D.Eng. in Electrical and Computer Engineering

To address the need for engineering professionals that are able to perform applied research and develop innovative solutions in the industrial and government sectors in the broad area of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Learning Goals

Learning Goal 1: To provide students with research and problem-solving skills that enable them to develop creative solutions for solving complex engineering problems in areas of electrical and computer engineering.

Learning Goal 2: To prepare students to use modern engineering software, processes, devices, and diagnostic tools for advanced engineering design and development.

Learning Goal 3: To prepare students with experiences in technical writing and publishing their findings in top tier journals, conferences, and book chapters and/or submitting patents that contain innovative solutions to challenging problems in the areas of ECE.

Learning Goal 4: To prepare students for being successful technical leaders.

The following are the minimum requirements for admission in the Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.) in Electrical and Computer Engineering  (ECE).

• A master’s degree in engineering or computer science from an accredited program.
  • Bachelor’s GPA: 3.0 on a 4.0-scale for regular admission.
  • Master’s GPA: 3.2 on a 4.0-scale for regular admission.
• Recent GRE scores.
• For non-native English speakers, recent scores of an advanced English proficiency exam, such as TOEFL or IELTS.
• At least two years of full-time equivalent research and development experience in industry.
• Three recommendation letters. At least one letter from a supervisor/employer; at least one letter from a faculty member.  In the case of working students, the letter must show commitment and support from the employer.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) or a resume.
• A statement of purpose including a research topic and research plan.

It is strongly suggested to identify a faculty advisor at the time of application. A faculty advisor must be identified after admission and before a student first enrolls.

Preference is given to:

• Students with scholarships provided by companies or government organizations.
• Students with a commitment by employers in writing such as reduced working hours, e.g. 30 hours/week, for the first three years.

Students are required to be registered every Fall and Winter term.  No registration is required for Summer terms.

In addition to meeting the standards of successful academic progress on the Annual Review, the student must pass two qualification courses, a leadership course,  and maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 for good academic standing.

The program requires completion of:

• Three qualifying courses with a combined GPA of at least 3.5/4.0.  
  • Two graduate courses must be related to the student's chosen core research area and recommended by the advisor.  
  • The third graduate course must be a leadership course. 
  • All three courses must be approved by the advisor.
• Faculty Guided Research (ECE 691 Advanced Directed Study or ECE 980 Pre-Candidate Dissertation Research) [6 credit hours]
• Research (ECE 990 Dissertation for Candidates) [24 credit hours]

Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship Training (RCRS) covers ethical issues that may arise in research and identifies areas of known research misconduct. The DEng students are required to complete the PEERRS-RCRS online training course on MyLINC. It must be completed within the first two semesters of enrollment in the program before advancing to candidacy.

The student must complete two courses in a relevant specialization area with the approval of his advisor.  The specialization areas and courses are given in the tables below.  The student must also complete a leadership course.  The leadership course options are shown after the specialization areas.

Electronic & Optoelectronics Specialization Area

• ECE 519  Advanced Topics in EMC
• ECE 515  Vehicle Electronics II
• ECE 517  Advanced Power Electronics and Motor Drives
• ECE 532  Auto Sensors and Actuators
• ECE 533  Active Auto Safety Systems
• ECE 539  Production of Electronic Products
• ECE 5462  Hybrid Electrical Vehicles
• ECE 566  Mechatronics

Energy & Power Systems Specialization Area 

• ECE 519  Advanced Topics in EMC
• ECE 517  Advanced Power Electronics and Motor Drives
• ECE 541  Introduction to Electric Energy Systems
• ECE 542  Intro. to Power Management and Reliability
• ECE 5421  Grid Communication and System
• ECE 5422  Grid Protection
• ECE 5423  Advanced Grid Protection
• ECE 5424  Data Analytics and Machine Learning for Power Systems
• ECE 5426  Electrical Machines and Drives
• ECE 546  Electrical Vehicles
• ECE 5544  Introduction to Cyber-Physical System Security
• ECE 5545  Security of Smart Power Grids
• ECE 5462  Hybrid Electrical Vehicles
• ECE 5791  Vehicle Power Management
• ECE 615  Advanced Power Electronics
• ECE 616  Advanced Topics in Power Systems
• ECE 646  Advanced Electric Drive Transportation

Computer & Embedded Systems Specialization Area

• ECE 514  VLSI Design
• ECE 528  Cloud Computing
• ECE 554  Embedded Systems
• ECE 572  Sequential Machine Design
• ECE 574  Advanced Software Engineering Methods
• ECE 575  Computer Architecture
• ECE 5752  Reconfigurable Computing
• ECE 578  Advanced Operating Systems
• ECE 5541  Embedded Networks
• ECE 5542  Embedded Signal Processing
• ECE 5543  Embedded System Security
• ECE 5544  Introduction to CPS Security
• ECE 614  Control Networks for Embedded System
• ECE 675  Computer Architecture II

