Educational Objectives
During their careers, electrical engineering graduates will
- become successful practicing engineers or pursue another career that makes use of engineering principles and professional skills;
- become contributing members of diverse multidisciplinary teams and successfully apply the fundamentals of their educational background; and
- pursue professional development, including continuing or advanced education, relevant to their career path.
To achieve these objectives students are given a rigorous foundation in mathematics, physics, chemistry, mechanics, programming, digital systems, and circuit theory. They are then immersed in a sequence of required courses in microprocessors; electronics; electromagnetics; signals and systems; and sensors, transducers, and data acquisition. In the senior year, Digital Signal Processing, Random Signals and Noise, and Design I & II are required courses.
In addition to the required professional electives, seniors must choose a sequence of courses in one of the following areas: VLSI, controls, communications and signal processing, electric power, computer systems, robotics, or system simulation. Both the required courses and the sequences are designed to achieve breadth and depth in the curriculum. The integrated design experience is obtained in a two semester senior capstone design project, which have increasingly become industry sponsored.
Students also must complete a 4-credit lecture and laboratory course in general chemistry and two 4-credit lecture and laboratory courses in calculus-based physics. Students also take M 242 - Differential Equations (3 cr.), M 240 - Calculus of Several Variables (4 cr.), and M 220 - Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory (3 cr.). Students take several electrical engineering courses that integrate mathematical skills and complete these courses as co- or prerequisites. Electrical engineering students also take a probability and statistics course, ECE 420 - Random Signals and Noise .
The ability to work professionally on electrical systems, including the design and realization of such systems, is demonstrated by the progression of courses from introductory to comprehensive, including design components. It also includes some technical elective courses students may choose.
Through participation in the All-University Curriculum and in additional elective courses in the humanities and/or social sciences, students are given the opportunity to broaden their knowledge base and to participate in the larger learning community of the University.
Extensive laboratory work supplements the theoretical course work through hands-on experience. In addition to the laboratories in the sciences, there are required laboratory courses in engineering: Circuits I and II; Electronics I and II; Digital Logic, Microprocessors, and Sensors, Transducers, and Data Acquisition.
Students exercise their verbal and technical writing skills in a required writing course as well as in many engineering courses. Written and oral communication of laboratory results is required.
The engineering design experience is distributed throughout the entire curriculum, beginning in the first year and continuing throughout the curriculum, culminating with the senior capstone project.
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