MS Engineering - Electrical & Computer Engineering Emphasis

MS Engineering – Electrical & Computer Engineering Emphasis

Description: l-r: Aneek James, a junior electrical engineering major from Stone Mountain, and Professor Mable Fok. This program of study is effective Fall Semester 2024. Previous program of study requirements may be found here:

The M.S. in Engineering with Electrical and Computer Engineering Emphasis requires a minimum of 33 semester hours in the Program of Study, which consists of:

A minimum of 21 semester hours of coursework:

20 hours of graduate-level coursework
- 12 hours of 8000-level courses from one or more of the ECE Emphasis Area tracks listed below.
- 8 hours of 6000-level or higher coursework from any UGA school or college, exclusive of thesis (7300) and research (7000, 7010)
2 hours of Graduate Seminar (ENGR 8950)**

And either

Thesis Option:

3 hours of Foundations for Engineering Research (ENGR 8910)
A minimum of 6 hours of master’s research (ENGR 7000) or project-based research (ENGR 7010). A typical student’s research hours will exceed this minimum; however, at most 6 hours of 7000/7010 may be listed on the program of study.
3 hours of MS thesis preparation and writing (ENGR 7300)
View the thesis option curriculum checklist.

Non-Thesis Option:

Additional 9 hours of 6000-level or higher ECE courses. Courses with the prefixes ELEE, CSEE, ECSE, CSCI, ENGR are acceptable. For other courses consult the ECE graduate coordinator
3 hours of ENGR 7010 Project Research and a Master’s Project Report
View the non-thesis option curriculum checklist.

** Only 1 hour of Graduate Seminar may apply on the Program of Study and is counted toward the 33 hour MS minimum. Students are free to register for the course multiple times and are encouraged to continue regular attendance of speaker series presentations even if not registered for seminar.

Students will work with their graduate advisor to select the most appropriate set of courses to ensure breadth of understanding as well as mastery of knowledge in a specific area consistent with their interests and research. In addition to completing 12 credit hours selected from the tracks below, students may work with their graduate advisor to develop an interdisciplinary plan of study drawing from the extensive graduate course offerings at UGA.

The thesis option is provided for students wishing to receive professional training via coursework integrated with research training through the successful completion of a thesis. In the MS Thesis Option, all coursework is selected consistent with specific degree and emphasis area requirements in coordination with the Student’s Faculty Advisor and approved by the student’s Advisory Committee on the Program of Study. To receive the M.S. degree, each student is required to present a satisfactory research proposal approved by the student’s advisory committee and the graduate coordinator and pass a final examination and defense of the research thesis.

The non-thesis option is provided for students either currently employed in professional practice or wishing to emphasize only professional training through their MS. For the MS Non-Thesis Option, all coursework is selected consistent with specific degree and emphasis area requirements and approved by the program’s Graduate Director and Advisory Committee on the Program of Study. The Graduate Director serves as the student’s faculty advisor. The student identifies an appropriate faculty member to serve as supervisor for their Master’s Project who then works in coordination with the Graduate Director to advise the student through degree completion. The supervising faculty for the Master’s Project, the Graduate Director, and Graduate Coordinator comprise the student’s Advisory Committee. To receive the M.S. degree under the Non-Thesis Option, each student is required to complete a Master’s Project under the supervision of a faculty member and submit a Masters Project Report for approval by the student’s Advisory Committee.

Students who are enrolled in the MS program, Non-Thesis Option, must complete a One-semester Project under the supervision of a CENGR Faculty Member. Working with their mentor, the student should propose a well-defined project that can be completed within one semester. The student is expected to spend 6-10 hours per week working on the project and to meet with the faculty mentor on a regular basis. The project should explore a topic within the scope of electrical engineering and should result in a concrete product – a device prototype, a piece of software, a mathematical analysis or result, etc. As part of the project, the student must produce a project report. The report should follow the formatting guidelines of the MS thesis and will typically be in the neighborhood of 25 pages. The report must be submitted to the faculty mentor, the ECE graduate coordinator, and the CENGR graduate office. If the Final Project Supervisor and Graduate Coordinator are satisfied with the project report, the student should obtain signatures from them on the “Completion of Non-Thesis Degree Requirement Letter.” The signed letter should be submitted to the graduate program administrators before the deadline (will be communicated by the graduate program administrators during the second week of the semester). A sample letter can be found here.

Students elect their MS option at the start of their programs. In the event a student wishes to change their degree option during their program, the student must request a change in degree objective. Students successfully petitioning to change their previously elected MS option must 1) complete at least two full-time semesters in their new option before they are eligible for graduation, 2) adequately complete any prior work to which they committed or for which they were supported under assistantship in their prior option, and 3) after option change start and complete either the MS project requirement (ENGR 7010) or MS thesis research requirement (ENGR 7000/7010, 7300). Only students in the thesis option are eligible for College assistantship support.

