Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Electrical Engineering (MS)

The Master of Science in Electrical Engineering is designed to meet the needs of working professionals in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area and full-time graduate students. The MSEE offers a high-level graduate program with strong foundations in theory to:

a) equip students with interdisciplinary skills required to grasp and develop new technologies and trends in the electrical engineering field; and

b) prepare electrical engineers with the knowledge and tools needed to advance into leadership roles and to shape the future of this dynamic field.

The MSEE has the following two areas of emphasis:

Communications and Signal Processing
Digital Systems Engineering

The MSEE requires 30-credit-hours of graduate-level course work. The program offers both thesis and non-thesis options. However, students who are supported as research assistants are required to pursue the thesis option.

Thesis option, and Non-thesis option

A thesis option is offered for students who want the opportunity to obtain expertise in research and who may be interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering. A non-thesis option is offered for students who want a practical industrial applications-oriented degree. Thesis and project reports must be approved and signed by the graduate school.

MSEE General Requirements

Maximum of two graduate-level course units may be transferred from another institution to apply toward the MSEE degree. Transferred courses must logically fit into the student’s graduate program.

The student’s graduate advisor decides which courses are acceptable. The UDC approval of transfer credit may also be required. These two courses should not have been used in fulfillment of any other degree(s).

At least half of the coursework credits, excluding thesis or technical report credits, must be taken with other than a single professor.

Any coursework more than six years old at the time of the final examination will not be used to fulfill any of the MSEE degree requirements.

All graduate credits must have letter grades of A, B, or C, or pass/fail grades of S (Satisfactory). No More than two graduate courses with letter grade C will be accepted.

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is required to remain in good standing and to graduate.

Degree Requirements for the Thesis Option

Plan of Study – the student must meet with his/her advisor to formulate a plan of study. The plan of study must be submitted to the student’s advisory committee after completing at least 9 but no more than 18 semester credits.

Satisfactory completion of 30 hours of approved graduate credits including 6 hours of thesis.

At least 18 credits of course work, excluding thesis, must be at or above the 500 level. Courses below the 500 level must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.

Admission to Candidacy – the admission to candidacy form must be completed prior to the thesis defense. The student should consult the schedule of classes for deadlines on submitting this form for spring graduation.

Thesis Defense – a copy of the thesis should be distributed to each member of the advisory committee and to the graduate school at least two weeks prior to the defense. The student should make a public announcement of the defense within the department to allow attendance by interested faculty, students, and the University Community. Upon application for the thesis defense, students are required to submit a technical paper or abstract, based on some aspect of the thesis research, in a form suitable for submission to a regional technical conference.

Degree Requirements for the Non-Thesis Options

Plan of Study – the student must meet with his/her advisor to formulate a plan of study. The plan of study must be submitted after completing at least 9 but no more than 18 semester credits.

Satisfactory completion of 30 hours of approved graduate credits. At least 24 credits of course work must be at or above the 500 level. Courses below the 500 level must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.

Satisfactory passing of a written comprehensive exam. Students can take the comprehensive exam after completing the core courses in their area of study.

A 3-credit project report based on a current practical industry-type problem may be substituted for the comprehensive exam.

Curriculum of the MSEE program

All MSEE students are required to take the following two core courses:

ELEC-571 Linear systems
ELEC-507 Probability and Random Processes

The course requirements for students majoring in the Communications and Signal Processing area are:

Take the following two core courses

ELEC 558 Digital Signal Processing I
ELEC 569 Digital Communications I

Select the rest of the courses from Groups A and C of suggested and free elective courses.

Selected courses must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.

Project option students must take ELEC-599 Master’s Project that counts for 3 credit hours.

Thesis option students must take ELEC-699 Master’s Thesis that counts for 6 credit hours.

The course requirements for students majoring in the Digital Systems Engineering area are:

Take the following two core courses

ELEC-559 Computer Architecture
ELEC-584 Digital System-level Design

Select the rest of the courses from Groups A and C of suggested and free elective courses. Selected courses must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.

Project option students must take ELEC-599 Master’s Project that counts for 3 credit hours.

Thesis option students must take ELEC-699 Master’s Thesis that counts for 6 credit hours.

Group A list of Suggested Elective Courses

ELEC 510 Communications and Security for Smart Grid

ELEC 520 Power electronics

ELEC 555 Adaptive Filters

ELEC 560 Digital Image Processing

ELEC 568 Wireless Communications

ELEC 569 Digital Communications I

ELEC 578 Digital Integrated Circuit Design

ELEC 579 Digital Integrated Circuit Design Laboratory

ELEC 580 Digital System design and Synthesis

ELEC 559 Computer Architecture

ELEC 574 Digital Information Theory

ELEC 575 Wireless Networks

ELEC 584 Digital System-level Design

ELEC 585 Design of a System on a Chip (SoC)

ELEC 586 Advanced Embedded System design

ELEC 658 Digital Signal Processing II

ELEC 659 Advanced Computer Architecture

ELEC 665 Multimedia Communications

ELEC 669 Digital Communications II

ELEC 673 Coding Theory and Applications

ELEC 678 Advanced Digital Integrated Circuit Design

ELEC 692 Advanced Topics in Signal and Image Processing

ELEC 693 Advanced Topics in Digital Communications

ELEC 599 Master’s Project (3 credit hours)

ELEC 699 Master’s Thesis (6 credit hours)

Group B list of Suggested Elective Courses

ELEC 510 Communications and Security for Smart Grid

ELEC 520 Power electronics

ELEC 555 Adaptive Filters

ELEC 558 Digital Signal Processing I

ELEC 564 Digital Image Processing

ELEC 568 Wireless Communications

ELEC 569 Digital Communications