The department offers programs leading to the Master of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees with a major in electrical and computer engineering. These programs prepare students for careers in research and development in such areas as biomedical engineering; circuit design, VLSI, & CAD; communication systems; computer networks, distributed computing, & computer architecture; computer vision & robotic systems, control systems; digital signal & image processing; electromagnetics, microwave, & antennas; microelectronic devices & processing; microelectronic packaging & interconnects; optics; remote sensing & telemetering; and software, simulation & information systems.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Degree Programs
ECE offers master's and PhD programs in electrical and computer engineering. PhD degrees are coursework and research-based and master's is thesis and non thesis.
Top University
The University of Arizona ranks among the top 20 public research institutions in the country.
Cross-Disciplinary Training
The UA's Interdisciplinary Programs unite researchers and students from diverse disciplines and provide a number of cross-disciplinary research and training opportunities for ECE grad students.
Career Placement
ECE maintains longstanding partnerships with companies throughout industry, such as Raytheon, Intel, IBM, Qualcomm, Motorola, Microsoft, Honeywell, Texas Instruments, GM, Agilent, NASA, Boeing and Pixar.
The Region
From earth's environment to medical advancements to space exploration, Tucson is a technology and bioscience hotspot.
College of Engineering
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
GRE scores must be competitive (incl. Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing).GRE scores must be competitive (incl. Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing). Exceptions for the PhD program requirement may be made for applicants who have completed a BS or MS degree in ECE or a related field at a U.S. university.
TOEFL for international students.
Graduate Research assistantships
Graduate Teaching assistantships
Fellowships and scholarships
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.
4832
ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: 4832
NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Electrical and Computer Engineering
66
Major Coursework
Must submit the Draft Plan of Study by the end of first semester.
36 units of graduate coursework (5xx or 6xx)* subject to the following limitations:
Qualifying Exam: Consists of oral questions related to coursework. Must take this exam before the end of the
3rd semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Minor Written Comprehensive Exam: Must take this exam before taking the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. The ECE Minor Written Comprehensive Exam is waived for ECE students.
ECE Written Comprehensive Exam: This is a written research proposal. Must be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam committee at least two weeks before the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Oral Comprehensive Exam: This includes an oral presentation of the research proposal, questioning about the research proposal, and comprehensive technical questioning in the broader field related to the proposed research. Must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
Paper Requirement: Must submit at least two papers to a refereed journal (not counting papers submitted in the
master’s program), with an ECE faculty member as a co-author.
Final Defense: Must pass an oral defense of the dissertation. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
Major Coursework
Must submit the Draft Plan of Study by the end of 1st semester.
36 units of graduate coursework (5xx or 6xx)* subject to the following limitations:
Qualifying Exam: Consists of oral questions related to coursework. Must take this exam before the end of the 5th semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Minor Written Comprehensive Exam: Must take this exam before taking the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 7th semester. The ECE Minor Written Comprehensive Exam is waived for ECE students.
ECE Written Comprehensive Exam: This exam is a written research proposal. Must be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam committee at least two weeks before the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 7th semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam. Mid-Degree Paper Prior to scheduling the Oral Comprehensive Exam, must submit a paper to a refereed journal or conference. Note: To receive an M.S. degree along the way, complete all M.S. (thesis option) degree requirements including passing an oral defense of the thesis.
Oral Comprehensive Exam: This includes an oral presentation of the research proposal, questioning about the research proposal, and comprehensive technical questioning in the broader field related to the proposed research. Must be taken before the end of the 7th semester. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
Paper Requirement: Must submit a total of three technical papers with an ECE faculty member as a co-author: at least two papers to a refereed journal, and one additional paper to a refereed journal or refereed conference. This three-paper requirement includes the Mid-Degree Paper.
Final Defense: Must pass an oral defense of the dissertation. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
* A cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 or higher must be maintained on all coursework taken for graduate credit. A grade of C or higher is required for a course to be used to satisfy the degree requirements (A or B for transfer credits).
Major
Coursework
Must submit the Draft Plan of Study by the end of first semester.
36 units of graduate coursework (5xx or 6xx)* subject to the following limitations:
Minor
Coursework
At least 9 units of graduate coursework (5xx or 6xx)*. subject to the following limitations:
Qualifying Exam
Consists of oral questions related to coursework. Must take this exam before the end of the 3rd semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Minor Written Comprehensive Exam
Must take this exam before taking the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. The ECE Minor Written Comprehensive Exam is waived for ECE students.
ECE Written Comprehensive Exam
This is a written research proposal. Must be submitted to the Comprehensive Exam committee at least two weeks before the Oral Comprehensive Exam, which must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. Warning: Cannot take the ECE Written Comprehensive Exam until 12 months after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Oral Comprehensive Exam
This includes an oral presentation of the research proposal, questioning about the research proposal, and comprehensive technical questioning in the broader field related to the proposed research. Must be taken before the end of the 5th semester. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
Papers
Must submit at least two papers to a refereed journal (not counting papers submitted in the master’s program), with an ECE faculty member as a co-author.
Final defense
Must pass an oral defense of the dissertation. Warning: Cannot take the Final Defense until 9 months after passing the Oral Comprehensive Exam.
Minor Coursework for Post-M.S. Option and the Direct Option
At least 9 units of graduate coursework (5xx or 6xx)*. subject to the following limitations:
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
Program-level Information | |
---|---|
Application Acceptance Rate | 60% |
Avg. Time-to-degree (years) | 5.60 |
Department-level Information | |
Enrollment Percent Male | 82.55% |
Enrollment Percent Female | 17.45% |
Enrollment Percent International | 27.18% |
Enrollment Percent URM | 25.17% |