Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy
in
Electrical
Engineering
Requirements
for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree: Each specialty area (the Communications and Signal
Processing Area, the Microelectronics and Photonics Area sets its course
requirements for PhD students in that specialty.
The Department's minimum requirement is eleven (11) courses, excluding
graduate seminar participation, graduate research credits prior to Ph.D.
candidacy, and doctoral dissertation research credits (ENEE 899). Four (4) of these 11 courses must be taken at UMBC (at least 2 of
these courses have to be ENEE courses). The doctoral dissertation must be an original and substantive
contribution to knowledge in the student's major area and must demonstrate the
student's ability to carry out a program of research and to report the results
in accordance with standards observed in the recognized scientific journals
related to that area. Students are expected to formally present their results
at conferences and/or in technical journals related to their specialty area.
The
Ph.D. student must:
1. Pass the written comprehensive exam (comps) within four semesters of entrance to the program (five semesters for part‑time students). The comps are based on the core courses for their area of specialty to assess his or her mastery of fundamental knowledge and skills. Microelectronics and Photonics students must take the comps in ENEE 630, 631, 680, and 683. Communications and Signal Processing students must take the comps in ENEE 601, 620, 621, and 622. The comps will be offered twice a year between the semesters (typically in January and August), Each Ph.D. (EE) student must pass the EE comps within the first four (4) semesters of admission to the Ph.D. (EE) Program (first five (5) semesters for part-time students). All students must pass the comps within two (2) attempts, or will be dismissed from the Ph.D. (EE) Program. (See the Graduate Program web page for detailed policies for comprehensive exams.)
2. Develop and defend a doctoral dissertation proposal (preliminary exam) and be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy within four (4) years of entrance to the program (five years for part‑time students).
3.
Complete all Ph.D. requirements for their area of specialty within four (4)
years after admission to Ph.D. candidacy.
Ph.D. Requirements for Photonics and
Microelectronics
11 courses (total
number of courses required beyond B.S. degree)
Student
must take
ENEE
630 Solid State Electronics
ENEE
631 Semiconductor Devices
ENEE
680 Electromagnetic Theory I
ENEE
683 Lasers
Four
Electives at least Two (2) 700 level from the list below:
ENEE
632 Integrated Circuits
ENEE
634 Microwave Devices and Circuits
ENEE
635 Intro Optical Communications
ENEE
636 Wireless Communications
ENEE
684 Intro Photonics
ENEE
685 Intro Communication Networks
ENEE
735 Photonics Integrated Circuits
ENEE
736 Intro Optical Communication Systems
ENEE
737 Semiconductor Device Processing Techniques
ENEE
738 Characteristics of Semiconductor Optoelectronics
ENEE
785 Topics in Optical Networks
ENEE
788 Topics in Photonics
and
Any
Three (3) additional advisor-approved graduate courses (can include a maximum
of 3 credits from ENEE 698 or ENEE 698).
A
grade of "B"
(3.0 GPA) or better is required in all courses, and a minimum of 3.33 GPA
overall
(including
the transfer courses).
Four
(4) of the courses must be taken at UMBC
(at least 2 of these courses have to be ENEE courses)
ENEE
630 Solid State Electronics
ENEE
631 Semiconductor Devices
ENEE
680 Electromagnetic Theory I
ENEE
683 Lasers
Student must take:
ENEE
601 Signal and Linear Systems Theory
ENEE
620 Probability and Random
Processes
ENEE
621 Detection and Estimation
Theory
ENEE
622 Information Theory
and
two
courses from
ENEE
610 Digital Signal Processing
ENEE
611 Adaptive Signal Processing
ENEE
612 Digital Image Processing
ENEE
623 Communication Theory
ENEE
624 Error Correcting Codes
and
At
least two additional ENEE courses (700-level or higher)
Any three additional advisor-approved graduate courses (can include a maximum of 3 credits from ENEE 698 or ENEE 699): one of which must be a MATH/STAT course (600-level or higher).
A grade of
"B" (3.0 GPA) or better is required in all courses, and a
minimum of 3.33 GPA overall
(including
the transfer courses).
Four
(4) of the courses must be taken at UMBC
(at least 2 of these courses have to be ENEE courses)
ENEE 601 Signal and Linear Systems Theory
ENEE
620 Probability and Random Processes
ENEE
621 Detection and Estimation Theory
ENEE
622 Information Theory
Graduate
Seminar:
Each Ph.D. (EE) student must attend the Department's Graduate Seminar
course (ENEE 608) for two semesters, usually during his/her first year.
Course
Requirements:
Each student must satisfy the minimum course requirements for their area
of specialty, excluding the Department's EE Graduate Seminar, graduate research
credits prior to Ph.D. candidacy (ENEE
800, 899), and doctoral dissertation research credits (ENEE 899). Students may
take up to six (6) credits of
dissertation research credits (ENEE 899) after passing the comprehensive
examination and before being admitted to Ph.D. candidacy.
Preliminary
Examination (Prelim):
Each student must select a Dissertation Advisor and a Dissertation
Preliminary Examination Committee, and must pass a two-part preliminary
examination. In the first part, the student will present and defend his or her
dissertation proposal to the Prelim Committee. In the second part, the Committee
examines the student orally on his or her proposal and research area(s) to
assess his or her ability to successfully complete the proposed research.
Each full-time student must pass the prelim within one and a half years
after passing the comps to remain in the Ph.D. program (part-time students will
be given two and a half years to pass the prelim).
Ph.D.
Candidacy:
After passing the comps and prelim, and completing the course
requirements, the Graduate Program Committee recommends to the Graduate School
that the student be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy.
Dissertation
Research:
Each student will conduct and report on a significant original research
project under the guidance of his or her dissertation advisor. This research
must be completed and defended within four years after admission to Ph.D.
candidacy. Students must be admitted to candidacy at least two full sequential
semesters before the date on which the doctoral degree is to be conferred.
Residency
Requirements:
A minimum of three (3) years of full‑time graduate study, or its
equivalent, is required. At least one year of full-time study must be
completed at UMBC.