MASTER’S PROGRAM IN
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Program Overview
The Department of Electrical Engineering offers a graduate program leading to a Master
of Science in Engineering degree. The program has a theses option and a non-thesis
option. Coursework is offered in areas including computer engineering, systems and
controls, communications, digital systems, and electronics. Research opportunities are
offered in computer architecture and performance evaluation, multimedia processors.
VLSI design and implementation, microwave and antenna engineering, control systems
and robotics, networks, and signal and image processing.
Admission Requirements
The minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the electrical engineering graduate program are:
| 1) A bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from an accredited program. |
| 2) A grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester hours attempted. |
Applicants who do not satisfy the specific program admission requirements may be
considered for conditional admission. Prospective graduate students whose bachelor’s
degree is in a field other than electrical engineering are required to take leveling courses,
prescribed by the Graduate Program Director, before they can be considered for
admission to the electrical engineering graduate program.
International Students
Test of English as Foreign language (TOEFL) - A
minimum score of 500 (173 for computer based test) is
required for all international students from countries whose
native language is not English. Test scores must be sent
directly to the University of Texas-Pan American from the
Testing Agency. Copies of TOEFL scores sent by the
applicant are not acceptable.
Additional University Admission Requirements, required supporting materials and application
procedure are indicated in the Application form.
MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
THESIS OPTION
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL REQUIRMENTS
The thesis option for the Master’s degree requires a minimum of 30 hours of
graduate work including 6 thesis credits identified as ELEE 7300 and ELEE
7301.
| 1) |
The Graduate Program Director will help the student prepare an initial plan of study
to begin his/her first semester of work. This plan of study must be filed with the graduate
school. |
| |
| 2) | During the first semester, the student is urged to discuss potential research topics with
several faculty members, in order to choose a topic that interests him/her and a major
professor to act as his/her thesis advisor. When a thesis topic has been selected, a
Graduate Committee composed of at least three graduate faculty members shall be
formed in conjunction with the major professor and the Graduate Program Director. The
committee should include at least two Electrical Engineering faculty members from
UTPA and one faculty member from another department. All committee members must
be on the graduate faculty. An approval of the student Graduate Committee by the
University Graduate Office is required before the student begins the thesis work. A final
plan of study must be prepared and approved by the major professor, the Department
Chair, and the Dean no later than the second semester of work. |
| |
| 3) | Each student should submit a proposal to the Graduate Committee which describes
the thesis topic in sufficient detail. A copy of the proposal should also be submitted to the
Department. The proposal should normally be submitted before the student signs up for
his/her first thesis course. Students should bear in mind that a master’s thesis should be
publishable in the technical literature and represent some meaningful extension of state of
knowledge in the field. |
| |
| 4) | Once a student registers for ELEE 7300, he or she must continue to register for
ELEE 7301 each succeeding semester or summer session until the thesis is completed.
Credit is counted only once and then only upon successful completion of the master’s
program. |
|
| |
| 5) | Each student is required to present a seminar on the thesis topic. Notice of the oral
presentation of the Master’s thesis should be given at least one week in advance to all
faculty and students in the Department. A draft copy of the Master’s Thesis should be
available to all faculty members serving on the student’s Graduate Committee at least one
week before the oral presentation. Students are expected to make changes to the final
copy of their Master’s thesis based on feedback obtained from the oral presentation.
