MSCPE / Computer Engineering Degree Requirements

• Required Courses

• Admission Requirements

• Example Plans of Study

• Course Descriptions

The following curriculum is designed to balance the four major requirements of a master's program in computer engineering:

·        Flexibility, to address the needs of students with a variety of different backgrounds.

·        Depth, to ensure the graduates will have adequate knowledge and skills in at least one area of specialization.

·        Focus on current technological trends, to meet the immediate needs of working students as well as to adequately prepare full-time students for a real-world technological environment.

·        Strong foundations in theory, to equip the student with tools to grasp and develop new technologies and trends.

The Master of Science in Computer Engineering degree requires a minimum of 45 approved graduate credits chosen in accordance with a plan of study arranged in consultation with the student's advisor and the departmental graduate advisor.  Up to but not exceeding 9 research/thesis credits may be taken by students who choose to write a Master's thesis.  Students who elect a non-thesis option are also encouraged to engage in research, by registering for research credits (not exceeding 9 credits).

Requirement Courses

Core Requirement:

The core requirement consists of two courses

A.     ECE-C621            High-performance Computer Architecture;

B.     ECE-C631            Principles of Computer Networking;

which are the first courses of the Computer Architecture sequence and the Networks sequence, respectively.  However, it is required that students complete one of these two sequences.  Since the students need not have advanced knowledge beyond undergraduate level to study either sequence, we plan to offer the sequences on an alternating year.  This will ensure a practical teaching load for the Computer Engineering faculty. 

Sequence Requirement:

The students' plan of study must include at least one three-course sequence.  At present, we have available five sequences in the areas of Discrete Mathematics in Computer Engineering, Switching Theory, Computer Architecture, Networks, and Embedded Systems.

Credits Requirement:

Students choosing the non-thesis option will be required to take 18 credits of Computer Engineering (ECE-C) courses, 6 credits of Electrical Engineering (ECE-E, ECE-S, ECE-P) courses, 12 credits of Engineering and/or Mathematics and Computer Science courses, 6 credits of free ECE electives, and 3 credits of approved free-electives.  Those choosing the thesis option will be required to take 18 in ECE-C courses, 6 credits in Electrical Engineering courses, 12 credits of Engineering and/or Mathematics and Computer Science courses, and 9 credits in thesis.  Table 1 below summarizes this requirement in the MS in Computer Engineering plan of study.

Students may choose to participate in the College of Engineering Career Integrated Education (CIE), where they earn 6 academic credits for working in industry on computer engineering related projects.  Three of these credits may be used to satisfy either the "approved free-elective" credits for the non-thesis option, or toward satisfying  the 12 required credits of Engineering and/or Mathematics and Computer Science courses for the thesis option.  The students choosing the CIE option will need a total of 48 credits for graduation.

Please note that ECE-C500 and ECE-C600 will not count towards the required 15 courses.

Table 1. MS in Computer Engineering Course Requirements