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DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering

The Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering is designed to offer students the opportunity to prepare for leadership roles in careers with industry, government, or educational institutions. A thesis option is offered for students who want the opportunity to obtain some expertise in research. A nonthesis option is available for students who want a practical industrial applications-oriented degree.

Program Admission Requirements. In addition to the University-wide graduate admission requirements, admission decisions will be based on a combination of the following:

  • a satisfactory score, as specified by the Electrical Engineering Graduate Studies Committee, on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
  • a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET-accredited institution of higher education or related field
  • a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the last 60 semester credit hours.

    • A student who does not qualify for unconditional admission may be admitted on a conditional basis as determined by the Electrical Engineering Graduate Studies Committee. Applicants with an electrical engineering background who wish to continue their education but do not intend to pursue the Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering are encouraged to seek admission as special graduate students.

    Degree Requirements. The degree requirements for different options are as follows:

    A. The following five core courses form the basis for the program:

    EE 5123 Computer Architecture
    EE 5143 Linear Systems and Control
    EE 5153 Random Signals and Noise
    EE 5163 Digital Signal Processing
    EE 5183 Foundations of Communication Theory

    B. The requirements for each option, with minimum semester credit hour requirements and their distribution, are as follows:

    Thesis Option

    		Hours
       
    Core courses (any three)
    		 9
    Additional graduate electrical engineering courses*
    		 9
    Electives (may be courses from outside electrical engineering)*
    		 6
    EE 5991 Graduate Seminar
    		 1
    EE 6983 Master’s Thesis
    		 6
       
    Minimum total semester credit hours required 31

     

    Nonthesis Option Hours
       

    Core courses (any four)

    		 12
    Additional graduate electrical engineering courses*
    		15
    Electives (may be courses from outside electrical engineering)*
    		 6
    EE 5991 Graduate Seminar
    		 1
       
    Minimum total semester credit hours required 34
    *Chosen with approval of the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program Committee

    Degree plans must be consistent with the guidelines established by the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program Committee. In addition to other University-wide requirements for the Master’s degree, candidates are required to pass a comprehensive examination and/or a thesis defense administered by the student’s advisory committee, chaired by a tenured or tenure-track graduate faculty member.

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    Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Electrical Engineering

    The Department of Electrical Engineering offers advanced coursework integrated with research leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical Engineering. The program has emphases in Signals and Systems (communications, signal processing, digital systems, and control). The Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering will be awarded to candidates who have displayed an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and demonstrated the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in their field of specialty.

    The regulations for this degree comply with the general University regulations (refer to Chapter 3, General Academic Regulations, and Chapter 6, Doctoral Degree Regulations).

    Admission Requirements. The minimum requirements for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering degree program are as follows:

  • Normally, a student must hold a Master’s degree before being granted admission to the program. Some exceptionally talented students may enter the Doctor of Philosophy program directly upon receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, with the special approval of the Electrical Engineering Doctoral Studies Committee.

  • Applicants without a Master’s degree program must have a grade point average of 3.3 or better in the last 60 semester credit hours of undergraduate coursework in Electrical Engineering.

  • Applicants with a Master’s degree must have a grade point average of 3.3 or better in their Master’s degree program. Applicants with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or in a related field may apply a maximum of 30 semester credit hours of previously earned graduate credit toward their Doctoral degree. Each student’s transcript will be evaluated by the Doctoral Studies Committee and credit will be designated on a course-by-course basis to satisfy the formal coursework requirements of the degree. A maximum of 6 semester credit hours credit may be awarded for a Master’s thesis.

  • A satisfactory score, as evaluated by the Doctoral Studies Committee for Electrical Engineering, is required on the GRE Graduate Record Examination. If an applicant’s performance on the GRE is used for that purpose, it will be considered with other criteria when making an admissions or competitive scholarship decision and will not be used as the sole criterion for consideration of the applicant or as the primary criterion to end consideration of the applicant. Students whose native language is not English must achieve a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

  • Letters of recommendation, preferably three, attesting to the applicant’s readiness for doctoral study.

    • A complete application includes the application form, official transcripts, letters of recommendation, GRE scores, a résumé, a statement of research experience, interests, and goals, and the TOEFL score for those applicants whose native language is not English. Admission is competitive. Satisfying these requirements does not guarantee admission.