Communications & Computer Networks Specialization Area

• ECE 528  Cloud Computing
• ECE 535  Mobile Computing
• ECE 550  Communication Systems
• ECE 570  Computer Networks
• ECE 5701  Wireless Communications
• ECE 5702  High Speed and Advanced Networks
• ECE 612  Wireless Sensor Networks
• ECE 614  Control Networks for Embedded System
• ECE 670  Advanced Computer Networks and Wireless Comm.

Control Systems & Signal Processing Specialization Area

• ECE 512  Active Filter Design
• ECE 550  Communication Systems
• ECE 552  Fuzzy System
• ECE 555  Stochastic Processes
• ECE 560  Modern Control Theory
• ECE 565  Digital Control Systems
• ECE 567  Nonlinear Control Systems
• ECE 580  Digital Signal Processing
• ECE 5802  Multirate Signal Processing with Applications
• ECE 581  Architecture for DSP
• ECE 582  Statistical Signal Processing
• ECE 584  Speech processes
• ECE 586  Digital Image Processing
• ECE 587  Selected Topics: Image Processing and Machine Vision
• ECE 589  Multidimensional Signal Processing
• ECE 661  System Identification and Adaptive Control
• ECE 665  Optimal Control
• ECE 681  Advanced DSP

Security and Privacy of Cyber-Physical Systems Specialization Area

• ECE 527  Multimedia Security and Forensics
• ECE 5421  Grid Communication System
• ECE 5422  Grid Protection
• ECE 5423  Advanced Grid Protection
• ECE 5543  Embedded System Security
• ECE 5544  Introduction to Cyber-Physical System Security
• ECE 5545  Security of Smart Power Grids
• CIS 544  Computer and Network Security
• CIS 545  Data Security and Privacy
• CIS 546  Security and Privacy in Wireless Networks
• CIS 548  Security and Privacy in Cloud Computing
• CIS 549  Software Security
• CIS 576  Database Security
• CIS 5761  Advances in Information Security
• CIS 584      Advanced Computer and Network Security
• ECE 620  Sensor Security
• CIS 624  Research Advances in Computer and Network Security

Robotics Specialization Area

• ECE 531  Intelligent Vehicle Systems
• ECE 536  All Weather Auto Vision
• ECE 537  Data Mining
• ECE 543  Kinematics, Dynamics, and Control of Robots
• ECE 544  Mobile Robots
• ECE 555  Stochastic Processes
• ECE 560  Modern Control Theory
• ECE 565  Digital Control Systems
• ECE 566  Mechatronics
• ECE 567  Nonlinear Control Systems
• ECE 5770  Advances UAS
• ECE 579  Intelligent Systems
• ECE 5831  Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks
• ECE 587  Selected Topics in Computer Vision
• ECE 588  Robot Vision
• ECE 642  Robotic Embedded Systems
• ECE 643  Humanoid Robots
• ECE 644  Advanced Robotics
• ECE 645  Cooperative Robots
• ECE 641  System Identification and Adaptive Control
• ECE 665  Optimal Control System

Intelligent Systems Focus Area

• ECE 531  Intelligent Vehicle Systems
• ECE 532  Auto Sensors and Actuators
• ECE 536  All Weather Auto Vision
• ECE 537  Data Mining
• ECE 544  Mobile Devices
• ECE 552  Fuzzy systems
• ECE 5770  Autonomous UAS
• ECE 579  Intelligent Systems
• ECE 5831  Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks
• ECE 587  Selected Topics in Computer Vision
• ECE 588  Robot Vision
• ECE 643  Humanoids
• ECE 644  Advanced Robotics
• ECE 679  Advanced Intelligent Systems

Leadership Course Options

• IMSE 515: Fundamentals of Program Management
• EMGT 500: Management for Engineers
• OB 560: Management Skills Development
• EDB 501: Leadership and Administration

Early Start Requirements

The student is expected to engage in research work from the first year of the program. Each student should have a faculty advisor at the beginning of the first semester to start developing the dissertation research topic. The dissertation research topic should be defined with the faculty advisor by the end of the second semester in the program.

 The student must complete at least 6 credit hours of faculty-guided research (ECE 791 or ECE 980) within the first year of enrollment in the program.  In the first semester,  students need to take ECE 691 (Advanced Directed Study).  In the second semester the student needs to take ECE 980 (Pre-candidate Dissertation Research). 

