PhD Degree Requirements

Our electrical engineering, computer engineering and telecommunications engineering doctoral programs require students to have a PhD Advisor (Either an ECE faculty member or an ECE Affiliate), a minimum 75 course semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, and maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.

In addition to course requirements, we require our PhD students to successfully complete the following examinations:

• Qualifying Exam (QE): Assesses background knowledge and capabilities to do PhD-level research in the fields of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Telecommunications Engineering.
• Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Exam: Given by a candidate’s supervisory committee.
• Final Oral Exam: Completion of a major research project culminating in a dissertation demonstrating an original contribution to scientific knowledge and engineering practice; a written dissertation is submitted to the Office of Graduate Education, and the dissertation is defended publicly.