Students should expect to be asked fundamental questions during the oral presentation. If
the student fails the thesis defense, he/she may be allowed to take a second defense
contingent upon the approval of the Graduate Committee, the Department Chair and the
Dean. If approved, the timing and requirements of the second defense will be specified by
the Graduate Committee, but in no case will the student be able to defend his/her thesis
for the second time until at least one semester has passed. After two failures, no further
thesis defense is allowed. |
| |
| 6) | Students are responsible for preparing and copying the final thesis. One copy must be
provided to the major professor, and one copy to the Department in addition to copies
required by the Office of Graduate Programs and Research. Members of the student’s
Graduate Committee may each require to be provided with a copy of the thesis. It is the
responsibility of the student to adhere to the University requirements for the format and
submission of a thesis. |
| |
| 7) | All candidates for the Master of Science program must maintain a minimum GPA of
3.0 throughout their program of study. Any student with clear admission whose GPA
falls below 3.0 will be placed on probation. To remain in the graduate program, the
student must restore his/her GPA to 3.0 by the end of the following semester. |
Course Requirements
Elective Courses in Electrical Engineering 18 hours
Elective Courses in Science and Engineering 6 hours
Master’s Thesis 6 hours
ELEE 7300 Master’s Thesis I
ELEE 7301 Master’s Thesis II
Total 30 hours
Elective Courses must be graduate courses and must be selected with the approval of the
student’s thesis advisor. No more than 3 hours of ELEE 6385 (independent study) may be
counted toward the degree.
MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
NON-THESIS OPTION
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
General Requirements
The non-thesis option for the Master’s degree requires a minimum of 36 hours of
graduate work.
| 1) |
The Graduate Program Director will help the student prepare a plan of study during
the first semester of course work. The plan of study will be filed with the graduate school. |
| |
| 2) | In addition to course requirements, each student in the non-thesis option will be
required to pass a comprehensive examination during or at the end of the student’s final
semester of work. The examination will be administered by an Examining Committee of
three faculty members with whom the student has taken one or more graduate courses.
The faculty members must be on the graduate faculty. The Examining Committee will be
appointed by the Graduate Program Director with approval of the Department Chair and
will evaluate the student’s depth of knowledge in the field of study and his/her
competence in presenting the technical material. It is the responsibility of the student to
contact the Graduate Program Director and the Examining Committee to inform them of
the student’s intent to take the comprehensive examination at least four weeks before the
examination date. The examination times will be posted by the Graduate Director. The
examination will be taken on one day. If the student fails the comprehensive examination,
the student may be allowed to take a second examination contingent upon the approval of
the Examining Committee, the Department Chair and the Dean. If approved, the timing
and requirements of the second attempt will be specified by the Examining Committee,
but in no case will the second examination be given until at least one semester has
passed. After two failures, no further examination is allowed. |
| |
| 3) | All candidates for the Master of Science program must maintain a minimum GPA of
3.0 throughout their program of study. Any student with clear admission whose GPA
falls below 3.0 will be placed on probation. To remain in the graduate program, the
student must restore his/her GPA to 3.0 by the end of the following semester. |
Course Requirements
Elective Courses in Electrical Engineering 30 hours
Elective Courses in Science and Engineering 6 hours
Total 36 hours
Elective Courses must be graduate courses and must be selected with the approval of the
Department Graduate Director. No more than three hours of ELEE 6385 (independent
study) may be counted toward the degree.
TRANSFER OF GRADUATE CREDITS
A maximum of 9 semester hours of graduate work earned at other institutions
may be transferred for degree credit, contingent upon review and approval by the
Director of Graduate Program. General procedure and criteria for transferring graduate
credits are as follows:
| 1) |
The course is equivalent to a graduate level science/engineering course at UTPA or
appropriate for elective credit (as in ELEE6399). |
| |
| 2) | The grade for the course is “B” of higher. |
| |
| 3) | The course was not earned by correspondence. |
| |
| 4) | No more than seven years have passed between the date the course was completed and
the planned graduation date of the student from UTPA. |
Students who wish to transfer graduate credits must submit a request letter to the
Director of Graduate Program with supporting materials (such as course descriptions,
samples of work, proof of completion of the course, etc.) no later than four weeks before
the filing date of the official degree plan of the student with the University Office of
Graduate School.
Students who plan on taking one or more graduate courses at other institutions
while enrolled in the Electrical Engineering Master’s program at UTPA are encouraged
to contact the Director of Graduate Program to discuss the possibility of transferring the
course credit upon completion to UTPA.
