Program of Study - Electrical Engineering (MSE)

The Master of Science in Engineering: Electrical Engineering degree has a thesis option and a non-thesis option. Coursework is offered in areas including computer engineering, systems and controls, communications, digital systems, and electronics. Research opportunities are offered in computer architecture and performance evaluation, multimedia processors. VLSI design and implementation, microwave and antenna engineering, control systems and robotics, networks, and signal and image processing.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the graduate program in electrical engineering with clear admission status, prospective candidates must first meet all requirements for graduate admission to UT Rio Grande Valley, as well as the other requirements listed below:

GRE General Test. GRE test scores are valid for 5 years. A waiver of the GRE requirement will be granted to applicants who show proof of completing a graduate degree (master’s or doctoral).
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or similarly named program with content equivalent to an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-accredited BS in Electrical Engineering.
Undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 in the last 60 semester credit hours.
Letter of Intent detailing professional goals and reasons for pursuing the graduate degree.
Resume.

Application for admission must be submitted prior to the published deadline. The application is available at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply.

Applicants not meeting the above program specific criteria may be considered for conditional admission. Prospective students with a BS degree in other areas or having transcripts showing lack of background courses as in a typical BS in Electrical Engineering curriculum may also be required to take undergraduate leveling courses. Students with conditional admission status are required to have minimum GPA of 3.0 for the first 9 graduate hours toward the MSE-EE degree at UTRGV.

Program Requirements

Thesis Option:

Elective Courses in Electrical Engineering (18 Credits)

18 credit hours of graduate level standard courses in electrical engineering, with approval of graduate advisor. (Standard courses do not include independent study, thesis, internships, transfer courses, or courses in other disciplines)

Elective Courses in a Science or Engineering Discipline (6 Credits)

6 credit hours of graduate level courses in a science or engineering discipline, with approval of graduate advisor. (May include standard electrical engineering courses as well as independent study, internships, transfer courses, or courses in other disciplines. Does not include thesis.)

Capstone Requirement:

Thesis (6 Credits)

Once taken, must be repeated each semester until thesis is successfully defended.

Oral Comprehensive Exam

ELEE 7300	Thesis I	3
ELEE 7301	Thesis II	3

Non-Thesis Option:

Elective Courses in Electrical Engineering (30 Credits)

30 credit hours of graduate level standard courses in electrical engineering, with approval of graduate advisor. (Standard courses do not include independent study, thesis, internships, transfer courses, or courses in other disciplines)

Elective Courses in a Science or Engineering Discipline (6 Credits)

Capstone Requirement

Written Comprehensive Exam in three subject areas selected by candidate

Total Credit Hours: 30-36

Thesis Option

The thesis option for the master’s degree requires a minimum of 30 hours of graduate work, including six thesis credits identified as ELEE 7300 and ELEE 7301.
The graduate program director will help the student prepare an initial plan of study to begin his/her first semester of work. During the first semester, the student is urged to discuss potential research topics with several faculty members in order to choose a topic that interests him/her and a major professor to act as his/her thesis advisor. When a thesis topic has been selected, a Graduate Committee composed of at least three graduate faculty members shall be formed in conjunction with the thesis advisor and department chair. The committee should include at least two electrical engineering faculty members from UTRGV and may include one faculty member from another department. A final plan of study must be prepared and approved by the thesis advisor, the department chair and the dean no later than the second semester of work.
Each student should submit a proposal to the Graduate Committee that describes the thesis topic in sufficient detail. A copy of the proposal should also be submitted to the department. The proposal should normally be submitted before the student signs up for his/her first thesis course ELEE 7300. Students should bear in mind that a master’s thesis could be published in the technical literature and should represent original work in the field.
Each student is required to present a seminar on the thesis topic as part of his/her thesis defense. Notice of the oral presentation of the master’s thesis should be given at least one week in advance to all faculty and students in the department. A draft copy of the master’s thesis should be available to all faculty members serving on the student’s Graduate Committee at least one week before the oral presentation. Students are expected to make changes to the final copy of their master’s thesis based on feedback obtained from the oral presentation. Students should expect to be asked fundamental questions during the oral presentation. If the student fails the thesis defense, he/she may be allowed to take a second defense contingent upon the approval of the Graduate Committee, the department chair and the dean. If approved, the timing and requirements of the second defense will be specified by the Graduate Committee, but in no case will the student be able to defend his/her thesis for the second time until at least one semester has passed. After two failures, no further thesis defense is allowed.
After successfully defending the thesis, the student must be sure that the approval from the Graduate Committee is submitted to the Graduate College. Students are also responsible for preparing and copying the final thesis. One copy must be provided to the thesis advisor and one copy to the department in addition to copies required by the Graduate College. Members of the students Graduate Committee are required to be provided with a copy of the thesis. It is the responsibility of the student to adhere to the University requirements for the format and submission of a thesis.
All candidates for the Master of Science program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 throughout their program of study. Any student with clear admission whose GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on probation. To remain in the graduate program, the student must restore his/her GPA to 3.0 by the end of the following semester.
No more than six credit hours total may be counted toward the degree from the following categories: (a) transfer courses, (b) courses taken outside the electrical engineering department, or (c) independent study courses
No more than three hours of ELEE 6385 (Independent Study) may be counted toward the degree.

Non-Thesis Option

The non-thesis option for the masters’ degree requires a minimum of 36 hours of graduate work.
The graduate program director will help the student prepare a plan of study during his/her first semester of work. The final plan study must be approved by the graduate program director, the department chair, and the dean.
In addition to course requirements, each student in the non-thesis option will be required to pass a comprehensive examination during or at the end of the student’s final semester of work. The examination will be administered by a Comprehensive Exam Committee formed by three faculty members with whom the student has taken one or more graduate courses. The Comprehensive Exam Committee will be appointed by the graduate program director with approval of the department chair and will evaluate the students depth of knowledge in the field of study and his/her competence in presenting the technical material. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the graduate program director to schedule the examination at least four weeks before the examination date. If the student fails the comprehensive examination, he/she may be allowed to take a second examination contingent upon the approval of the Comprehensive Exam Committee, the department chair and the dean. If approved, the timing and requirements of the second attempt will be specified by the Comprehensive Exam Committee, but in no case will the second examination be given until at least one semester has passed. After two failures, no further examination is allowed.
All candidates for the Master of Science program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 throughout their program of study. Any student with clear admission whose GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on probation. To remain in the graduate program, the student must restore his/her GPA to 3.0 by the end of the following semester.
No more than six credit hours total may be counted toward the degree from the following categories: (a) transfer courses, (b) courses taken outside the electrical engineering department, or (c) independent study courses.
No more than three hours of ELEE 6385 (Independent Study) may be counted toward the degree.

Change between Thesis-Option and Non-Thesis-Option

Students may change between non-thesis option and thesis option by a written request with justifications submitted to the graduate program director/thesis advisor, department chair, and dean. If there is a change of plan of study, a request for change of plan must be included.
Thesis option students receive higher priority when applying for assistantships.
Thesis courses ELEE 7300 and ELEE 7301 cannot be counted in the degree plan for non-thesis students.