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 interested in electrical engineering research and pursuing this degree should contact the ECE Department:

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Graduate Program, Engineering Building, Room 299

Phone: (719) 255-3548

Email: ecedept@eas.uccs.edu

You can also visit our website for application materials and more information.

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 of any student whose GPA falls below this average or is not a graduate of an undergraduate program in electrical engineering. All foreign applicants must complete the verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning sections of the GRE.
Both the MSEE and PhD programs require one of the following minimum scores from graduates of foreign universities: a TOEFL iBT score of at least 80, an IELTS score of at least 6.5, or a Duolingo score of at least 115.

Students who do not meet the requirements for regular admission may be considered for provisional admission based on their overall application, including GPA, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation. Provisionally admitted students are often required to take remedial courses, which will be specified in their acceptance letter.

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 must be received by April 1 for fall admission or October 1 for 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. Byeong Kil Lee - Computer Architecture and Deep Learning
Dr. Darshika G. Perera- Digital Systems
Dr. Scott Trimboli - Control Engineering
Dr. Tarek Masaud - Power Systems and Renewable Energy

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

Requirements for Students Entering without a Master’s Degree:

Must complete 36 semester hours of coursework.
At least 24 semester hours must be ECE courses.
At most 12 semester hours may be independent study courses.
All 36 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 coursework must be numbered 5000 and above.

Requirements for All Students:

Complete 30 semester hours of dissertation research in addition to coursework.
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.