Completion of the M.S. requirements for all programs in the College of Engineering fulfill all requirements of the University of Georgia Graduate School. No grade below C will be accepted in the program of study. To be eligible for graduation, a student must maintain a 3.0 (B) average on the graduate transcript and a 3.0 (B) average in the program of study.

Students will work with their graduate advisor to select the most appropriate set of courses to ensure breadth of understanding as well as mastery of knowledge in a specific area consistent with their professional interests. In addition to completing the required number of credit hours selected from the tracks below, students may work with their graduate advisor to develop an interdisciplinary plan of study drawing from the extensive graduate course offerings at UGA.

Emphasis Area Courses

Coursework fulfilling the ECE Emphasis Area credit hour requirement for the Ph.D in Engineering or M.S. in Engineering degree may be chosen from one or more of the areas below. Courses will be reviewed each academic year and updated as needed to reflect new areas in the field.

Note: All 8000 level courses with the following prefixes will be accepted for the area of emphasis: CSCI, PHYS.

Track 1: Robotics and Automation

Through this track, students can gain expertise in the analysis and design of controllers for complex, large scale robotics and automation systems. As the costs of robotics and automation continue to decrease, the demand for advanced robotics in manufacturing will increase. The need for improved safety and a cleaner environment will further drive the need for advanced automation and robotics.

ELEE 8240 – Instrumentation Programming
ELEE 8220 – Nonlinear Control Systems
ELEE 8410 – Advanced Motor Drives
ELEE 8XXX – Autonomous Mobile Robots and Manipulation
ENGR 8930 – Optimization Theory and Engineering Applications

Track 2: Electronics & Photonics

Students develop an understanding of the design and analysis of systems involving electromagnetic waves from RF electronics to photonic systems for signal processing and communication and optical systems for image capture and processing. High-speed communication and signal processing at gigabit speeds requires sophisticated electro-optic systems that must be understood at both the device and the systems level. Modern optical imaging systems use a wide variety of electrical and photonic technologies to achieve everything from imaging biological systems at the nanometer scale to imaging distant galaxies.

CSEE 8840 – Advanced Image Analysis
ELEE 8320 – Fiber Optic Sensors
ELEE 8510 – Microwave Photonics
ELEE 8530 – Advanced Optics and Photonics
ELEE 8580 – Biological Microscopy
ELEE 8745 – Advanced Power Electronics
ENGR 8310 – MEMS Design
ENGR 8570 – Advanced topics in Microscopy

Track 3: Intelligent and Cyber-physical Systems

This track develops in students an understanding of engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computational algorithms, networks, and physical components. Advances in Intelligent and Cyberphysical Systems (ICPS) will enable capability, adaptability, scalability, resiliency, safety, security, and usability that will far exceed the simple embedded systems of today. CPS technology will transform the way people interact with everything from their refrigerator to the city they live in. New smart ICPS will drive innovation and competition in sectors such as agriculture, energy, transportation, building design and automation, healthcare, and manufacturing.

CSEE 8300 – Principles of Cyber Physical Systems
CSEE 8310 – Security in Cyber Physical Systems
CSEE 8830 – AR/VR 3D user interface design
INFO 8000 – Foundations of Informatics for Research and Environmental Sciences

Selected Course Offerings

Students may want to consider the following ECE courses in building their Programs of Study, as appropriate:

CSEE 6240 – Wireless Sensor Networks
CSEE 6260 – Microcontroller Interfacing
CSEE 6290 – Computer Architecture
CSEE 6530 – Introduction to Optical Engineering
CSEE 6620 – Biomedical Imaging
ECSE 6410 – Pattern Recognition
ECSE 6420 – Deep Learning
ECSE 6610 – Error Control Systems and Applications
ELEE 6145 – Principles of Lasers and Photonics
ELEE 6210 – Linear Systems
ELEE 6220 – Feedback Control Systems
ELEE 6230 – Sensors and Transducers
ELEE 6235 – Industrial Control Systems
ELEE 6250 – Advanced Microcontrollers
ELEE 6260 – Introduction to Nanoelectronics
ELEE 6275 – Advanced Control Systems
ELEE 6280 – Introduction to Robotics Engineering
ELEE 6540 – Applied Machine Vision
ELEE 6215 – Optoelectronic Devices
INFO 6150 – Engineering Informatics
INFO 6160 – Introduction to Industrial Internet of Things

This program of study is effective Fall Semester 2024. Previous program of study requirements may be found here.

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