Program Coordinator: Ali Golbazi, Ph.D.
The B.S. program in electrical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.
Electrical engineering is concerned with the analysis, design, development, and operation of electrical and electronic systems. Examples of these systems include communication, fiber optics, data processing, power generation, and distribution, control, and instrumentation. Digital circuits and computers are important and integral parts of such systems and are widely used by electrical engineers in their design and development. The electrical engineer is also concerned with the devices that make up systems such as transistors, integrated circuits, rotating machines, antennas, lasers, and computer-memory devices.
Recognizing the changing trend in engineering education, the Electrical Engineering program has adopted a multidisciplinary approach for teaching and learning by incorporating a series of newly developed project-oriented courses based on the spiral curriculum.
The early part of the program emphasizes electrical engineering skills that form the background for the upper-level elective and design courses. Physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer programming, basic engineering science, and general education courses supplement the required and elective electrical engineering courses.
The upper-level electrical engineering course work provides areas of concentration for in-depth study. Students can choose additional technical electives from outside the area of concentration to provide more breadth of knowledge.
To influence our society’s evolution, the electrical engineer must acquire an understanding of our society, our cultural heritage, and the human condition. The engineer must communicate ideas to other engineers and to the public. The Electrical Engineering program enables this via liberal and humanistic studies. The University Core Curriculum requirements allow students to expand their cultural and intellectual horizons by exposing them to the humanities and social sciences. Students learn written and oral communication skills in the core courses as well as in multidisciplinary engineering-science courses in the freshman and sophomore years. Students apply these skills in the humanities and social science courses as well as in laboratory/design courses in their major.
An important feature of the electrical engineering curriculum is the design experience. Our students develop the ability to formulate problems, analyze appropriate models, conduct empirical tests, gather relevant information, interpret empirical tests, develop appropriate models, develop alternative solutions, and synthesize in our laboratory sequence. This sequence of courses takes the student in gradual steps from a well-structured laboratory experiment in the sophomore year to an open-ended design project in the senior year. This allows students to gain practical experience in engineering design.
Internship Requirement
The internship program is intended to enrich the academic experience of our undergraduate students, providing exposure to and participation in a working engineering environment. Each internship must involve a partnership consisting of the student, faculty, and employers/organizations to provide each student intern with an optimal experience. A minimum of 300 hours performing relevant engineering duties is required prior to graduation. Students must complete 60 credits toward the bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering before an internship is attempted.
The internship carries no credit for the degree; however, the requirement may be satisfied utilizing a co-op position, summer employment, and part-time or full-time positions that are approved by the student’s employer and by the department/internship coordinator as relevant to the goals of the internship experience. A waiver (or substitution) of the internship requirement may be granted for students who are employed in the field, subject to a formal review by the department/internship coordinator. The student’s request for such a waiver must be initiated one year prior to the anticipated graduation date.
Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of the program, based on the ABET Engineering Criteria and the program mission, are to produce graduates who demonstrate the following qualities and attributes:
- Ability to pursue professional practice in initial electrical engineering positions or continue into graduate study either in electrical engineering or related fields
- Ability to adopt the analytical skills and the broad foundation in general education and liberal arts to allow for lifelong learning, providing the basis for leadership in their chosen field of endeavor
- Ability to communicate ideas effectively and participate in multidisciplinary teams to solve technical problems and benefit humankind
- Responsibility and awareness of the broad issues relating to professional ethics, safety, and the environment
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