The required outcomes of ECE 691 include:

• Well-defined research topic/objective/technical approach
• An in-depth literature review

The required outcomes of ECE 980 include:

• An approved dissertation committee
• Promising preliminary study results
• Well-developed research plan and milestones, and
• Successfully passed dissertation proposal examination, which also covers the fundamentals of the research related to student’s dissertation research area.

A student who does not pass the examination will receive an “I” grade.  The student must retake ECE 980 and the dissertation proposal examination the following semester.  If the student passes the second time, an “S” grade will be given to both ECE 980 courses.  If the student fails the examination a second time, the student is required to withdraw from the program.

Research Requirements

ECE 990 (Dissertation for candidates) can be taken only after a student achieves candidacy. A minimum of 24 credit hours of ECE 990 is required.

During the candidacy, a student enrolls in ECE 990 every semester.  The outcomes of ECE 990 include:

• a written dissertation research progress report and
• a presentation of research results to the dissertation committee.

An “S” or “U” grade will be given by the adviser based on the student’s performances in research. Any “U” grade will be reviewed by the committee and the student will be provided with written guidance on how to  improve dissertation research. The measurement of student progress will include:

• regular meetings with the adviser
• quality research progress reports
• publications and/or patent applications
• prototype system development and demonstration

The faculty advisor notifies D.Eng ECE committee of  the student’s progress in each semester.

The program does not have a written qualifying examination, but instead has a curricular qualification requirement.  The student must obtain a minimum of B+ in each curriculum qualification course and the leadership course.  The student must obtain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5/4.0   No additional attempt is allowed.

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee is formed when a student takes ECE 980. This  committee continues to oversee the student’s work until the final dissertation defense.

The faculty advisor serves as the chair of the Dissertation Committee.

The dissertation committee will consist of a minimum of three members in addition to the committee chair. The committee members will include two faculty members (at least one member from ECE) and one industry member.

The composition of the dissertation committee must be approved by the ECE D.Eng. program committee. The industry member's curriculum vitae must be submitted to the Program Committee for approval.

Depending on the dissertation topic, a faculty member outside the ECE department may be included in the dissertation committee.

A committee may have a sole chair or two co-chairs. Persons who may serve as co-chair, but not the sole chair, include:

• tenure or tenure-track faculty members of the University
• research faculty
• lecturers
• similarly qualified person from outside the University; and
• former University faculty members who have moved to a faculty position at another university

Candidacy Requirements 

Achieving candidacy for the D.Eng. in ECE requires:

• Successful completion of curricular qualification and leadership courses.
• Completion of all the required outcomes of ECE 980
• Submission of the candidacy application form

The D.Eng. ECE program has a time limit of 3 years for completion. Students are expected to complete the degree within 2 years after achieving candidacy, but no more than 3 years from the date of the first enrollment in the program. 

A student is considered to have completed the D.Eng. major in ECE only if the student has successfully completed

• two required technical specialization courses
• a course on leadership development
• required research credit hours, and
• dissertation defense

A petition for time limit extension should be submitted to the D.Eng. major in ECE Committee for approval if both the student and the faculty advisor agree on the extension.

The successful defense of the Dissertation Proposal is one of the required outcomes of the ECE 980 course. The dissertation proposal examination covers the research fundamentals related to the student’s dissertation research area.

A student who does not pass the examination will receive an “I” grade.  The student must retake ECE 980 and the dissertation proposal examination the following semester.  If the student passes the second time, an “S” grade will be given to both ECE 980 courses.  If the student fails the examination a second time, the student is required to withdraw from the program.

After passing ECE 980, the student may proceed with the dissertation research and the writing of the dissertation. The dissertation should document the original contributions made by the candidate as a result of independent research. This research work should be of archival quality. In advance of graduation, all members of the student's dissertation committee must approve the dissertation. To obtain this approval a student must submit a written copy of the dissertation to the dissertation committee and defend the research work at a final oral examination open to other faculty, students, and the interested public. Students defending the dissertation must be registered in ECE 990.

Upon completion of the dissertation work, the student initiates the last step toward the degree—the dissertation defense process. The process follows the official guidelines and consists of the following main stages:

• Preparation of a written dissertation formatted in accordance with the guidelines,
• Pre-Defense meetings with the members of the program committee,
• Written evaluations of the dissertation by the dissertation committee members
• The Oral Defense of the dissertation consisting of two parts:
  • Public seminar and open question session held by the student
  • Private deliberations by the committee
• Final oral examination report and certificate of approval prepared by the dissertation committee
• Post-Defense meeting with the CECS Graduate Education Office