Graduate Course Catalog 2012-2013
Graduate School
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Electrical Engineering (ECE)
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This program is offered in Durham.
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers both a thesis and non-thesis option master of science degree with a major in electrical engineering. The fundamental difference between the two options is that the non-thesis option substitutes additional coursework in place of the research and writing associated with completing a thesis. While the non-thesis option does not require a formal thesis, students choosing that option will be required to give two technical presentations and to submit a technical paper.
In addition to the master of science, a Ph.D. program is also offered in electrical engineering.
Opportunities
Advanced degrees in electrical engineering open the door to a wider variety of job opportunities, particularly with regard to consulting, research and development, and positions in academia. Within the department, opportunities for formal study, research, and individual or team projects are available in the following areas: biomedical engineering; communication systems; digital signal processing; computer engineering, computer networks, digital systems, and logical synthesis; robotics and neural networks; image processing and pattern analysis; control systems; fiber optics; electromagnetics; ocean engineering; and instrumentation.
Admission Requirements
An applicant should have completed a baccalaureate degree in electrical engineering or have comparable training, which includes courses in mathematics and physical science, network theory, digital systems, fields and waves, electronics, and electrical circuits, with appropriate laboratory experiences. Students with a baccalaureate degree from a non-U.S. university must take and submit current (within five years) general scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Degree Requirements
M.S. Degree Requirements
Master of science in electrical engineering (M.S.E.E.) degree students must take a minimum of 34 graduate credits including:
Thesis Option:
- 24 credit hours of graduate coursework, with at least 12 of those credit hours earned in 900-level courses
- 4 credits of ECE 900 Seminars
- 6 credits of thesis work
Non-Thesis Option:
- 30 credit hours of graduate coursework, with at least 18 of those credit hours earned in 900-level courses
- 4 credits of ECE 900 Seminars
Up to 12 credits earned in non-ECE courses numbered 700-799 may be taken for graduate credit by ECE M.S. degree students provided the courses are petitioned and approved by the dean of the Graduate School. A student may petition that a maximum of 12 graduate credits taken prior to admission in the UNH ECE master of science degree program be applied to fulfill the degree requirements.
Under certain circumstances it may be desirable to take courses outside the ECE department to attain the goals outlined in the student's program of study. In these cases, up to two non-ECE 900-level courses are allowed without petition, provided that they are approved by the student's academic adviser and that the student take at least two 900-level courses (neither of which may be independent studies) within the department. A student wishing to take more than two courses (either 800 or 900 level) outside the department must petition the ECE Graduate Committee.
Declaration of Thesis or Non-Thesis M.S. Degree
M.S. degree students must declare in writing whether or not they are choosing the thesis option or the non-thesis option by the end of their second semester of graduate study. A form for such declaration is available on the ECE Graduate Student website. When choosing the thesis option, the student is responsible to seek out a qualified faculty adviser. The faculty adviser must agree to being the thesis adviser prior to submitting the declaration form. The selection form must be signed by both the faculty adviser and the student and is then to be submitted to the ECE graduate coordinator. When choosing the non-thesis option, the form must be signed by the student and the student’s assigned academic adviser and then is to be submitted to the ECE graduate coordinator. If a student fails to submit a signed form by the end of their second semester of study, they may be in jeopardy of being dismissed from the M.S. degree program. Once a choice for the M.S. thesis option has been made, the student cannot revert to the non-thesis option without petitioning the ECE Graduate Committee.
Technical Presentation and Paper Requirement for the Non-Thesis Option
Students in the non-thesis option are required to submit a technical paper and to deliver two technical presentations as part of their program. Many of the courses in the ECE graduate program require technical reports and presentations, and some of these may be appropriate for satisfying the technical requirement for students in the non-thesis option. However, there are other approaches for satisfying this requirement as indicated below.
The objective in requiring a technical paper is to ensure that the student has some facility in documenting technical information. The evaluation of that paper is to be performed by the ECE Graduate Committee, and the evaluation will result in either acceptance or rejection of the work submitted. The criterion for technical papers to be considered acceptable is that they describe a contemporary technical concept or development with a degree of depth and clarity evident in conference papers. The student must be the sole author on the technical paper, and it is to be submitted to the chair of the ECE Graduate Committee electronically before the last day of classes. As noted above, technical papers associated with regular ECE graduate courses or independent studies may be used to satisfy the requirement, as are papers prepared for technical conferences or publications. Papers accepted for presentation at refereed conferences or for publication in refereed journals will automatically satisfy the technical paper requirement.
