Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Office Email: [email protected] http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/NEWGRAD/

N308 Engineering Bldg. 1 Houston, TX 77204-4005

Tel: (713) 743-4400 Fax: (713) 743-4402

Master of Science (MSEE) Degree Program Requirements Explanation of the Degree The Master of Science (MSEE) degree is a research-oriented degree and requires the completion of a thesis. A thesis describes the result of research conducted under the guidance of a faculty advisor to facilitate the timely completion of the degree requirements. The student must select an advisor as soon as the first semester. Completing a thesis is a demanding job, and the student should carefully consider if (s) he is up to this task. Although the MSEE program is open to both part-time and full-time students, the MEE program may be more appealing to part-time students than the MSEE program. *****IMPORTANT NOTE:Students in the MSEE program who have received financial aid from the department are not allowed to change to the MEE program without prior written consent of the advisor. Admission Requirements 1.

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Unconditional Admission: ⇒

A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, or in a closely related field, from an accredited institution, with a grade point average of at least 3.0/4.0 (or equivalent) for the last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree and on any coursework completed since graduation.

⇒

General GRE scores must be submitted. While no minimum GRE scores are used to exclude students, typically students entering the program have GRE scores greater than 450 on the Verbal, greater than 750 on the Quantitative and greater than 4.0 on the Writing Assessment.

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International students must submit an official TOEFL score of 580 or better.

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Three letters of recommendation on official letterhead with mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email of the recommender. 706page 1 of 10

2. Conditional Admission: ⇒

Same as above except the grade point average may be between 2.6 and 3.0 with high GRE scores.

⇒

Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

NOTE:

The conditionally admitted student must earn a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the first 12 semester hours of graduate work after enrolled at the University of Houston. A general petition needs to be submitted to change conditional admission status after 12 hours.

Other Requirements and Regulations 1.

Transfer of Credits: The student may transfer up to 6 hours of graduate-level work completed elsewhere to the study program at the University of Houston upon the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Six hours of graduate-level work completed while the student has been a PostBaccalaureate (PB) student at the University of Houston can also be transferred upon the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. The student will need to file a general petition within one semester after admission to graduate program. Courses in Technology programs cannot be transferred.

2.

Other: The student should refer to the Graduate and Professional Studies Catalog for other requirements and regulations such as course load, time limitations, 4-C rule, etc. Nothing in this document is intended to supersede or supplant the regulations set forth by the University of Houston in the Graduate and Professional Studies Catalog.

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Advising

Graduate advising is mandatory upon admission into the graduate program in Electrical and Computer Engineering and prior to the first registration. MSEE students must be advised by their thesis advisors. The thesis advisor should approve all proposed coursework during registration cycles before each academic semester. All approval of coursework must be done by completing the Graduate Academic Advising Form. Failure to complete this form will result in deletion of enrolled courses without prior approval. If the student does not have a thesis advisor upon initial enrollment, the Director of Graduate Studies shall advise the student. Students are required to have the following documents with them for advising sessions with their advisor to avoid confusion on which courses and how many hours to enroll. 1.

A list of courses completed thus far.

2.

A degree requirements guideline for the desired degree objective

3.

An advising form

4.

A degree plan (required for 2nd semester and last semester students)

5.

A list of deadlines that will concern you

Enrollment Hours Updated information on supported enrollment hours can be found at the following college web site: http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradpolicies1. Be aware that courses taken for personal enrichment will not be counted towards the degree plan and must be approved by the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies prior to enrollment. Enrichment hours cannot be used towards the total number of hours when an assistantship is being received. Non – supported (US/Int’l.) students: must maintain enrollment of at least 3 hours (US) or 9 hours (international) during each Fall/Spring semester. Summer enrollment is not necessary (no special permission is required). In case an international (F1/J1-visa) student decides to enroll during the summer, full time enrollment is required. Supported (US/Int’l.) students: must enroll full time in each semester (i.e., Fall, Summer and Spring). http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradpolicies1. Requests to enroll below the minimum number of hours required may be granted in the following case only: • Non - supported students, with a filed and approved degree plan showing that all degree requirements (except thesis) have been met, and who will defend their thesis no later than the 12th day of class (approximately September 5, February 1, and June 10). A

copy of the research announcement, plus a signed letter from the research advisor confirming the date of the defense must accompany the request. All requests must be by General Petition, submitted to the ECE Department by the deadline as indicated on the Dept. calendar. Students must attach the following supporting documents: 1. 2. 3. 4.

A copy of the thesis defense announcement. An approved degree plan for graduation An approved statement of your time line for defense and graduation Reduced course load form from ISSSO office.

