 |
| ECE 540 | System-on-Chip Design with FPGAs | 4 |
| ECE 581 | ASIC: Modeling and Synthesis | 4 |
Embedded Systems
Core
| ECE 540 | System-on-Chip Design with FPGAs | 4 |
| ECE 544 | Embedded System Design with FPGAs | 4 |
| ECE 558 | Embedded Systems Programming | 4 |
| ECE 585 | Microprocessor System Design | 4 |
Micro and Nano Technology
Core
| ECE 514 | Microsystem Integration and Packaging | 4 |
| ECE 515 | Fundamentals of Semiconductor Devices | 4 |
| ECE 516 | Integrated Circuit (IC) Technologies | 4 |
| ECE 517 | Nanoelectronics | 4 |
Signal Processing
Core
| EE 520 | Random Processes | 4 |
| EE 521 | Discrete Time Processing I | 4 |
| EE 522 | Discrete Time Processing II | 4 |
| EE 529 | Signal Processing Practicum | 4 |