The objective in requiring the two technical presentations is primarily to ensure that students have the opportunity to present in front of a group. Presentations that fulfill one of the criteria below will be considered acceptable for this requirement:
- Presentation of a technical lecture (20 minutes or longer) as part of the requirements for a course in which the student is enrolled.
- Presentation of a technical lecture in a course as a "stand in" for the faculty member in charge.
- Presentation of a technical seminar at UNH (for example, presenting a seminar for ECE 900) or to a public group or industry.
- Presentation of a technical paper as part of a professional job function.
- Presentation of a paper at a professional technical conference.
It is the responsibility of the student to satisfy this requirement before graduation. Students must get approval from their adviser for any activity that is intended to be used as a technical presentation experience. The two presentations required must be different; giving the same seminar twice does not count as two presentations. If the activity does not fall into one of the five categories listed, prior approval of the ECE Graduate Committee must also be obtained. The student should write a brief letter for each of the two required experiences, stating the nature of the experience and the date on which it was satisfied. This letter is to be signed by the student, signed and approved by the student's advisor, and, if applicable, by the faculty member in charge of the related course. This letter should be placed in the student's departmental file.
Ph.D. Degree Requirements
The degree of doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) in electrical and computer engineering is conferred on qualified candidates who have passed written and oral examinations on the subject matter of their field of study, who have completed an original investigation in this field and have embodied the results in an acceptable dissertation, and who have passed an oral examination in defense of the dissertation. The degree of Ph.D. is essentially a research degree. It is not given merely for the completion of course credits. Detailed information can be found on the ECE departmental website.
Courses
Courses
| Abbreviation | Course Number | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECE | 804 | Electromagnetic Fields and Waves II | 4 |
| ECE | 811 | Digital Systems | 4 |
| ECE | 814 | Introduction to Digital Signal Processing | 4 |
| ECE | 815 | Introduction to VLSI | 4 |
| ECE | 817 | Introduction to Digital Image Processing | 4 |
| ECE | 834 | Network Data Communications | 4 |
| ECE | 857 | Fundamentals of Communication Systems | 4 |
| ECE | 858 | Communication System Design | 4 |
| ECE | 860 | Introduction to Fiber Optics | 4 |
| ECE | 872 | Control Systems | 4 |
| ECE | 875 | Applications of Integrated Circuits | 4 |
| ECE | 881 | Physical Instrumentation | 4 |
| ECE | 884 | Biomedical Instrumentation | 4 |
| ECE | 896 | Special Topics in Electrical or Computer Engineering | 1 TO 4 |
| ECE | 899 | Master's Thesis | 1 TO 6 |
| ECE | 900 | Seminar | 2 |
| ECE | 901 | Electromagnetic Wave Theory I | 3 |
| ECE | 902 | Electromagnetic Wave Theory II | 3 |
| ECE | 903 | Antennas | 3 |
| ECE | 915 | Advanced Active Circuits | 3 |
| ECE | 920 | Wireless Commnication Systems | 3 |
| ECE | 939 | Statistical Theory of Communications | 3 |
| ECE | 940 | Information Theory | 3 |
| ECE | 941 | Digital Signal Processing | 3 |
| ECE | 944 | Nonlinear Control Systems | 4 |
| ECE | 951 | Advanced Control Systems I | 3 |
| ECE | 952 | Advanced Control Systems II | 3 |
| ECE | 955 | Estimation and Filtering | 3 |
| ECE | 960 | Computer Architecture | 3 |
| ECE | 961 | Test Engineering and Testable Design | 3 |
| ECE | 992 | Advanced Topics in Electrical Engineering | 1 TO 3 |
| ECE | 993 | Advanced Topics in Computer Engineering | 1 TO 3 |
| ECE | 994 | Advanced Topics in Systems Engineering | 1 TO 3 |
| ECE | 998 | Independent Study | 1 TO 3 |
| ECE | 999 | Doctoral Research | 0 |
