Engineering–Concentration in Electrical Engineering, PhD

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering supports a PhD program in Electrical Engineering as part of the PhD in Engineering degree. Students who are interested in research areas in electrical engineering and would like to pursue the PhD in Engineering degree should contact the ECE Department at (719) 255-3548. Further information is also available here.

Learning Objectives

The candidate must have a broad knowledge of science, math and engineering.
The candidate must have in-depth knowledge of the specific area in which the thesis research will be conducted.
The candidate must be able to read, understand, and evaluate professional literature on advanced topics in engineering and applied science.
The candidate must be able to write technical reports and project documentation.
The candidate must be able to make oral presentations of technical information.
The candidate must demonstrate the capability to make fundamental and significant contributions in the area of engineering and applied science, mathematics, and engineering disciplines, along with the tools of research, to perform analysis and synthesis and to visualize potential areas of application.

Admission Requirements

Regular admission to the PhD program requires the following:

A 3.3 grade point average (GPA) on all previous college work, including both graduate and undergraduate.
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) may be required if the applicant falls below this GPA or is not a graduate of an ABET accredited undergraduate program in electrical engineering. The verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning portions of the GRE are required of all foreign applicants.
Graduates of foreign universities are required to take the TOEFL exam: A score of 550-600 on the paper-based exam or, 79 or 80 on the Internet based exam is required.

Students not admitted on a regular basis may be admitted on a provisional basis depending on their over-all application file, including GPA, GRE, letters of recommendation, etc.

Students admitted on a provisional basis are often required to take remedial courses (these are specified in the letter of acceptance). Registration for such remedial courses must commence with the first semester of a student’s program with at least three credits completed per semester until all remedial requirements are satisfied.

Application Deadlines

To apply, prospective students should contact the ECE Department.

Applications are reviewed on a continual basis, but need to be received by April 1 (fall admission) or October 1 (spring admission) for students who are applying for assistantships. It is recommended that international students apply at least three months prior to the start of the semester to allow time to request a visa. Limited fellowships and assistantships are available.

Current research areas of ECE department faculty:

Dr. Carlos A. Paz de Araujo—Microelectronics
Dr. T.S. Kalkur—Microelectronics, VLSI Circuit Design
Dr. Gregory L. Plett—Adaptive Signal Processing and Control
Dr. Hoyoung (Heather) Song—Electromagnetics
Dr. Chia-Jiu (Charlie) Wang—Computer Engineering
Dr. Mark A.Wickert—Communications, Signal Processing

Degree Requirements

The PhD degree is awarded to students who have satisfied the requirements of duration of program, who have submitted an acceptable dissertation, and who have passed all prescribed examinations.

Requirements for Students Entering with a Master’s Degree:

Complete 24 semester hours of course work
At least 12 semester hours must be ECE courses
At most 6 semester hours may be independent study courses.
All 24 semester hours must be numbered 5000 and above whether ECE or non-ECE.

Requirements for Students Entering without a Master’s Degree:

Must complete 48 semester hours of course work.
At least 24 semester hours must be ECE courses.
At most 12 semester hours may be independent study courses.
All 48 semester hours must be numbered 5000 and above whether ECE or non-ECE.

In all cases: Cross-listed courses which are offered at the 5000/6000 levels must be taken at the 6000 level. All course work must be numbered 5000 and above.

Requirements for All Students:

Complete 30 semester hours of dissertation research in addition to course work.
Have an overall graduate GPA of 3.0 in order to graduate.
Have a grade of B- or better in all courses applied toward the PhD degree.
Pass the Preliminary Examination, the Comprehensive Examination, and the final Defense of Dissertation.

No foreign language is required.