The curriculum incorporates uniform requirements for the M.S. program that apply to all students in the department regardless of their area of study. The curriculum allows flexibility in the selection of courses by students and their faculty advisers, in an effort to promote and encourage multi-disciplinary education and research.

M.S. students may select either the thesis plan or the non-thesis (or comprehensive examination) plan. The selection of courses is tailored to the student’s professional objectives and must meet the requirements stated below. The courses should be selected and approved in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. Departures from the stated requirements are considered only in exceptional cases and must be approved by the Department’s Vice-Chair of Graduate Advisor. The minimal requirements for the M.S. Program are as follows:

1. Prerequisite: B.S. degree in electrical engineering or related field.

2. All M.S. program requirements should be completed within 2 academic years from admission into the M.S. graduate program in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

3. The student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 every quarter, and 3.0 in all graduate courses.

4. Thesis Option: Students selecting the thesis option must complete at least the following requirements:

   • Five (5) formal graduate courses to serve as the student’s major field of study.

   • Two (2) formal graduate courses to serve as the student’s minor field of study.

   • One (1) graduate seminar series course EE297.

   • Two (2) EE598 courses involving work on the M.S. thesis.

   • The student may not apply any other EE500-level courses, other seminar courses, as well as the courses EE296 and EE375, toward the course requirements.

   • Complete an M.S. thesis under the direction of the student’s faculty adviser to a standard that is approved by a committee comprising three faculty members. The thesis research must be conducted concurrently with the coursework.

5. Non-thesis Option: Students selecting the non-thesis option must complete at least the following requirements:

   • Six (6) formal graduate courses to serve as the student’s major field of study.

   • Two (2) formal graduate courses to serve as the student’s minor field of study.

   • One (1) graduate seminar series course EE297.

   • One EE299 M.S. Project Seminar course to serve as the M.S. comprehensive examination, which is evaluated by a committee of three faculty members appointed by the department. In case of failure, the student may be re-examined only once with the consent of the Vice-Chair of Graduate Affairs.

   • The student may not apply any EE500-level courses, other seminar courses, as well as the courses EE296 and EE375, toward the course requirements.

6. Students must select a number of formal graduate courses to serve as their major and minor fields of study according to the requirements listed above for the thesis (7 courses) and non-thesis (8 courses) options. The selection of the major and minor sequences of courses must be from different established tracks, or according to approved ad-hoc tracks, or combinations thereof. The selected courses must be approved by the student’s faculty adviser.

7. For the thesis option at least four (4), and for the non-thesis option five (5), of the formal graduate courses used to satisfy the M.S. program requirements listed above must be in Electrical Engineering.

8. A formal graduate course is defined as any 200-level course, excluding seminar courses.

9. At most one upper division undergraduate course is allowed to replace one of the formal graduate courses covering the student’s major and minor fields of study provided that (i) the undergraduate course is not required of undergraduate students in the Electrical Engineering department, and (ii) the undergraduate course is approved by the student’s faculty adviser.

10. A track is a coherent set of courses in some general field of study. The department suggests lists of established tracks as a means to assist students in selecting their courses. Students are not required to adhere to the suggested courses in any specific track.

Time-to-Degree

The average length of time for students in the M.S. program is five quarters. The maximum time allowed for completing of the degree is two academic years from the time of admission into the M.S. program.