Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department offers the following graduate degrees:

the Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering,
the Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering and
the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

General Information on the M.S. Degrees

Thesis and non-thesis options are available for the M.S. degrees. For a non-thesis degree, a minimum of 30 semester hours of course work is required. Thesis options require 30 credit hours of which six credits of ECE 699 shall be devoted to individual study with a member of the graduate faculty. This work must culminate in the preparation of a written thesis on a significant problem of common interest and an oral defense of the thesis. To obtain a M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering, a student must have at least a GPA of 3.0 for all courses taken as a graduate student.

Requirements for the M.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

A completed Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering is normally required to become a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Qualified students from other disciplines may become candidates for a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering by demonstrating high scholastic competency in all the required undergraduate Electrical Engineering courses. This may be done by actually enrolling in the undergraduate Electrical Engineering courses or by passing an equivalency examination, which covers the material appropriate to the undergraduate Electrical Engineering course.

Students must complete at least three of the five core course, including Mathematical Methods (ECE523), Electromagnetic Theory (ECE550), Random Variable and Stochastic Processes (ECE515), Advanced Microprocessor-Based Design (ECE 571), and Solid State Electronics (ECE565). In addition to the core curriculum, students may enroll in state-of-the-art courses offered by the Electrical Engineering graduate program. Normally no more than 6 credits of ECE 400 level course work will be acceptable for graduate credit. In addition, no more than one ECE 599 and two ECE 598 courses may be taken toward fulfilling the requirements for a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Degree candidates may also choose to take courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science and other disciplines, which are consistent with his/her program goals.

Requirements for the M.S. Degree in Computer Engineering (MSCE)

A completed Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering is normally required to become a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering. Qualified students from other disciplines may become candidates for a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering by demonstrating high scholastic competency in all the required undergraduate Computer Engineering courses. This may be done by actually enrolling in the undergraduate Computer Engineering courses or by passing an equivalency examination, which covers the material appropriate to the undergraduate Computer Engineering course.

Students must complete at least three of the five core courses, including Advanced Microprocessor Based Design (ECE 571), Microprogramming (ECE 573), Mathematical Methods (ECE523), Random Variable and Stochastic Processes (ECE515), and Database (COS 580 or SIE 550). All students must complete at least one graduate-level (500 or above) course in Computer Science. In addition to the core curriculum, students may enroll in state-of-the-art courses offered by the Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computer Science graduate programs. Normally no more than 6 credits of ECE or COS 400 level course work will be acceptable for graduate credit. In addition, no more than one ECE 599 and two ECE 598 courses may be taken toward fulfilling the requirements for a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering. Degree candidates may also choose to take courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other disciplines, which are consistent with his/her program goals.

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering

A doctoral student must complete at least 42 credits of coursework beyond the BS degree requirements. (Thesis and dissertation credits do not count toward this requirement.) Nine credits out of the 42 are to be completed in an area outside of Electrical & Computer Engineering, to constitute a minor. At least 24 credits out of the 42 must be ECE courses. Normally, no more than 6 credits of ECE 400 level course work will be accepted for graduate credit. Additionally, PhD candidates must complete four of the five core course requirements for either the MSEE or MSCE degree. Candidates are required to maintain a GPA of 3.3 for all graduate coursework, pass a qualifying exam on Electrical and Computer Engineering fundamentals and pass a comprehensive exam in the student’s area of research. The Ph.D. candidate must complete a program of study, which has obtained the approval of the student’s advisory committee and the Graduate Coordinator of the department. The preparation and defense of a thesis embodying the results of an original investigation in a specialized area of Electrical and Computer Engineering are essential features of the program.

4+1 Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Programs

The department offers the opportunity for ECE undergraduates to begin taking graduate courses during their senior year, double-counting up to 9 credits toward the BS and the MSEE or MSCE.

Students must submit the application to the graduate coordinator by February 15 of their junior year. Details can be found at the department website: http://ece.umaine.edu/graduate/phd-electrical-computer-engineering/

Application

Applications are accepted at any time for admission in the Fall (September), or the Spring (January) semester. Application materials can be obtained from the Graduate School, 5775 Stodder Hall, Rm 42, Orono, ME 04469-5775, e-mail at graduate@maine.edu, or downloaded from the web site http://www.umaine.edu/graduate/admissions/admissions

Additional Information

Individual faculty may be contacted via the ECE department web site at http://ece.umaine.edu/graduate/phd-electrical-computer-engineering/

Alternatively, the Graduate Coordinator can be reached by regular mail at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, by telephone at (207) 581-2223, or by FAX at (207) 581-4531.

Graduate Faculty

Donald M. Hummels, Ph.D. (Purdue University, 1987), Professor and Chair. Communications, signal processing and pattern recognition.

Ali Abedi, Ph.D. (University of Waterloo, 2004), Professor, Wireless communications, coding and information theory, sensor networks.

Herbert M. Aumann, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1973) Adjunct Professor. Antennas, phased arrays, antenna measurements, radar systems, data acquisition and signal processing.

Richard O. Eason, Ph.D. (University of Tennessee, 1988), Associate Professor. Robotics and computer vision.

Nuri Emanetoglu, Ph.D. (Rutgers State Univ. of New Jersey. 2003), Associate Professor, Novel semiconductor materials and devices optoelectronics and photonics, piezoelectric materials, thin films, surface acoustic wave devices, sensors.

David E. Kotecki, Ph.D. (University of California at Davis, 1988), Associate Professor. Microelectronics, circuits, electronic materials, computer modeling and simulation.

Mohamad T. Musavi, Ph.D. (University of Michigan, 1983), Professor. Artificial Neural Networks, computer vision, power systems and smart grid.

Mauricio Pereira da Cunha, Ph.D. (McGill University, 1994), Professor. Microwave acoustics, signal processing, sensors and applications.

Bruce E. Segee, Ph.D. (University of New Hampshire, 1992), Professor. Instrumentation, neural networks and computer interfacing.

Rosemary Smith, Ph.D. (University of Utah, 1982), Professor. Microsensors, microtechnology, biomedical microdevices.

John F. Vetelino, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island, 1969), Professor. Surface acoustic wave devices and applications, microsensors, sonar signal processing, solid state

Vincent Weaver, Ph.D. (Cornell University, 2010), Associate Professor. High performance computing, computer architecture, operating systems, embedded programming

Yifeng Zhu, Ph.D. (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2005), Professor. Computer architecture and systems including parallel/distributed computing, and computer storage systems.