Please note that full-time enrollment prior to the start of the semester is required for all students seeking an exception to enrollment requirements. The Department will adjust the enrollment once the petition to enroll below the minimum hours has been approved. Academic honesty Students are to maintain and encourage high ethical standard practices among peers and with the general public by observing all accepted principles of academic honesty. However, when case(s) of academic dishonesty occur, the dept. will enforce the academic honesty guidelines that are written by the university. Academic honesty policy and procedural information are available in the student’s handbook and on the web site below. http://www.uh.edu/dos/publications/handbook.php Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) This average is on all courses attempted at the university during the graduate program. Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in order to remain in good academic standing for the graduate program. An academic stop will be placed on the student record when he/she fails to maintain this average. The student will receive an academic letter from the department each semester until GPA has reached the desired average. At that time, he/she must seek advisor’s assistance on the removal process of this stop for future enrollment. Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) for supported students

The cumulative GPA will need to be at 3.0 or better at all times in order to remain eligible for GATF or in -state tuition waivers when applicable. Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) for scholarship students

A cumulative GPA will need to be at 3.0 or better at all times in order to receive in- state tuition waiver when applicable. If you do not meet this requirement, you will loose the scholarship and be no longer eligible for in-state tuition. In fact, if you drop below the 3.0 GPA, in the first M&msprogram

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semester, you will not receive the 2nd installment of the scholarship, and the University will seek full tuition payment for the first and second semester. Major Grade Point Average (MGPA) This average is only on courses that are for student’s degree. maintain in major a GPA of 3.0 prior to applying for graduation.

Students must

Four C-rule The following passage is from the university graduate & professional catalog. For more information, please refer to the web site below http://www.uh.edu/gs/grad_catalog/garr/c_rule.html “A student who receives a grade of C+ or lower in 12 semester hours of credit attempt at this institution for graduate credit or for application toward the graduate degree, whether or not in repeated courses, is ineligible for any advanced degree at this institution and will not be permitted to re-enroll for graduate study.” The dept. will place an academic stop or the student’s record for the first C received during the graduate program. Student must seek advisor for assistance. If no progress is made by the student and C grades have been reached, the dept. will send a letter to the student terminating him/her from the graduate program. Leave of Absence Students must request a leave of absence from the graduate program when enrollment is not possible for a given semester by submitting a general petition to the Graduate Admissions Office to maintain good academic status. Once a decision has been made by the Director of Graduate Studies, an academic stop will be placed on record for future enrollment. Reinstatement A general petition is once again needed for reinstatement to the graduate program. In addition to the general petition, students must include a degree plan with all courses taken and an advising form indicating which courses the student intends to enroll during the semester for which reinstatement is sought. Such requests must be filed according to the graduate admission deadline for new students to avoid delay in preferred enrollment for the returning semester. Student can only enroll when an approved petition has been received. Time limitation A Master’s degree seeking student must complete the program within five years of the date of enrollment at the University of Houston. In the event that the student could not complete the program, he/she must submit a general petition requesting an exception to this rule. Student must attach an outline of expired course(s), a date M&msprogram

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expected for graduation, and a current degree plan along with the general petition to the ECE dept. for review. For more information, please refer to the web site given. http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradpolicies1 Withdrawal from the graduate program Due to circumstances that cause a student not to be able to continue with the designated degree program, he/she should submit a general petition requesting the file to be closed. Student will need to reapply by following the procedures for new applicants in order to be considered for admission. This process is not recommended for students who have the intention of returning to the dept. at a later time. Change of major Students who have an interest in another major must file an approved general petition from another dept. to the ECE dept. in order to have files transferred to that dept. An academic stop will remain on student’s record until this procedure is completed. Graduation Graduation is not automatic. The student must be enrolled at the time of filing for a graduation application. The student is required to officially apply on- line at, https://my.uh.edu/ and submit the degree plan in addition to official documents to the ECE Dept. according to Dept. deadline stated on the calendar. If the student discovers that (s)he will not be able to graduate during the previously indicated semester, the student must first send an email to the graduate office as soon as possible to revoke the graduation process. The student must then reapply for graduation in a future semester. All updated forms and degree plan will need to be submitted. Curricular Practical Training (CPT) The purpose of curricular practical training (CPT) is to gain insight to the student’s academic program; therefore, it must be considered as “an integral part of an established curriculum.” The ECE Department will allow up to six (6) hours of CPT (“internships”) in the following situation. 1.

MSEE students who need to be employed by an outside agency in order to collect data for their thesis.

2.

A general petition is submitted before the start of the semester in which the student intends to participate in an internship. The petition must include a formal job offer, on the hiring company's stationary, a description of the work to be performed, and the salary offered. MSEE candidates must obtain approval from their thesis advisor as well.

3.

The work must be related to the practice of electrical and/or computer engineering.

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4.

Students enrolled in internship courses will meet weekly at UH to present oral progress reports and discuss issues related to their internship experience.

5.

A final report, describing the work performed, must be submitted within two weeks of the conclusion of each semester’s enrollment.

6.

Only half-time employment is allowed during Fall and Spring semesters. employment is allowed during the Summer semester.

