The Electrical Engineering Department fosters a dynamic academic environment that is committed to a tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service. The department has state-of-the-art research programs and facilities in a variety of fields and the faculty is exploring exciting new concepts and developments. Interactions with other disciplines are strong. Faculty members regularly conduct collaborative research projects with colleagues in the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, the School of Theater, Film and Television, and the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences.

There are three primary research areas in the department: (1) Circuits and Embedded Systems, (2) Physical and Wave Electronics, and (3) Signals and Systems. These areas cover a broad spectrum of specializations, for example, in communications and telecommunications, control systems, electromagnetics, embedded computing systems, engineering optimization, integrated circuits and systems, nanotechnology, micro-electromechanical systems,photonics and optoelectronics, plasma electronics, signal processing, and solid-state electronics.