2016-2017 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Electrical Engineering, B.S.


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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.

Program Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes

The Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) are as follows:
The objectives of the BS Electrical Engineering program at the University of New Haven are to prepare graduates for professional practice and life-long learning. We expect our graduates to attain the long term goals few years after graduation:

  •  1. Succeed in the professional practice of engineering or related field evidenced by:

    a. Employment in the field of study
    b. Advancement in the chosen career
    c. Contribution to and leadership of engineering teams

  •  2. Pursue life-long learning evidenced by:

    a. Attending graduate school
    b. Continuous professional development
    c. Membership in a professional organization

  • The Student Outcomes (SOs) are as follows:

    a. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering
    b. An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
    c. An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
    d. An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
    e. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
    f. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
    g. An ability to communicate effectively
    h. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
    i. A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
    j. A knowledge of contemporary issues
    k. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

Required Courses


Students must complete a total of 125 credits for a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. Humanities or social science electives must be selected to fulfill the University Core Curriculum requirements and ABET.

Technical elective courses in the B.S.E.E. program must be selected from upper-level offerings (third or fourth year) under the guidance and approval of the student’s academic adviser. At least three must be electrical or computer engineering courses.

In the final year of study the student takes a senior design sequence, ELEC 4497  and ELEC 4498 , over two semesters. In the first semester the student selects a topic and completes a literature search and a preliminary design. In the second semester, the student completes the design, implements the project, and presents the results.

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