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    Degree Requirements and Program of Study. Typical doctoral studies will consist of 90 semester credit hours beyond the Bachelor’s degree or 60 hours beyond the Master’s degree. Undergraduate courses, general education courses, and prerequisites for graduate courses cannot be counted toward this total. The hours are divided as follows:

    A. 9 semester credit hours of Required Courses selected from the following:

    EE 5123 Computer Architecture
    EE 5143 Linear Systems and Control
    EE 5153 Random Signals and Noise
    EE 5163 Digital Signal Processing
    EE 5183 Foundations of Communication Theory

    B. 24 semester credit hours of Prescribed Elective Courses selected from the following:

    EE 5223 Topics in Digital Design
    EE 5243 Topics in Control Systems
    EE 5263 Topics in Digital Signal Processing and Digital Filtering
    EE 5283 Topics in Communication Systems
    EE 5323 Topics in VLSI Design
    EE 5343 Intelligent Control and Robotics
    EE 5363 Digital Image Processing
    EE 5383 Digital Information Theory
    EE 5423 Topics in Computer Architecture
    EE 5443 Discrete-Time Control Theory and Design
    EE 5453 Topics in Software Engineering
    EE 5463 Artificial Neural Networks
    EE 5483 Probabilistic Coding Theory
    EE 6323 Advanced Topics in Computers
    EE 6343 Advanced Topics in Control
    EE 6363 Advanced Topics in Signal Processing
    EE 6383 Advanced Topics in Communications
    EE 6951-3 Independent Study
    EE 6971-3 Special Problems
    EE 7423 VLSI for Signal Processing
    EE 7443 Nonlinear Control Systems
    EE 7463 Pattern Analysis and Machine Vision
    EE 7483 Communication Networks

    C. 21 semester credit hours of Free Electives

    Students may select free electives from the courses listed above, and from approved graduate courses in mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics, and other engineering disciplines. At least two courses must be from outside of Electrical Engineering. Sample courses in related fields are described below.

    CS 6513 Advanced Architecture
    CS 6593 Advanced Topics in Distributed Systems
    CS 6643 Parallel Processing
    EGR 5093 Special Topics in Engineering Analysis
    MAT 5293 Numerical Linear Algebra
    MAT 5313 Algebra II
    MAT 5403 Functional Analysis I
    ME 5143 Advanced Dynamics
    ME 5173 Nonlinear Systems
    STA 5103 Regression Analysis
    STA 5253 Applied Time Series Analysis
    STA 5513 Mathematical Statistics II

    D. Electrical Engineering Research (18 hours):

    EE 6961 Comprehensive Examination
    EE 6983 Master’s Thesis
    EE 6991 Research Seminar
    EE 7953 Doctoral Research

    Doctoral Dissertation (18 hours):

    EE 7993-6 Doctoral Dissertation

    The entire program of study must be approved by the student’s dissertation advisor, dissertation committee, and doctoral studies committee and must be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School for final approval. The courses are intended to focus and support the individual’s mastery of his or her particular area of expertise.

    Advancement to Candidacy. All students seeking a doctoral degree at UTSA must be admitted to candidacy. One of the requirements for admission to candidacy is passing a doctoral qualifying examination. Students should consult the University’s Doctoral Degree Regulations for the other requirements.

    Qualifying Examination. The qualifying examination is divided into written and oral portions.

    Written Portion of the Qualifying Examination. Prior to taking the written examination, the student must have a Program of Study on file. The written portion of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination is scheduled near the end of the Fall and Spring Semesters. Students wishing to take the examination must submit their request in writing to the Doctoral Advisor of Record by the fourth week of that semester. Normally, the written examination is taken in the Fall Semester of the student’s second year. Students who fail their first attempt at the written examination are allowed to make a second attempt on the next written examination. No more than two attempts to pass the written examination are permitted.

    Students must select and pass three examinations from the five areas corresponding to the five core courses in the graduate program. One of the three examinations must be from the area of specialization declared on the student’s Program of Study.

    Oral Portion of the Qualifying Examination. The oral examination must be taken within one year after passing the written portion of the qualifying examination. No more than two attempts to pass the oral examination are permitted.

    A four member Oral Examination Committee, chaired by the student’s Supervising Professor, conducts the oral examination. A written dissertation proposal should be submitted to the student’s Oral Examination Committee at least two weeks before the oral presentation. The format of the oral examination consists of a public presentation of the student’s dissertation proposal, followed by a period of questioning by the Committee based on the proposal and on relevant background from the student’s Program of Study. Unanimous approval of the Oral Examination Committee is required to pass the oral examination. After the student passes both the written and oral portions of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination, he or she is admitted to candidacy. Admission into the Doctoral program does not guarantee advancement to candidacy.

    Final Oral Dissertation Defense. After admission to candidacy, the next steps are writing the dissertation and passing the final oral defense. The final oral defense is administered and evaluated by the student’s Dissertation Committee and covers the dissertation and the general field of the dissertation. The final oral defense consists of a public presentation of the dissertation, followed by a closed oral defense. The Dissertation Committee must unanimously approve the dissertation .

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