7.

MSEE students can substitute up to six hours of research courses (ECE 6x98).

Full-time

For more information on the College and University requirements regarding CPT, please review websites indicated below. http://www.issso.uh.edu/f1/test7.html http://www.uh.edu/gs/gps_policy.htm http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradpolicies4

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General Course and Program Requirements To receive the degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, the student is required to complete (on a part-time or full-time basis), with a grade point average of at least 3.0, a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate studies, to include at least 21 hours of coursework, and 9 hours of thesis and research. Specifically, the following are required: 1. At least 15 hours of coursework in ECE, at or higher than the 6000 level. Out of these, at least 6 hours should be in the area of concentration of the student. At most, 6 hours could be equivalent to 5000-level courses. 2. Exactly six hours of thesis (ECE 6399 and ECE 7399) and at least 3 hours of research (ECE 6x98). 2

3. Out of the minimum of 21 hours of coursework, at most 6 hours could be in a related technical field. These courses should be deemed appropriate for the professional development of the student (i.e., courses related to the thesis topic), and must be from a department outside ECE at the 4000 level or higher. Both the student's thesis advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies must approve them. In any case, no credit will be given for courses that are equivalent to courses used in the student's undergraduate degree.

Thesis A.

Thesis Committee: The student should form a Thesis Committee with the Thesis Advisor (who must be a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) as chair as soon as the thesis topic is selected. The Committee must consist of at least one additional faculty member from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and at least one University of Houston tenure-track faculty member outside this department. The thesis committee form must be submitted well before the proposal defense is scheduled since the latter cannot take place unless the thesis committee has been formally approved by the ECE Dept. & Engineering Dean’s Office. In the event that some members of the previously approved committee have to be replaced, the student must submit an updated committee form listing all committee members. Only the new member(s) have to sign the form.

B.

Thesis Proposal: Once the Thesis Committee has been formed and approved, the student should prepare and defend a Thesis Proposal. During this semester, the student must be enrolled in ECE 6399. The Thesis Committee should confirm their approval by signing the Thesis Proposal Form. This form, together with a copy of the approved thesis proposal, has to be submitted to the ECE Dept. by the deadline specified on the semester calendar. Appropriate forms for the Thesis Committee formation and the Thesis Proposal defense can be obtained from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering web site:

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http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/NEWGRAD/?e=thesis C.

Thesis Defense: The thesis announcement is to let the public know that the student has completed successfully his/her research and that he/she is ready for graduation. The announcement must be distributed to all faculty and students. One additional copy must be submitted to the ECE Dept. for filing. Refer to the web site given for more information. http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/NEWGRAD/?e=thesis After the successful defense of the Thesis Proposal, the student may register for ECE 7399. Ideally, the student should enroll in ECE 7399 during the semester in which the thesis is defended and in which the student plans to graduate. The student should adhere to the thesis submission deadlines posted on the Dept. calendar. In case the student does not complete the thesis while enrolled in ECE 7399, (s) he should enroll in research courses (ECE 6x98) in future semesters until the thesis is completed to the satisfaction of the committee.

NOTE:

The student may request that the members of the Thesis Committee review and comment on a preliminary version of the thesis. This procedure is encouraged since it should provide the student with ideas on how to improve the quality of the thesis and should also facilitate its acceptance. The student is required to present the final draft of the thesis to the members of the committee no later than two weeks prior to the date of the thesis defense. The student should be aware that he/she may be required to make substantial changes, before and after the defense, in the thesis in order to satisfy the requirements of the committee.

Preparation for Thesis Writing It is important for students to follow the current guidelines written by the College of Engineering while preparing thesis for submission to avoid delays in approval of thesis. The link below contains official guidelines for students to follow. http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/files/ThesisGuide.pdf

Thesis Submission Form Upon successful defense of the thesis, and once all signatures of the committee members have been obtained, the student must submit one copy of the thesis to the Director of Graduate Studies for review. A thesis submission form and this copy, together with the correct number of signature pages, must be submitted to the ECE front desk before the deadline stated in the Dept. calendar. Refer to web site given for further details. http://www.egr.uh.edu/ece/NEWGRAD/?e=thesis.

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Obtaining ECE Dept.’s Chair Signature Once the thesis has been approved by the director of graduate studies, thesis and official signature pages will be submitted to the chairman for his signature. The student will be notified by staff for pick up. Dept. process for thesis submission is now complete. Students must now submit the dept. approved thesis submission form with appropriate documents to the Dean’s office for review. Official thesis submission for binding. The College web site listed below provides instructions on how to submit the thesis once the dean’s office has given approval for binding. Once the student is at this stage, he/she must submit a copy of the thesis binding agreement received from the Dean’s office to the ECE dept. so that appropriate letter grade(s) can be awarded. http://www.egr.uh.edu/academics/?e=gradthesis.

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